Facilities for Haj Pilgrimage
Facilities for Haj Pilgrimage
The number of pilgrims who proceeded for Haj during
the last three years are as follows:
|
Year
|
Number
of Pilgrims proceeded for Haj
|
|
2013
|
135,938
|
|
2014
|
135,914
|
|
2015
|
135,868
|
The expenditure towards Haj is borne by the
pilgrims themselves. No financial assistance is given directly to Haj pilgrims.
However, Ministry of Civil Aviation provides subsidy for air travel to pilgrims
going for Haj through the Haj Committee of India.
Ministry of External Affairs coordinates
arrangements for Haj pilgrimage in consultation with the Haj Committee of India
and the Consulate General of India (CGI), Jeddah. Every year, MEA sends
deputationists (Coordinators, Assistant Haj Officers, Haj Assistants, Doctors
and paramedical staff) for rendering assistance to the Haj pilgrims. Every
year, CGI, Jeddah arranges for temporary tents in Mina, sets up branch Haj
Offices and dispensaries in Makkah and Madinah, provides medicines, ambulances,
other local transport etc. for the Haj pilgrims.
Ministry of Civil Aviation supervises the Air
charter operations during Haj period and deploys officials in Saudi Arabia to
assist in embarkation and disembarkation of pilgrims.
To provide better facilities and amenities for Haj
pilgrims, several initiatives have been undertaken. These include: improvement
of amenities for Haj pilgrims in buildings in Makkah and Madinah;
strengthening of medical services for Haj pilgrims, streamlining of air travel
arrangements for Hajis by ensuring effective management of timely arrival and
departure of flights, online submission of Haj application form to Haj
Committee of India and providing e-payment option to pilgrims, provision
of local sim cards; provision of travel by metro train in Mashaer region for
pilgrims going through HCOI ; 24 X 7 helpline, toll free number and use
of Whatsapp and SMS for providing timely information; use of Mobile phone
Application- “Indian Hajis Accommodation Locator” with information for Indian
pilgrims; speedy and effective online complaint management system;
strengthening of transport arrangements for Hajis accommodated in Azizia.
In terms of Haj Policy 2013-17 framed by the
Government in accordance with the judgment of Supreme Court dated
16.04.2013, an individual can perform Haj through Haj Committee of India
(HCoI) only “once in a life time”. However, a Repeater pilgrim is
eligible as a Mehram of a female pilgrim or companion of age 70+ pilgrim, if no
other Mehram/ Companion (who has not performed Haj through HCoI) is available
and if he/she pays full airfare as decided by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The Minister of State for the External Affairs Gen. Dr. V. K. Singh (Retd.)
provided this information in reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
*****
Expediting Passport Issuance
The Ministry has
announced two major changes recently that will expedite the process for first
time passport applicants as well as make it more convenient to secure an
appointment at local Passport Seva Kendras. As per the announcement, the
first time passport applicants who furnish Aadhaar Card, Electoral Photo
Identity Card (EPIC), PAN Card and an affidavit in the format of Annexure-I
will get faster service without payment of any additional fees, subject to
successful online validation of Aadhaar and EPIC and PAN Cards, if required
from the respective databases. The passports under this liberal dispensation
will be issued on Post-Police Verification basis.
The second measure
announced pertains to securing online Appointments for submission of passport applications
at Passport Seva Kendras. The new provision is allowing applicants to choose
any appointment date from the earliest five available dates (working days) for
scheduling/rescheduling an appointment for Passport related services. Earlier,
the System used to offer only one available date to the applicants for seeking
appointment for Passport related services.
No extra charge is levied for the services being rendered
due to above two announcements.
There was a
temporary shortage of passport booklets which created some backlog in issuance
of passports in December 2013 – February 2014 and April 2014-mid June 2014 due
to stoppage of production of booklets by ISP Nashik due to shortage of raw
material imported from abroad. However, there is no backlog in the
issuance of passports due to supply of passport booklets at the
present.
In view of increased demand for passports, the
Ministry is considering to further increase the number of PSKs and endeavoring
to open more PSKs in thickly populated district headquarters. With the
implementation of Passport Seva Project (PSP), the Ministry had established 77
Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in various States/Union Territories
initially. Subsequently, to provide more access points for passport services,
the Ministry decided to set up 19 additional Passport Seva Laghu Kendras
(PSLKs). Out of these 19 PSLKs, 10 have already started functioning in various
States and Union Territories till February 2016. The Ministry has also
initiated the process to engage an agency to conduct a comprehensive study for
Passport Seva Project Version 2.0 (PSP V2.0) including exploring the
possibility of opening more PSKs across the country. It may be stated
that the recommendations for the PSP V2.0 will be considered after expiry of
the current PSP Contract in June 2018
The number of passports issued during the
last three years, State-wise is given below:
|
State
|
2013
|
2014
|
2015
|
|
Andaman & Nicobar
|
3008
|
3560
|
4200
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
7,75,182
|
6,00,592
|
4,52,415
|
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
767
|
922
|
1,676
|
|
Assam
|
39,977
|
50,028
|
66,702
|
|
Bihar
|
1,69,454
|
2,56,492
|
3,65,631
|
|
Chandigarh
|
22,914
|
26,729
|
29,425
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
30,459
|
34,539
|
38,867
|
|
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
|
1,227
|
1,254
|
1,777
|
|
Daman and Diu
|
5,091
|
6,333
|
8,400
|
|
Delhi
|
3,14,955
|
3,42,310
|
3,84,119
|
|
Goa
|
48,373
|
47,185
|
51,586
|
|
Gujarat
|
4,61,409
|
5,48,591
|
7,46,856
|
|
Haryana
|
1,79,382
|
2,13,009
|
2,53,480
|
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
28,298
|
32,699
|
47,006
|
|
Jammu and Kashmir
|
86,660
|
86,095
|
1,13,184
|
|
Jharkhand
|
60,453
|
66,730
|
84,381
|
|
Karnataka
|
4,37,129
|
5,24,733
|
6,36,770
|
|
Kerala
|
9,47,532
|
10,60,148
|
11,44,138
|
|
Lakshadweep
|
1,503
|
1,488
|
1,706
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
1,02,745
|
1,43,309
|
1,64,625
|
|
Maharashtra
|
8,04,411
|
9,21,635
|
11,87,050
|
|
Manipur
|
4,248
|
4,915
|
5,451
|
|
Meghalaya
|
2,507
|
3,184
|
5,152
|
|
Mizoram
|
1,958
|
2,451
|
2,880
|
|
Nagaland
|
2,366
|
2,695
|
2,937
|
|
Odisha
|
81,412
|
94,477
|
1,08,131
|
|
Puducherry
|
20,113
|
20,699
|
21,658
|
|
Punjab
|
4,56,718
|
5,80,838
|
7,14,989
|
|
Rajasthan
|
2,02,340
|
2,50,747
|
3,11,050
|
|
Sikkim
|
1,662
|
4,468
|
5,354
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
8,16,190
|
9,35,894
|
10,08,132
|
|
Telangana
|
41
|
2,81,451
|
5,38,343
|
|
Tripura
|
7,083
|
14,737
|
22,251
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
6,08,670
|
8,46,594
|
13,36,917
|
|
Uttarakhand
|
47,996
|
72,202
|
85,385
|
|
West Bengal
|
3,28,485
|
3,88,837
|
5,85,752
|
|
PAN India
|
71,02,718
|
84,72,570
|
1,05,38376
|
Excluding Passport issued overseas and Diplomatic/Official passports issued directly by the Ministry.
The Minister of State for the External Affairs Gen.
Dr. V. K. Singh (Retd.) provided this information in reply to a question in Lok
Sabha today.
*****
Work Contract
As per information made available to this Ministry
by the Indian Missions/Posts in ten Middle East countries, including six GCC
countries, there is no general pattern to indicate an increase in complaints
against foreign employers by Indian workers in these countries. Details of
complaints received by the Indian Missions/posts in these countries during the
last three years are at Annexure-I. There has been no rise in the number of
complaints received against recruiting agents also, over the same period. The
details of complaints received against registered and unregistered recruiting
agents during the last three years are given in Annexure-II.
At present, the work contract is signed only in
English in all Middle East countries except United Arab Emirates (UAE). UAE
Government has recently approved providing the work contract in nine more
foreign languages, other than Arabic and English, which inter-alia includes
Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil & Bengali.
Steps taken by Government to sensitize the workers
regarding their rights abroad are as under:-
(i) As per the Rule 10(xiv) of
the Emigration Rules, 1983, the registered Recruiting Agents are inter-alia
mandated to provide details of employment, including contract conditions, to
the intending emigrants before recruitment.
(ii) The Ministry runs Awareness
Campaigns in print and electronic media from time to time to educate potential
emigrants about benefits or hazards of legal and illegal migration
respectively.
(iii) A 24X7 toll-free helpline viz.
Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) [No. 1XXX XX 3090] has been set up in
Gurgaon, Haryana, to enable emigrants & prospective emigrants to seek
information prior to travel and also file complaints against Recruiting Agents/Foreign
Employer, after/before emigrating.
(iv) UAE is one of the top destinations
for number of Indian workers going to Middle East countries. Additional
measures taken by the Indian Mission in UAE to create awareness among Indian
emigrants are at Annexure-III.
ANNEXURE - I
Number of complaints received
in the Indian Missions/Posts in ten Middle East countries, including six GCC
countries, during the last three years.
|
No.
|
Name
of Mission
|
2013
|
2014
|
2015
|
2016
(Upto
Feb/March 2016)
|
|
1.
|
Bahrain
|
820
|
821
|
833
|
92
|
|
2.
|
Iraq
|
-
|
18
|
301
|
50
|
|
3.
|
Jordan
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
03
|
Nil
|
|
4.
|
Kuwait
|
2443
|
3033
|
3493
|
414**
|
|
5.
|
Lebanon
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
|
6.
|
Qatar
|
3965
|
3943
|
4132
|
787#
|
|
7.
|
Oman
|
1748
|
1358
|
1097
|
330
|
|
8
|
UAE
|
1104
|
1718
|
1936
|
383
|
|
9.
|
Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia
|
2866
|
3732
|
2921
|
630
|
|
10.
|
Sudan
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
**upto January, 2016.
# upto 7.03.2016
ANNEXURE -II
Number of complaints received
against recruiting agents in the last three years
|
Year
|
No.
of complaints against registered Recruiting Agents
|
No.
of complaints against unregistered Recruiting Agents
|
|
2013
|
220
|
272
|
|
2014
|
170
|
170
|
|
2015
|
105
|
195
|
|
2016
(upto
29.02.2016)
|
25
|
15
|
(Source: Overseas Employment Division, MEA)
ANNEXURE-III
ADDITIONAL MEASURES TAKEN BY
INDIAN MISSION IN UAE TO CREATE AWARENESS AMONG INDIAN EMIGRANTS
1. A book on “Guidelines for
Indians” in UAE is uploaded on the website of the Embassy, which contains all
the relevant information to provide enough awareness to the workers regarding
assistance offered to them by the Government of India at the time of distress.
2. Apart from this, a series of
information, educative and preventive measures have been adopted in India and
UAE which are implemented by the Embassy.An “ Open House” for all Indian
Nationals to meet the concerned officials in the Embassy/Consulate without any
appointment between 10.00am - 12.00noon is held on all working days to address
their grievances.
3. Prior vetting &
attestation of employment documents, enforcement of Emigration Clearance at
point of entry, minimum reference wage for employment of various ECR categories
of Indian workers, including Indian female workers for whom minimum age for
recruitment has been prescribed as 30 years.
4. To ensure payment of dues and
proper treatment of ECR female workers, the Embassy/Consulate retain a
refundable security deposit of Dhs 9200 (approx US$ 2500) from foreign
employers. This security deposit is refunded only after confirmation of
payment of all the dues and safe exit of female worker from the UAE by the
mission.
5. Embassy/Consulate also runs a
shelter home offering temporary boarding/lodging to distressed Indian women
workers pending their repatriation to India. A 24X7 multilingual toll-free
helpline at the Indian Workers Resource Centre (IWRC) is in operation since
November 2010 for addressing grievances of the Indian workers which also offers
free initial legal, psychological and financial counselling to
distressed Indians and also organizes awareness campaigns at prominent labour
camps to educate the Indian workers. Grievances/complaints received from the
Indian workers are appropriately taken up on case-by-case basis with the
employers/local authorities for early redressal/resolution.
6. Since 2009, Indian Community
Welfare Fund (ICWF) has been funding several other welfare initiatives for
Indian emigrants, including offering short term food and accommodation
allowance, air-ticket at government cost for their repatriation to India,
including transportation of the mortal remains, initial legal assistance and
emergency medical help etc.
7. In addition to above,
officials from the Embassy/Consulate visit jails, hospitals, police stations,
immigration department and labour camps regularly to provide assistance in
deserving cases.
(Some of the other
Missions in the gulf countries are also taking similar measures to help Indian
emigrants in distress)
The Minister of State for the External Affairs Gen.
Dr. V. K. Singh (Retd.) provided this information in reply to a question in Lok
Sabha today.
*****
Change of Address in Passports
Address of the
passport holder is printed on the additional data page of the passport. This
page is laminated along with the primary data page containing the photo, name
and other personal particulars of the passport holder, using a laminate paper
with high security features. Change in address of the passport holder thus
necessitates reprinting of the passport.
Application for change in address of the passport holder is processed in the same way, an application for reissue of a passport is processed including verification of address proof for new address; entry of the changed address data in the passport database; and, printing and issue of the new passport with changed address. The cost of the new passport booklet also remains the same. Hence, full fee is charged for change in address.
During the calendar year 2015, 6,31,870 applications for change of address were successfully processed and new passports issued. During the year 2016 till date, 1,34,813 applications for change of address were successfully processed.
The Minister of State for the External Affairs Gen. Dr. V. K. Singh (Retd.) provided this information in reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Application for change in address of the passport holder is processed in the same way, an application for reissue of a passport is processed including verification of address proof for new address; entry of the changed address data in the passport database; and, printing and issue of the new passport with changed address. The cost of the new passport booklet also remains the same. Hence, full fee is charged for change in address.
During the calendar year 2015, 6,31,870 applications for change of address were successfully processed and new passports issued. During the year 2016 till date, 1,34,813 applications for change of address were successfully processed.
The Minister of State for the External Affairs Gen. Dr. V. K. Singh (Retd.) provided this information in reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
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