Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday questioned the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Central Government’s claims of enhancing India’s global standing, alleging that official data on passport rankings, tourism and visa services painted a different picture.
Referring to PM Modi’s 2018 statement that Indians travelling and living abroad were witnessing the “respect and strength” of the Indian passport, Kharge asked where that claim was reflected today.
“The facts belie his assertions,” Kharge said.
Citing international passport rankings, the Congress chief claimed that India had slipped from 74th position in 2013 to 80th in June 2026 in one global passport index. He also referred to another global ranking that placed India at 125th in 2026.
Kharge further alleged that instead of improving passport services, the government had increased the cost of obtaining passports. He claimed that passport fee had risen from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500, while Tatkal charges had increased to Rs 5,000.
On tourism, Kharge said foreign tourist arrivals had still not returned to pre-pandemic levels. According to him, arrivals declined from 10.93 million in 2019 to 9.95 million in 2024. He also questioned whether the government was masking the shortfall by combining Non-Resident Indian (NRI) arrivals with foreign tourist data.
The Congress president also criticised India’s online visa application system, describing it as outdated and saying it did not reflect the country’s “Atithi Devo Bhava” ethos.
“If the passport is weaker, tourism has not recovered, visa services are lacklustre and citizens are paying more for substandard services, then where exactly is this much-advertised global respect?” Kharge said.
He alleged that the Modi government’s policies had damaged India’s global reputation.
