New Delhi, June 9: Government sources and foreign policy experts on Monday debunked certain reports and claims made by some opposition leaders about a Saudi Arabia visa halt restricting travellers from 14 countries, including India, asserting that the temporary decision would not affect the sturdy relationship between both nations.

Saudi Arabia’s decision to temporarily halt Umrah, business, and family visit visas for 14 countries, including India, from April to June 2025 to manage the massive Haj crowds and ensure safety, was even labelled as a “steady collapse of India’s foreign policy” by some opposition leaders.

However, government sources have made it clear that the suspension is a result of logistical, not political, compulsions as restrictions have been imposed on granting short-term visas to avoid overcrowding during the Haj season.

Nationals of Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen holding or applying for a Saudi visit visa for business, tourism and family visits cannot enter Saudi Arabia until a temporary entry restriction is over, which could last until the end of June when the Haj season is expected to end. This latest measure follows additional restrictions introduced in February 2025, which limits one-year multiple-entry visas for business, tourism, and family visits for the same group of nationalities.

Saudi authorities, which strictly controls Haj, have stated that multiple-entry visas were being misused. Some travellers entered the country on long-term visas but remained illegally for work or performed Haj without proper authorization.

The over-crowding has also become a serious issue due to unauthorised pilgrims using long-term visit visas to bypass restrictions. This issue became particularly alarming in June 2024 when over 1300 pilgrims died due to overcrowding and extreme heat as temperatures exceeded 50 degree Celsius. Saudi authorities believe unregistered pilgrims significantly contributed to the crisis, necessitating tighter visa regulations. By restricting travel to single-entry visas, the Saudi government aims to ensure that only authorized pilgrims perform Haj, reducing risks associated with unregulated attendance.

Saudi Arabia has called this suspension a temporary measure, but no timeline has been provided for a review. The Saudi government will monitor the impact before making further decisions.

Despite such temporary restrictions, the Saudi government remains focused on expanding tourism with India under the Vision 2030 initiative. The bilateral trade between the two countries touched USD $43.36 billion in FY-2023-24. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country last month, India and Saudi Arabia signed USD $100 billion worth of agreements in energy, infrastructure, security, and innovation sectors, strengthening bilateral trade and investment relations.

India’s fifth-largest trading partner, Saudi Arabia continues to align its economic priorities amidst global market turbulence and energy realignments.

Highlighting India’s rising global stature, experts also point out the country’s emergence as a “Vishwa Bandhu” in a divided world.

They recalled that India’s G20 Presidency in November 2023 was a reflection, recommitment and rejuvenation of the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ or ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’. Under its Presidency, India sought to offer the world an alternative to the status quo, a shift from a GDP-centric to human-centric progress.

PM Modi has stated that India’s growing profile is due to its cultural image, growing capabilities, and foreign policy.

On the other hand, Beijing and Islamabad’s repeated attempts to seize opportunity to reassert their self-assigned roles have been rejected by the international community, time and again.

Pakistan’s desperate efforts to include strong anti-India references on Kashmir at the 19th Conference of the Parliamentary Union of OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) Member States in Jakarta last month also failed miserably.

In the following weeks, India’s Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach, for the first time in independent India’s history, delivered a clear message to Pakistan that its support for cross-border terrorism would no longer be tolerated and would be met with a strong military response.

The visits were marked by high-level engagements as several top leaders across the world backed India’s resolute commitment to the policy of zero tolerance on the issue of cross-border terrorism.

Kolkata, June 9: A single-judge vacation bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Monday, refused to conduct an urgent hearing of the petition challenging the May 30 notification of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSCS) to fill vacant posts of teachers in state-run schools.

The vacancies were created following the cancellation of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching jobs by the Supreme Court in April this year.

The petition was filed claiming that in the fresh notification, WBSSC has brought some major changes in the recruitment norms existing in 2016. The entire panel of 2016 was cancelled first by the Calcutta High Court last year, and then by the Supreme Court in April this year.

However, the single-judge vacation bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya observed that there is no necessity for an urgent hearing in the matter, and for the time being, the recruitment process should continue as it is.

However, he observed that the court will look into the matter if any complications arise in the due course. The matter will come up for hearing again in July after the summer vacation.

The main ground on which the notification was challenged was that the weightage criteria in the distribution of total marks were changed from what was followed in 2016.

As per the new notification issued last week, the written examination in the fresh recruitment process will carry 60 marks, as against 55 for the 2016 panel.

Secondly, the weightage criterion for educational qualification in the fresh recruitment process is just 10 as against 35 for the 2016 panel.

Most importantly, two new weightage criteria, each carrying 10 marks, ‘past teaching experience’ and ‘lecture demonstration’, have been introduced in the new recruitment process.

In the petition, it was contended that while the two new weightage criteria were introduced to give an advantage to the teachers from the 2016 panel, who lost their jobs, at the same time, the changed criteria will be disadvantageous for the fresher candidates.

On April 3 this year, the Supreme Court’s division bench of erstwhile Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a previous order by the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi cancelling 25,753 school jobs in West Bengal.

The apex court also accepted the observation of the Calcutta High Court that the entire panel of 25,753 candidates had to be cancelled because of the failure of the state government and the commission to segregate the “untainted” candidates from the “tainted” ones.

The state government and WBSSC had already filed review petitions in the apex court on this issue.

Ahmedabad, June 9: A high-level delegation from Gujarat, led by State Sports Minister Harsh Sanghavi, on Monday, held a series of key meetings in London aimed at forging new partnerships in sports, health and infrastructure.

The delegation met with Catherine West, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, to discuss collaboration opportunities.

The Gujarat delegation extended an invitation to Catherine West to visit the state to further strengthen the UK–Gujarat ties.

During a detailed session with officials from Loughborough University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, the team explored four specific collaboration areas: academic sports curriculum development with faculty and student exchange, training of sports coaches, sports event management, and podium strategies for selected disciplines.

The possibility of Loughborough University establishing a city campus in Ahmedabad was also discussed.

To gain insights into the infrastructure side, the delegation visited iconic venues such as the O2 Arena and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The focus was on studying multi-use sports facility models and the growing “concert economy”, exploring how live music events can drive local economic growth.

Sustainability in stadium design and operations was another key area of interest.

Meanwhile, speculations about Ahmedabad potentially hosting the Olympics in the future have been gaining traction in recent years, especially after the city was chosen to host the 2036 National Games and with India officially bidding for the 2036 Summer Olympics.

The Narendra Modi Stadium — the world’s largest cricket stadium — and the development of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave have positioned Ahmedabad as a serious contender for the mega sporting event.

Government officials and sports authorities have hinted at the city being the centerpiece of India’s Olympic aspirations, citing its infrastructure readiness, international connectivity, and the Central government’s backing.

If selected, Ahmedabad could become the first Indian city to host the Olympics, marking a major milestone in the country’s sporting and urban development history.

However, the final decision rests with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the competition remains stiff with several other countries in the fray.