The BJP Government led by Narendra Modi has provided lof of facilietis to the Haj Pilgrims this year.
For the first time, single ladies were allowed to apply for Haj under Lady Without Mehram (LWM) category, without the requirement of making a grouping. Consequently, more than 4000 ladies, which is an all time high, successfully applied under LWM category in Haj-2023.
b. 500 seats under Government Discretionary quota has been completely done away with in Haj-2023 and the seats under this quota have been merged into regular allocation mechanism so as to maximize opportunity for the eligible citizens and to ensure that no VIP culture is propagated.
A total of 477 buildings, well-equipped with basic amenities and facilities, were hired at Makkah for the comfortable stay of the Indian pilgrims.
Administrative deputationists were drawn from among CAPF personnel so as to ensure better professionalism and services in aid and assistance of the pilgrims.
e. To ensure better health facilities for pilgrims, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and its agencies were directly involved during Haj 2023 for initial screening of Haj pilgrims as well as for selecting and deputing doctors and paramedics for the aid and assistance of the pilgrims.
Information Technology was extensively harnessed in the pilgrimage operations which included portals such as e-Health of MoH&FW which was effectively utilized to create and maintain health database of all Indian pilgrims who availed medical facilities during the Haj period.
For Haj-2023, the Government of India succeeded in getting accommodation in Markazia area of Madinah for about 65% of pilgrims proceeding through HCoI, which is a record.
Feedback entries from more than 25000 pilgrims have been received on the Feedback portal developed by this Ministry during Haj-2023, providing valuable feedback and inputs for enabling the betterment of facilities and services in the subsequent years.
Strict enforcement of Haj Group Organiser (HGO) policy and GST laws for HGOs has led to better compliance which has improved the quality of services for the Haj pilgrims. Improved tax compliance from HGOs has led to more than Rs 200 crore tax revenue for the exchequer.
