Congress attacked Centre over India’s falling global passport ranking.
Mallikarjun Kharge said passport fees rose despite weaker travel access.
India ranks 125th in Global Passport Index 2026 and 80th in Henley.
The Congress on Monday attacked the Narendra Modi government over the reported decline in the global ranking of the Indian passport, alleging that the Centre’s policies have weakened India’s international standing and failed to deliver on promises of enhancing the country’s global reputation.
In a social media post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2018 assertion that Indians travelling abroad had witnessed the growing "respect and strength" of the Indian passport.
“Where is that ‘strength’ reflected? Facts bely his assertions,” Kharge said.
Citing international rankings, the Congress claimed that India had slipped from 74th place in 2013 to 80th in June 2026 in global passport ranking (World Economic Forum), while another index by Global Citizen Solutions placed the country at 125th in 2026.
Commenting on the Centre's decision to revise passport application fees with effect from 1 July 2026, Kharge alleged that passport services had become costlier under the Modi government. The fee for a standard passport had increased from ₹1,500 to ₹2,500, while Tatkal charges had risen to ₹5,000.
Turning to tourism, the Congress chief said foreign tourist arrivals had yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels, falling from 10.93 million in 2019 to 9.95 million in 2024. It questioned whether the government was masking the shortfall by combining Non-Resident Indian (NRI) arrivals with foreign tourist data.
Kharge further criticised the government's official visa application portal, describing it as outdated and difficult to use despite India's long-standing "Atithi Devo Bhava" campaign to promote tourism.
“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 added.
What The Rankings Show
The Global Passport Index by Global Citizen Solutions, assesses passport strength on a wider set of parameters than traditional mobility-based rankings such as the Henley Passport Index.
Rather than focusing solely on the number of destinations accessible without a visa, it evaluates passports using broader indicators, including global mobility and quality of life.
India’s Position
In the Global Passport Index 2026, India is ranked 125th among 200 countries. While its mobility ranking stands at around 135th, its quality of life ranking is 118th, indicating that other countries have expanded international travel access at a faster pace.
Separately, India has also slipped in the latest Henley Passport Index, falling to 80th place in July 2026. Indian passport holders currently enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 56 destinations. European countries continue to dominate the global rankings. Nine of the world's 10 strongest passports belong to European countries.
