Applications for next year's Hajj will be accepted online from 10 October, says Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

New Delhi: The filing of applications for next year’s Hajj pilgrimage will be completely digital and the process will start from 10 October, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi announced on Friday. He also said there will be 22 embarkation points in 2020. “The new embarkation point to be opened for Hajj next year will be at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. So, in Hajj 2020, two lakh Indian Muslims will go for Hajj from 22 embarkation points across the country,” he told reporters. [caption id=“attachment_4306911” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Naqvi said this after chairing a review meeting organised on the completion of Hajj 2019 where he took stock of the preparations for next year’s pilgrimage. The meeting was attended by senior officials from the ministries of External Affairs, Civil Aviation and Health. India’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ausuf Sayeed and Hajj Committee of India Chairman Sheikh Jinna Nabi also attended the meeting. Interacting with the media after the meeting, Naqvi said Hajj 2020 will be “100 percent online” and a system has been developed to provide e-visa to all the pilgrims.  “People can apply online for Hajj 2020 from October 10 till November 10. Applications for Hajj can also be be filed through a mobile application,” Naqvi said. The minister said Hajj Group Organisers (HGOs) can apply on an online portal from 1 November  to 1 December. Naqvi said GST on Hajj pilgrimage was reduced from 18 percent to five percent this year, which ensured that more than Rs 113 crore were saved by the pilgrims during the Hajj in 2019.  “Accommodation in Madina had also been taken on 100 Saudi Riyal less in comparison to the last year which resulted in savings of Rs 3,000 per Indian pilgrim,” he said. Naqvi said a record number of 2 lakh Indian Muslims went to Hajj this year through more than 500 flights from 21 embarkation points across the country. These pilgrims included about 48 per cent Muslim women.  “A total of 2,340 Muslim women from India also performed Hajj this year without ‘Mehram’ ((husband or a male first blood relation as guardian). For Hajj 2020, women who will apply without ‘Mehram’ will be exempted from the lottery system,” he said. Naqvi said while 1.4 lakh Hajj pilgrims went through Hajj Committee of India, 60,000 such pilgrims performed the pilgrimage through Haj Group Organisers (HGOs). “More than 2.67 lakh applications were received for Hajj 2019 which included about 1.65 lakh online applications. For Hajj 2020, online applications will be encouraged. Hajj Committee will also organise awareness programmes in this regard,” he said. Replying to a question, Naqvi assured that people in Kashmir would also be able to apply online easily.