World's most powerful passports 2024: 6 countries in top spot; India at 80th spot, Maldives 58, China 62, Pak 101

News Network
January 11, 2024

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France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain start 2024 with the world's most powerful passport, allowing visa-free entry to 194 global destinations, according to the latest Henley Passport Index. The ranking is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

India, meanwhile, held on to its previous year’s ranking of 80. Those holding an Indian passport have visa-free access to 62 destinations.

Ranking low on the index are Pakistan (101), Iraq (102), Syria (103) and Afghanistan (104).

Other neighbours of India were ranked as follows: Maldives (#58), China (#62), Bhutan (#87), Myanmar (#92), Sri Lanka (#96), Bangladesh (#97), and Nepal (#98).

The Henley Passport Index for 2024, curated by Henley & Partners, was released this week and ranks different passports according to the number of destinations their holders can visit without a prior visa or can avail of a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) on entering the destination. 

The rankings are based on the analysis of data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It then provides a ‘Visa-free score’ which, essentially, is the number of destinations that the holders of that particular passport can travel to without a prior visa or can avail of a visa on arrival or other similar permits.

For instance, those holding the passports of the countries in the #1 spot had access to 194 visa-free destinations while those holding the Afghanistan passport ranked last at #104, had visa-free access to only 28 of them.

As per the latest rankings, Finland, Sweden and South Korea shared the second rank, while Austria, Denmark, Ireland and Netherlands occupied the third spot.

The United States was ranked at number 7 along with Canada and Hungary. The United Kingdom passport fared better at spot number 4, which it shared with Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway and Portugal. In the Middle East, the UAE ranked the highest at #11.

Israel ranked at #21 while Russia took the 51st spot.

World’s 10 most powerful passports:

  1. France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain (Score: 194)
  2. Finland, South Korea, Sweden (Score: 193)
  3. Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands (Score: 192)
  4. Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom (Score: 191)
  5. Greece, Malta, Switzerland (Score: 190)
  6. Australia, Czechia, New Zealand, Poland (Score: 189)
  7. Canada, Hungary, United States (Score: 188)
  8. Estonia, Lithuania (Score: 187)
  9. Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia (Score: 186)
  10. Iceland (Score: 1)185

World’s 10 least powerful passports:

  1. Iran, Lebanon, Nigeria, Sudan (Score: 45)
  2. Eritrea, Sri Lanka (Score: 43)
  3. Bangladesh, North Korea (Score: 42)
  4. Libya, Nepal, Palestinian Territory (Score: 40)
  5. Somalia (Score: 36)
  6. Yemen (Score: 35)
  7. Pakistan ( (Score: 34)
  8. Iraq (Score: 31)
  9. Syria (Score: 29)
  10. Afghanistan (Score: 28)

The Henley Passport Index is an annual list put together by Henley & Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm. It claims to be the “original ranking of all the world’s passports”. The index covers 227 destinations and 199 passports.

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News Network
December 17,2025

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Melkar, Dec 17: The 17th Annual Day and Graduation Ceremony of Melkar Women’s PU and Degree College, themed “Fusion-2K25,” was celebrated with dignity and enthusiasm, marking a significant milestone in the institution’s academic journey. The programme reflected the college’s steadfast commitment to academic excellence, character building, and the holistic development of students.

The event was inaugurated by Mr. Asif Mohammed, whose presence greatly enriched the occasion. The celebration was further graced by the chief guests Mr. P. B. Ahmed Mudassir and Mr. Nissar Fakeer Mohammed, along with the distinguished guests of honour Mr. B. A. Nazeer and Mr. Ibrahim Gadiyar. In their inspiring addresses, the guests encouraged the graduating students and appreciated the dedicated efforts of the management, faculty, and students.

The annual report was presented by the Principal, Mr. Abdul Majeed S, highlighting the institution’s academic progress, notable achievements, and extracurricular accomplishments during the academic year.

The presidential address was delivered by the esteemed Chairman of Melkar Women’s PU and Degree College, Dr. Haji S. M. Rasheed, who emphasized the vital role of education in empowering women and shaping responsible citizens. He also stressed the importance of discipline, dedication, and perseverance in achieving success.

Cultural programmes and academic recognitions formed an integral part of the celebration, showcasing the talents and achievements of the students. The graduation ceremony was a proud moment for the outgoing students as they were formally conferred degrees and wished success in their future endeavours.

Ms. Mashmooma Fathima served as the Master of Ceremonies. The welcome address was delivered by Ms. Fathima Nida, and the programme concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Ms. Ayisha Suhana.

The event successfully achieved its objectives and was highly appreciated by the guests and attendees.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 5,2025

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New Delhi, Dec 5: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology this evening after more than a thousand flights were cancelled today, making it the "most severely impacted day" in terms of cancellations. The biggest airline of the country cancelled "more than half" of its daily number of flights on Friday, said Elbers. He also said that even though the crisis will persist on Saturday, the airline anticipates fewer than 1,000 flight cancellations.

"Full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though IndiGo cautions that recovery will take time due to the scale of operations," the IndiGo CEO said. 

IndiGo operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily.

Pieter Elbers, while apologising for the major inconvenience due to delays and cancellations, said the situation is a result of various causes.

The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and allow only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to "misjudgment and planning gaps".

Elbers also listed three lines of action that the airline will adopt to address the issue.

"Firstly, customer communication and addressing your needs, for this, messages have been sent on social media. And just now, a more detailed communication with information, refunds, cancellations and other customer support measures was sent," he said.

The airline has also stepped up its call centre capacity.

"Secondly, due to yesterday's situation, we had customers stranded mostly at the nation's largest airports. Our focus was for all of them to be able to travel today itself, which will be achieved. For this, we also ask customers whose flights are cancelled not to come to the airports as notifications are sent," the CEO said.

"Thirdly, cancellations were made for today to align our crew and planes to be where they need to start tomorrow morning afresh. Earlier measures of the last few days, regrettable, have proven not to be enough, but we have decided today to reboot all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest numbers of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting from tomorrow," he added.

As airports witnessed chaotic scenes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to grant IndiGo a temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots. It also allowed substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said a high-level inquiry will be ordered and accountability will be fixed.

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