Policy for 2025 also mandates one state haj inspector for 150 pilgrims as against 300 in old policy. Haj Suvidha app has been launched to provide info on accommodation & flights.
According to an AFP report, out of the total dead, 323 were Egyptians. Saudi state TV said temperatures rose 51.8 degrees Celsius in the shade at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
In their petition, several Haj Group Organisers — govt-approved group tour operators that organise the pilgrimage — claimed their certificates & quotas were suspended after they were found eligible.
This is the second consecutive year when Indians will miss going for the annual pilgrimage, owing to travel restrictions that have been put in place because of the Covid pandemic.
India has finalised 58,000 applications for Haj, but needs Saudi govt to give the sanctioned quota of the final number of people. The pilgrimage is scheduled from 17-22 July.
In January, the govt announced that there would be no subsidy for Haj from this year and the funds saved would be used to provide education to minority communities.
The dynamics between Europe and Russia have gone so south that mending fences looks like an uphill task—even as the US swings between sanctions and olive branches.
Centre for Science and Environment in new report makes case for rationalising GST on waste material, saying most informal operators can’t afford high tax & it also hinders recycling.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
COMMENTS