The Government of India has made the rules of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act i.e. FCRA more stringent. After the new FCRA rules, the government’s surveillance on NGOs and institutions receiving foreign funding will become stronger than before. The government will now track these funds from their source to their use. According to the notification issued by the Union Home Ministry, there has been a huge increase in the amount of fine to be collected from NGOs and institutions for violating the rules. It has also been made clear in the notification that these organizations cannot use the funding received from foreign countries for activities related to religious conversion.
The estimated number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across the country is more than 33 lakh. At the same time, a total of 579403 NGOs are registered on the NGO-DARPAN portal of NITI Aayog. These registered NGOs get all the benefits of grants and taxes from the government. There are approximately 14,460 NGOs which have a license to collect foreign funds. From 2010 till now, about 52,000 NGOs and institutions had licenses to collect foreign funds. But till Wednesday i.e. June 23, the registrations of about 37,700 of these NGOs were canceled or their deadline had expired.
Headlines
- It is necessary to mention in FCRA registration for what purposes the foreign funds are going to be used.
- It is necessary to provide information about the state and union territory in which the work is to be done.
- Minimum usage has been a condition for decisions to renew or cancel registration.
- Government draws clear line between ‘faith-based’ and proselytizing activities
Why the difference between estimated NGOs and NITI Aayog figures?
There is a huge difference between the figures of NITI Aayog’s NGO-DARPAN portal and the estimated number of NGOs across the country. Actually, there are many reasons behind this. Many NGOs are registered at the state level but not on ‘NGO Darpan’. Some NGOs have become inactive, but there is no update process regarding this. In such a situation, there is a huge difference between the estimated and the number of NGOs on the NGO-DARPAN portal.
You will have to choose your work from the government list only.
The Union Home Ministry issued two notifications regarding the new FCRA rules. The first notification would have brought changes in the ‘Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011’. Now it will be necessary to mention in every FCRA registration for what purposes the foreign funds are going to be used. Also, in which state and union territory this work is to be done. Also, now organizations will have to choose their activities from the list of 105 works decided by the government.
Ban on registration of NGOs whose management positions are held by foreign nationals.
Already FCRA-registered NGOs have been given one year’s time. During this time they will have to give information about their work and areas. If they want to increase the scope of their work, then separate approval will have to be taken for this. According to the notification, the scope of chief officials of NGOs has also been expanded. NGOs that have foreign nationals in key management positions are generally barred from getting registration or prior approval.
10 lakhs will have to be spent in 2 years to renew registration
The condition of minimum usage has been kept for the decisions of renewing or canceling the registration. The NGO will have to spend Rs 10 lakh in two consecutive financial years to prove its legitimate activities. The conditions for releasing the next installment of foreign funds have been tightened. It has been made mandatory to provide activity report, social media account information and information about the actual donor in the annual return.
Compounding penalty will be imposed for violation of rules
At the same time, the second notification of the government in this matter is about the penalty to be imposed for violating the rules. Now, if the NGO does not follow the prescribed rules, then compounding penalty will be imposed on it. These violations include excessive administrative costs, speculative investments, misappropriation of foreign funds, and use of foreign funds outside their intended purpose or jurisdiction.
It is not good if foreign funds are used on activities related to religious conversion.
According to the new rules of FCRA, NGOs cannot use foreign donations for activities related to religious conversion. A clear line has been drawn by the government between ‘faith-based’ and proselytizing activities. The NGO will have the right to use these funds to organize events like puja, prayer meetings and spiritual programs. But this cannot be done to promote religious conversion.
How were the 2011 rules different from the new FCRA rules?
Under the 2011 FCRA rules, NGOs were required to describe themselves as engaged in religious, cultural, educational, economic or social activities and provide information about their programs. Under the new rules, they will have to choose from a list of government approved activities and link the registration to those specific purposes. Apart from this, earlier NGOs used to indicate the areas of their work, but the registration itself was not linked to any particular state or union territory. Apart from this, many types of religious activities were recognized in the rules of 2011, but there was no clear mention of religious conversion in them.
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