oppn parties Haj 2023: Quota Raised, Package Cost Reduced, More Embarkation Points

Story Of The Day

Stock Indices Scale New Closing Heights
OPINIONS : Strongly Expressed

April 20, 2024

People Are Talking About

Rohit Warns Sarfaraz, Police Use It To Warn Two-Wheeler Riders

News Snippets

  • Supreme Court says all cases of mob violence and lynchings should not be given a communal angle
  • Supreme Court tells petitioners who want elections to be held with ballot papers as they fear EVM tampering to back their claims of tampering with data
  • PM Modi says he is indebted to the Constitution which is an article of paith for his party
  • Mamata Banerjee says people do not have freedom to eat what they want under NDA then how can they have freedom to speak
  • Bengal, wary of clashes on Ramnavami, has tightened security all over the state, especially in pockets that witnessed such clashes in previous years
  • Ramdev and Balkrishna of Patanjali offered apology to the Supreme Court for misleading advertisement with folded hands. The apex court had earlier said their apology was not worth the paper it was written on
  • A whistleblower has claimed that China bribed senior UN officials to keep the lab leak angle out of reasons for spread of Covid
  • Two men from Bihar were arrested from Gujarat for firing at actor Salman Khan's home on Sunday morning. Mumbai Police said they wanted to kill the actor
  • Supreme Court order West Bengal governor to appoint VCs to six universities from the names provided by the state government in one week
  • Wow! Momo raises Rs 70cr from Z3Partners in the latest round of funding
  • IMF raises India's growth forecast from 6.5% earlier to 6.8%
  • Re plunges to a new low of 83.54 per dollar as global tensions mount
  • Stocks remain weak and negative on Tuesday: Sensex plunges 456 points to 72943 and Nifty 124 points to 22147
  • Candidates' Chess: D Gukesh draws with Ian Nepomniachtchi and with six points each, both reamin joint leaders. Pragg also drew with Vidit Gujrathi
  • IPL: Table-toppers RR beat KKR by 2 wickets
Encounter at Kanker in Bastar in Chhatisgarh: 29 Maoists, including 3 'senior commanders' gunned down by security forces
oppn parties
Haj 2023: Quota Raised, Package Cost Reduced, More Embarkation Points

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2023-02-10 03:42:24

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

There is good news for Haj pilgrims, especially single women above 45 who wish to go on the pilgrimage. The government has come out with a new Haj policy which builds on the earlier (2018-2022) one. This time, the package cost for the pilgrimage has been reduced by up to Rs 50000 and new embarkation points have been added taking the total to 25. Application forms have also been made free for the first time. Further, Saudi Arabia has increased the Indian Haj quota to 1.75 lakh this year (the number was just 79237 last year). The government has allotted 90% of the quota to the Haj Committee of India (HCI) and the rest to private operators. In a significant move, one that is likely to do away with corruption and influence-peddling, the government has also given up its discretionary quota by merging it with the HCI quota.

The embarkation points have been increased to provide relief to Haj pilgrims in far off areas such as Agartala, for example, which is now one of the new embarkation points. The Haj package cost has been reduced by putting the onus of arranging foreign exchange and items such as umbrellas, bags and bed sheets on the pilgrims. Earlier, they had to deposit the money for these with the HCI. This is a relief as the Haj cost was raised by 50% to Rs 399500 in 2022, up from Rs 269700 in 2019. The government will make special arrangements for women, infants, persons with disabilities and the elderly.

But the most significant change is in allowing single women above 45 to apply as individuals (subject to the terms of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). Earlier, these individuals had to form a group by themselves to apply. But now the HCI will try to form a group of such individual women to satisfy the terms of the Saudi authorities. This will allow such single women who do not find group partners to undertake the pilgrimage. In successive Haj policies, the Centre has been trying to make the pilgrimage less costly and ensure that people from all over India can experience it without facing problems. It has also been focusing on women, the elderly and persons with disabilities. This is welcome. 

Picture courtesy: Deccan Herald (caption ours)

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

Citizens' Right To Know Versus Politicians' Right To Privacy And The Test Of Proportionality

Citizens' Right To Know Versus Politicians' Right To Privacy And The Test Of Proportionality

 India's Young Guns Come To The Fore

India's Young Guns Come To The Fore

In Depth

As Per Hindu Marriage Act, Saptapadi Essential, Not Kanyadaan Says Allahabad HC

As Per Hindu Marriage Act, Saptapadi Essential, Not Kanyadaan Says Allahabad HC

Editor's Pick

The BJP Crushes The Opposition By Any & All Means

The BJP Crushes The Opposition By Any & All Means
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.