Govt will issue Forex Cards to 1.4 lakh Haj Pilgrims

NEW DELHI: With the number of  Haj  pilgrims crossing 1.4 lakh this year, including the largest ever contingent of over  4,300 women above 45 years who will be travelling without Mehram  (male companion), the government has made special arrangements for “cashless” pilgrimage by catering to the foreign exchange requirements of the travellers. All Haj pilgrims will be provided a forex card by  State Bank of India  The application and selection for Haj this year was done online. Of the 1.4 lakh selected pilgrims, 10,621 are in the 70+ age group and 4,314 women above 45 years travelling without mehram (male companion). “This is the largest ever contingent of women proceeding on Haj alone without a male member,” the ministry of minority affairs said in a statement. Over 1.8 lakh had applied to perform Haj. India has been allotted a quota of 1.75 lakh Haj pilgrims this year. As per the Haj policy 2023 out of the total quota, 80% has been allocated to the  Haj Committee of India  and rest to private Haj group operators. The first flight for the pilgrimage will take off from India on May 21. The ministry has partnered with SBI make special arrangements to provide forex facilities to the pilgrims at the “most competitive rates”, the statement said. It said that unlike in previous years when each pilgrim was made available 2100 riyals by the Haj Committee, Haj policy 2023 gives the option to the pilgrims to arrange their own foreign currency as per their individual requirements. SBI will also arrange stalls at all 25 embarkation points, where nodal officers will facilitate the pilgrims for collection of forex in cash or through the card.