NGOs Foreign Funding

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, (FCRA), 2010 and rules framed under it regulate foreign contribution provided by certain individuals or associations to NGOs and others within India.
The objective is to prevent use of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activity detrimental to the national interest.
Under the Act, all societies, companies, associations and NGOs have to fulfil definite criteria to be eligible for foreign funds.
The government has used the act over the years to freeze bank accounts of certain NGOs who it found were affecting India’s national interest for wrong purposes.
According to Section 3(1) of the FCRA, no foreign contribution shall be accepted by any
- candidate for election;
- correspondent, columnist, cartoonist, editor, owner, printer or publisher of a registered newspaper;
- Judge, Government servant or employee of any corporation or any other body controlled or owned by the Government;
- member of any Legislature;
- political party or office-bearer thereof;
- organisation of a political nature;
- association or company engaged in the production or broadcast of audio news or audio visual news or current affairs programmes through any electronic mode, or any other electronic form as defined in section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 or any other mode of mass communication;

In 2020, the Union Home Ministry has suspended the license of six NGOs under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.
An FCRA licence is mandatory for a non-profit organisation to receive foreign funds.
As of now, there are 22,457 NGOs or associations registered under the FCRA, while the licenses of 20,674 were cancelled and 6,702 are deemed to have expired.

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