Government makes special arrangements to meet forex requirements of Haj pilgrims

New Delhi: 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).

The Ministry of Minority Affairs has taken several initiatives to make Haj 2023 more comfortable, convenient and affordable for Indian Muslims, according to an official statement. Dedicated efforts have also been made to make the process of pilgrim selection objective, transparent, efficient, timely and free from human involvement. The process of applying for Haj and selection of pilgrims was carried out online and of the 1.84 lakh applicants, 14,935 have been given assured allotment, including 10,621 in the 70-plus category and 4,314 women who will perform the Haj without a “Mehram” (male companion).

This is the largest ever contingent of women proceeding on Haj alone, not accompanied by men, the ministry said in a statement. The applications received over and above the Haj quota have been finalised through an online randomised digital selection (ORDS) process, without any human intervention, it added. For the first time, the list of selected and waitlisted applicants was published on the official portal immediately after the selection process in the interest of increased transparency, the statement said.

All 1.4 lakh selected pilgrims have been sent a text message with the information of their selection for Haj 2023. A text message has also been sent to the waitlisted applicants, informing them about their position on the list.