JANASENA Posted July 8, 2015 Report Posted July 8, 2015 The Haj subsidy is a subsidy given to Indian Muslim Hajj pilgrims by the Government of India. The program has its origins in British colonial era. In post-colonial era, the Nehru government expanded the program in 1959 with the Hajj Act. The subsidy and taxpayer funded arrangements initially applied to Muslim Indian pilgrims travelling for religious reasons to Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan. Since 1973, pilgrims applying through the Haj Committee of India are offered a concessionary fare on Air India. Since 2000, over 1.5 million Muslims have used the subsidy; since 2008, over 120,000 Indian Muslim every year make use of the subsidy. The Hajj subsidy includes an airfare subsidy as well as assistance to Muslim pilgrims for domestic travel to reach specially designed Haj departure airport terminals, meal, medical care and lodging assistance provided by the Government of India.[6][7] The average airfare subsidy was about ₹73526 (US$1,200) per Muslim pilgrim in 2008; while the average non-airfare financial assistance was ₹2697 (US$43) per pilgrim. The total subsidy provided by the Government of India was US$1,815 ( approx Rs One Lakh Fifteen Thousand by current rate ) per Muslim pilgrim in 2008. In May 2012, the Supreme Court of India ordered the government to end the practice by 2022.
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