Haj pilgrimage became three to four times more expensive due to Iran war, many countries launched subsidy schemes

Desk: The effect of the current international situation and rising inflation is now clearly visible from the lives of common people to religious pilgrimages. This year, the pilgrims going on Haj pilgrimage have suffered a big financial blow. Due to America-Israel’s war with Iran, the cost of Haj pilgrimage has increased even more than before.

According to a report released by Semaphore on Wednesday (May 20), due to reduced capacity of flights across the Persian Gulf and disruption in supply routes, prices of travel packages have increased by three or four times even before the start of the journey. Let us tell you that in view of this annual journey to Mecca, the governments of many countries including Indonesia, Pakistan and Malaysia have started subsidy schemes to help in reducing the increased expenses for the pilgrims.

Talking about the per capita expenditure for Haj pilgrimage in the last 3 years, the average per capita expenditure in 2023 was Rs 3.25 lakh, which increased to Rs 3.35 lakh in 2024. The average per capita expenditure in 2025 was Rs 3.40 lakh and now in the year 2026 it has increased to more than Rs 3.74 lakh.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs, as the nodal ministry for Haj in India, has made extensive arrangements for Haj pilgrims in coordination with the Haj Committee of India, other Central Ministries, State Governments and Saudi authorities. The aim of these efforts is to ensure smooth logistics arrangements and better facilities at the ground level for Haj pilgrims.