Haj Pilgrimage

The Economic Offence Wing of the Odisha Police arrested a person from Mumbai for allegedly cheating Rs 1.20 crore from 189 people of the state, promising them the Haj pilgrimage, according to an official statement issued on Monday.

India and Saudi Arabia on Sunday signed a bilateral agreement under which New Delhi has been allocated a quota of 1,75,025 pilgrims for the annual Haj pilgrimage in 2024.

Shabin Rasheed, who runs the Sharjah-based Baitul Ateeq travel agency, was taken into custody by the Dubai Police earlier this month.

PM Modi said over 4,000 Muslim women performing Haj this year without 'mehram' was a "huge transformation" and asserted that more and more people were getting the chance to go for the annual pilgrimage with the changes made by his government.

Emphasising on a "cashless Haj", the government has made special arrangements to meet the foreign exchange requirements of those going on the annual pilgrimage, including the issuance of a forex card through the State Bank of India (SBI).

As many as 4,314 Indian women are set to perform Hajj without 'Mehram (male companion)' this year, the largest since the reform in 2018 which did away with the compulsion of a male companion with women on the pilgrimage, officials said.

There will be 25 embarkation points for Haj-2023 and forms for going on the pilgrimage will be out very soon with the application being available free of cost, according to the Ministry for Minority Affairs.

SpiceJet on Thursday said it will operate 37 special flights between India and Saudi Arabia till July 31 for Indian Haj pilgrims who will visit Islamic pilgrimage sites in Mecca and Medina.

The annual Haj has become more comfortable and convenient for Indian Muslims due to various important reforms in the entire pilgrimage process undertaken by the Modi government over the last seven years, the Minister for Minority Affairs said.

Police have arrested the owner of a tour operating firm for allegedly cheating the aspirants of Haj and Umrah pilgrimages by seeking investments from them to the tune of over Rs 2.70 crore at Bhiwandi town in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official

Indonesia has cancelled the haj pilgrimage for people in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation for a second year in a row due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the religious affairs minister said on Thursday.

A decision on Haj 2021 will be taken after the Saudi Arabian government's final call on the pilgrimage and the national as well as international COVID-19 guidelines will have to be kept in mind to ensure the well-being of the pilgrims, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Monday.

Pilgrims who desire to cancel their Haj journey for 2020 amid the outbreak of coronavirus worldwide, will be given 100 per cent refund, Haj Committee of India Chief Executive Officer Masood Ahmed Khan said on Saturday.

A controversy has broken out over tickets issued by the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation to travellers from Tirupati to the temple town of Tirumala. On the back of the tickets are printed government advertisements about pilgrimage to Haj and Jerusalem.

In a significant step, Saudi Arabia has increased India's Haj quota from 1,70,000 to 2,00,000, paving the way for 30,000 more Indians to go for the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in the kingdom.

The Economic Offence Wing of the Odisha Police arrested a person from Mumbai for allegedly cheating Rs 1.20 crore from 189 people of the state, promising them the Haj pilgrimage, according to an official statement issued on Monday.

India and Saudi Arabia on Sunday signed a bilateral agreement under which New Delhi has been allocated a quota of 1,75,025 pilgrims for the annual Haj pilgrimage in 2024.

Shabin Rasheed, who runs the Sharjah-based Baitul Ateeq travel agency, was taken into custody by the Dubai Police earlier this month.

PM Modi said over 4,000 Muslim women performing Haj this year without 'mehram' was a "huge transformation" and asserted that more and more people were getting the chance to go for the annual pilgrimage with the changes made by his government.

Emphasising on a "cashless Haj", the government has made special arrangements to meet the foreign exchange requirements of those going on the annual pilgrimage, including the issuance of a forex card through the State Bank of India (SBI).

As many as 4,314 Indian women are set to perform Hajj without 'Mehram (male companion)' this year, the largest since the reform in 2018 which did away with the compulsion of a male companion with women on the pilgrimage, officials said.

There will be 25 embarkation points for Haj-2023 and forms for going on the pilgrimage will be out very soon with the application being available free of cost, according to the Ministry for Minority Affairs.

SpiceJet on Thursday said it will operate 37 special flights between India and Saudi Arabia till July 31 for Indian Haj pilgrims who will visit Islamic pilgrimage sites in Mecca and Medina.

The annual Haj has become more comfortable and convenient for Indian Muslims due to various important reforms in the entire pilgrimage process undertaken by the Modi government over the last seven years, the Minister for Minority Affairs said.

Police have arrested the owner of a tour operating firm for allegedly cheating the aspirants of Haj and Umrah pilgrimages by seeking investments from them to the tune of over Rs 2.70 crore at Bhiwandi town in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official

Indonesia has cancelled the haj pilgrimage for people in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation for a second year in a row due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the religious affairs minister said on Thursday.

A decision on Haj 2021 will be taken after the Saudi Arabian government's final call on the pilgrimage and the national as well as international COVID-19 guidelines will have to be kept in mind to ensure the well-being of the pilgrims, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Monday.

Pilgrims who desire to cancel their Haj journey for 2020 amid the outbreak of coronavirus worldwide, will be given 100 per cent refund, Haj Committee of India Chief Executive Officer Masood Ahmed Khan said on Saturday.

A controversy has broken out over tickets issued by the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation to travellers from Tirupati to the temple town of Tirumala. On the back of the tickets are printed government advertisements about pilgrimage to Haj and Jerusalem.

In a significant step, Saudi Arabia has increased India's Haj quota from 1,70,000 to 2,00,000, paving the way for 30,000 more Indians to go for the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in the kingdom.