New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday questioned the Narendra Modi-led Central government’s claims of enhancing India’s global stature, alleging that official data on passport rankings, tourism and visa services presents a different picture.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2018 statement that Indians travelling and living abroad were witnessing the “respect and strength” of the Indian passport, Kharge asked where those claims stand today, asserting that available data contradicts the government’s narrative.
Citing global passport indices, Kharge claimed that India’s position had slipped from 74th in 2013 to 80th in one international passport ranking as of June 2026, while another global index ranked the country at 125th.
The Congress chief also alleged that instead of improving passport services, the government had increased passport fees from ₹1,500 to ₹2,500, while the Tatkal passport fee had risen to ₹5,000.
On tourism, Kharge claimed that foreign tourist arrivals had not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. He said the number of foreign visitors had declined from 10.93 million in 2019 to 9.95 million in 2024, and questioned whether the government was including Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in tourism figures to mask the decline.
Kharge also criticised India’s online visa application system, calling it outdated and saying it did not reflect the country’s “Atithi Devo Bhava” ethos.
“If the passport is weaker, tourism has not fully recovered, visa services remain sluggish and citizens are paying more for basic services, then where is this much-publicised global respect?” Kharge asked.
He further alleged that the Modi government’s policies had weakened India’s global image and called for greater transparency in presenting official data related to international rankings and public services.
