The following changes have been made in the Hajj Policy issued by the Department of Minority Affairs (Hajj Division), Government of India.
Hajj Registration Fee:- In previous years registration fee of Rs.300 was charged. But this year Hajj registration is free. This year Hajj 2023 cover can include maximum 4 adults and two children. The duration of Hajj this year will be between 30 and 40 days.
Age Limit for Hajj Pilgrims:- The age limit of 65 years has been removed during Hajj 2022. 10% of air fare will be charged for children below two years of age and full air fare and Hajj fee will be charged for child above two years of age as adult. Applicants aged 70 years or above will be registered in reserve category with assistant.
Female applicants aged 45 years or above are allowed to perform Hajj in a group of 4 if they wish to perform Hajj without Mahram. Single women can also apply, subject to Saudi Arabian government conditions. For this Haj Committee of India can form a group of these women. CGI Jeddah will facilitate separate accommodation arrangements for the said women.
Quota allocated by Saudi Government:- Private Tour Operator (PTO) quota has been reduced from 30% to 20%. And the Haj Committee quota has been increased from 70% to 80%.
Official Haj Quota:- Official Haj Quota has been canceled in Haj Travel Policy 2023. For the benefit of common citizens, the quota allotted to the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Minister for Minority Affairs, Government of India and Haj Committee of India, Mumbai has been canceled and merged into the general quota.
RTPCR Test: Hajj pilgrims are allowed to undergo health verification and RTPCR test from their district health units. RTPCR test should be done only by government laboratories.
Embarkation Point:- 25 airports in the country have been designated as Embarkation Points. Srinagar, Ranchi, Gaya, Guwahati, Indore, Bhopal, Mangalore, Goa, Aurangabad, Varanasi, Jaipur, Nagpur, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kannur, Vijayawada , Agartala and Calicut.
Hajj pilgrims will be given a choice between the region’s embarkation point and the nearest economy travel point based on the difference in air travel costs in the previous year. This arrangement may be suitably modified by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in the coming years with the approval of the competent authority. With the approval of the competent authority, the Ministry of Minority Affairs may consider the request to include other airports as embarkation points in addition to the above 25 embarkation points, subject to the approval of the authorities/ministries of the Ministry of External Affairs. Civil Aviation and Saudi Arabia.
Sacrifice: Sacrifice coupons will be optional. The option will not be canceled once used in the application form to be arranged by the Haj Committee of India through the IDB Payment Cover. All pilgrims have to choose a cover together. Pilgrims can offer sacrifice on their own if they wish so.
Persons with Special Needs: Persons who are registered disabled, will be allowed to apply along with one qualified blood related person. Who will be able to take care of them during the entire Hajj.
Appointment of State Coordinators:- One Khadim-ul-Hajj will be appointed for 300 Hajj pilgrims along with appointment of one director level officer from each state and union territory and one officer of respective state, to take care of Hajj pilgrims.
With the release of the new Hajj policy, the online application form filling process for Hajj pilgrims 2023 will start very soon. Applicants wishing to perform Hajj are requested to keep machine readable international passport, blood group report and related documents ready for application.
