The Haj Committee of India (HCI) received 4,48,266 applications for the pilgrimage this year and 1,23,700 of them were considered, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
The HCI is a statutory body of the Indian government which organises pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia.
The committee received the maximum number of applications from Kerala (95,236). It got 57,246 applications from Maharashtra, 57,225 from Gujarat and 51,375 from Uttar Pradesh, Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said while replying to a question.
India has a Haj quota of 1,70,025. Of this, 1,25,05 pilgrims travel through the HCI. The remaining devotees undertake the annual pilgrimage through private tour operators.
