The Centre on Monday said that India will have its largest ever contingent of Ladies Without Mehram at the Haj pilgrimage this year. The ministry of minority affairs said that among a total of 1.84 lakh applications, 14,935 Haj applicants which have been given permission include 10,621 people over the age of 70 years and 4,314 Ladies Without Mehram (LWM). “This is the largest ever contingent of women proceeding on Haj alone without a male member,” the ministry said. Applications for Haj and selection of pilgrims were done online.
The ministry said that the Haj quota was finalised through an Online Randomised Digital Selection process, without any human intervention and that the list of selected and waitlisted applicants was published on the official portal immediately after the selection process, in the “interest of increased transparency”. In all, 1.4 lakhs pilgrims were selected for Haj 2023.
The ministry said that it has partnered with State Bank of India (SBI) for special arrangements to provide forex facilities to the pilgrims. While earlier, each pilgrim was given 2100 Riyals by the Haj Committee of India, the ministry said that the new Haj Policy 2023 gives the option and flexibility to the pilgrims to arrange their own foreign currency or take lesser foreign exchange, as per their individual requirements.
The ministry has collaborated with SBI, which will provide FOREX and mandatory insurance for all the pilgrims, as well as a FOREX Card. “In case this card is lost during the pilgrimage, the pilgrim can get his money refunded from the bank,” the ministry said. A SBI helpline will be operational soon.