India's Haj quota increases by 10000

India's Haj quota has been increased by 10,000 from this year by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, taking the total figure to 170, 000. The increase in quota would be distributed proportionately among all the states and Union Territories in the country, depending on the Muslims population in every state, said an official statement issued by India's External Affairs Ministry. India had asked for an increase of 40,000 seats, however only one-fourth could be approved by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Haj. The request to increase the Haj quota was made in March this year, when India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna met Saudi Arabia's Minister of Haj Fouad Al-Farsy in Jeddah. "The entire lot of these 10,000 seats have been transferred to Haj Committee of Indiaa," the statement said and added: "The seats will be distributed to the states/Union Territories that have received applications in excess of the originally allotted quota on the basis of the proportionate Muslim population of the state/Union Territories concerned."