Chandigarh, Nov. 4 -- The Haryana cabinet approved the Haryana Registration and Regulation of Travel Agents Rules, 2026, under the Haryana Registration and Regulation of Travel Agents Act, 2025-a move aimed at safeguarding the state's youth from fraudulent travel agents, illegal overseas recruitment, and human trafficking. The primary objective of these rules is to safeguard the state's youth against unlawful activities, such as the "donkey route", while ensuring transparency and accountability in the travel agency business. An official spokesperson said the Haryana government is set to introduce an effective regulatory mechanism to protect the state's youth from unscrupulous individuals who deceive them with promises of overseas employment, better career prospects and facilitate illegal migration abroad. Under the new rules, registration will be mandatory for all new and existing travel agents operating in the state, while separate registration will be required for every new office or branch. A separate registration will be mandatory for each service category, including passport services, tour and travel agency services, study visa consultancy and ticketing services. To ensure financial accountability, a registration fee of Rs.5,000 has been prescribed for each service category. Police verification of every applicant will be mandatory before registration to ensure proper background checks of individuals engaged in the business. The spokesperson said upon receipt of the police verification report, the competent authority will issue the registration certificate within 30 days and it will be valid for three years. The travel agents will be issued digital registration certificates equipped with QR codes. Citizens will be able to scan these codes to verify the authenticity and validity of the concerned agent's registration. District-wise lists of registered travel agents, along with their registration certificates, will be made available on the Antyodaya SARAL portal as well as the official websites of the home and police department. Every registered travel agent will be required to display the registration number and the dates of issuance and expiry of the registration certificate both inside and outside their office. "These rules will bring greater transparency to the functioning of travel agents and help protect young people from illegal overseas recruitment, human trafficking and other unlawful activities," the spokesperson said....