The government has made special arrangements to meet the foreign exchange needs of those travelling on the annual pilgrimage, including the issuance of a forex card through the State Bank of India (SBI). According to an official statement, the Ministry of Minority Affairs has taken several initiatives to make Haj 2023 more comfortable, convenient, and affordable for Indian Muslims.
Dedicated efforts have also been made to make the pilgrim selection process objective, transparent, efficient, timely, and free of human intervention. The application and selection process for Haj was done online, and out of the 1.84 lakh applicants, 14,935 have been assured allotment, including 10,621 in the 70-plus category and 4,314 women who will perform the Haj without a “Mehram” (male companion). According to the ministry, this is the largest ever contingent of women performing Haj alone, unaccompanied by men. The ministry has collaborated with the SBI to make special arrangements for pilgrims to obtain foreign currency. Unlike previous years, when the Haj Committee of India gave each pilgrim 2,100 Saudi riyals in lieu of Indian currency, regardless of his actual requirements, the Haj Policy 2023 allows pilgrims to arrange their own foreign currency or take a lesser amount of foreign exchange, depending on their needs.
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