There will be no application fees for Haj applicants this year, sources from the Ministry of Minority Affairs said on February 06, 2023.
The Embarkation points for Haj have been increased this year from 10 to 25 points, the source informed. The Haj pilgrims will be given two options to choose their embarkation points.
Haj aspirants had been paying ₹300 for the application form, whether or not they were selected.
Even the Haj package cost has been reduced by approximately ₹50,000. The Ministry has also increased the embarkation points for Haj from 10 to 25. The Haj pilgrims will be given two options to choose their embarkation points.
The Haj policy, issued by the Ministry on Monday, stated that those who have performed Haj earlier through the Haj Committee of India( HCoI) will not be eligible to apply.
The Ministry has announced that women above 45 years of age, who wish to go for Haj but do not have a male Mehram (relative) and their school of thought (Maslak) permits are allowed to travel in groups of 4 or more ladies.
“Subject to the terms of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), single ladies may also apply, and Haj Committee of India may form a grouping with the ladies who applied under the category. Consulate General of India, Jeddah wHl also facilitate separate living arrangements for women traveling alone for the Pilgrimage,” it added.
“The ministry has also decided to do away with the system of Haj Committee giving custom-made bags, baggage, and other objects of daily needs to pilgrims on a payment basis. Now, pilgrims can carry their own bags, bed sheets, umbrella. This may save money from anything between 30 to 50 thousand, which is a big relief for middle class and poor people,” said an official from the Ministry.
Last year, thousands of applicants for Haj were unable to visit the pilgrimage site when the Haj Committee of India issued a circular restricting the pilgrimage to those below 65 years of age.
This year, however, Saudi Arabia has decided to remove COVID-19 restrictions for the 2023 haj season and host pre-pandemic numbers of pilgrims, the kingdom’s Ministry of haj and umrah announced last month. In the preceding year before COVID-19 pandemic first hit, some 2.6 million people had performed the haj. But, the kingdom allowed only a limited number of its residents in 2020 and 2021 before it welcomed back one million foreign pilgrims in 2022.
An economic reform plan of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aims to increase umrah and Haj capacity to 30 million pilgrims annually and to generate 50 billion riyals ($13.32 billion) of revenues by 2030.
Haj season is expected to begin on June 26 in 2023.
