Saudi Arabia has increased India’s annual Haj quota by 34,500.
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Saudi Arabia’s Haj and Umrah Minister Dr. Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten inked an agreement in this regard in Jeddah, increasing India’s Haj quota from 1,36,020 to 1,70,520.
It is the “biggest increase” in quota for Haj pilgrims after 1988. The increase will be effective from the current year.
Five years ago, the Saudi authorities slashed quotas for foreign pilgrims from each country by 20 per cent considering the devotees’ safety as they undertook expansion of the Grand Mosque there.
Last year, 1,35,903 devotees from India performed Haj.