Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 | |
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Parliament of India | |
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Passed by | Rajya Sabha |
Passed | 19 August 2010 |
Passed by | Lok Sabha |
Passed | 27 August 2010 |
Assented to | 26 September 2010 |
Commenced | 1 May 2011 |
Legislative history | |
First chamber: Rajya Sabha | |
Introduced | 18 December 2006 |
Committee report | Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs One hundred and thirty fourth report on The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006 |
Amended by | |
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020 | |
Status: Amended |
The Foreign Contribution (regulation) Act, 2010 is an act of the Parliament of India, by the 42nd Act of 2010. It is a consolidating act whose scope is to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies and to prohibit acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. [1] It is designed to correct shortfalls in the predecessor act of 1976. The bill received presidential assent on 26 September 2010.
The Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah introduced the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020, which made several changes to the existing Act, including making it mandatory for office bearers of any non-governmental organisation (NGO) to provide their Aadhaar numbers. It also gives the government the power to hold a "summary enquiry" to prevent an organization from using foreign funds. These changes were intended to increase transparency regarding the use of foreign money for non-governmental organisations. [2] [3]
The Bill was unanimously passed by the Lok Sabha on 21 September 2020. The Rajya Sabha unanimously passed the bill on 23 September 2020.
The Centre has also omitted provision ‘b’ in rule 13, which dealt with declaring foreign funds including details of donors, amount received, and date of receipt every quarter on its website. Now only once a year the organizations in FCRA can file the audited balance sheet in the website of the Ministry or also on their own website. [4]
A number of NGOs receiving foreign funding are seen by the India's central government as involved in anti-development activism and hence posing a negative impact on the economic growth by two to three per cent. An Intelligence Bureau report titled 'Impact of NGOs on Development,’ claims the NGOs and their international donors are also planning to target many fresh economic development projects. [5]
Home ministry has cancelled some more registrations including top 8 national educational institutions such as –Jawaharlal Nehru University, IIT-Kanpur and Jamia Milia Islamia saying that these institutes are not maintaining proper FCRA account. [6] So, unless their registrations are restored, these institutions cannot receive contributions from abroad.Later the FCRA status of Jamia Milia Islamia was restored in September 2012 following the submission of its report to the government. [7] The Ministry of Home Affairs has since clarified that Jamia is exempt from all provisions of the FCRA and therefore there is no bar on Jamia to receive/spend foreign contributions. [8]
The Union Home Ministry has cancelled renewal of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licences of Greenpeace India and two NGOs run by activist Teesta Setalvad who is an Indian civil rights activist and journalist. Greenpeace has been charged with obstructing development activities in India by the Government of India in 2013 (Under congress led UPA government) after intelligence Bureau inputs. Greenpeace India is charged with undertaking protests against thermal power, nuclear power, coal and aluminium mining across the India. GreenPeace has also been charged with promoting Solar energy equipment of US based Zemlin Surface Optical Corporation especially in Bihar. [9] Greenpeace India admitted to anchoring local protests against coal mines and participating in seminars where foreign funding is sought for protests but clarified that the source of funding does not lessen the seriousness of harm to the environment. [10] According to IB (Intelligence Bureau) report, Greenpeace poses threat to national economic security, growing exponentially in reach, impact, volunteers and media influence. [11]
Teesta Setalvad is the secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), an organisation which lays its agenda as fighting for justice for the victims of communal violence in the state of Gujarat in 2002. CJP is a co-petitioner seeking a criminal trial of Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat and the current Prime minister of India, and sixty-two other politicians and government officials for complicity in the Gujarat violence of 2002 and whose names did not figure in any of the FIRs /charge sheets that formed the subject matter of the various Session Trials regarding the riots at that point of time. However, the actions against Greenpeace were initiated in 2013 based on a report issued by IB during UPA rule led by Congress party which is an arch political rival of Narendra Modi.
In September 2015, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) cancelled the FCRA registration of Greenpeace India, making impossible any foreign donation to Greenpeace India. The measure was said to have been executed on the grounds of "prejudicially affecting the public interest and economic interest of the state". [12]
Recently, another NGO Compassion International had to shut down India operations after the government refused permission to accept foreign funding. [13] Earlier, Compassion International was put on the "watch list" by the Home Ministry amid reports by security agencies that it was funding unregistered Indian NGOs which were accused of encouraging religious conversions. The Obama administration as well as the Trump administration pursued the case in the highest level amid the risk of a diplomatic tussle. [14]
At the 2017 "peer review" by the UN Human Rights Council held at Geneva, Indian government faced tough questioning by fellow nations. The attack on the FCRA act came from nearly a dozen countries, mostly from Europe. The charge was led by the U.S. and Germany, who called the Act and the government's actions "arbitrary". [15]
On 29 September 2020, human rights watchdog Amnesty International declared that it was wrapping up its Indian operations and shutting offices due to a 'complete freeze' on its finances by the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government after the FCRA was amended earlier that month. [16]
CBI has initiated a raid against FCRA officials and NGOs involved in series of scams to facilitate clearances of files and also those who demand money upon receiving foreign funds. While the Home Ministry [17] plans to overhaul the entire FCRA division, CBI has started questioning multiple officers with suspicion that there could be many within the Home Ministry involved in these scams carried out by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
Narendra Damodardas Modi is an Indian politician serving as the current Prime Minister of India since 26 May 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the longest-serving prime minister outside the Indian National Congress.
Teesta Setalvad is an Indian civil rights activist and journalist. She is the secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), an organisation formed to advocate for the victims of 2002 Gujarat riots.
The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was established on 21 June 1991. The foundation works on a range of issues including development of knowledge, health, disability, authorization of the destitute, livelihoods and natural resource management. Its current focus areas are community welfare, literacy, health and special programmes for children and women. All donations to the foundation are tax deductible to the extent of 50 percent under section 80G of the Income Tax Act.
Indira Jaising is an Indian lawyer and activist. Jaising also runs Lawyers' Collective, a non-governmental organization (NGO), the license of which was permanently cancelled by the Home Ministry for alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act in 2019. The Bombay High Court later passed an order to de-freeze NGO's domestic accounts. The case is ongoing in the Supreme Court of India.
The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) is an Act of the Parliament of India "to consolidate and amend the law relating to foreign exchange with the objective of facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India". It was passed on 29 December 1999 in parliament, replacing the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA). This act makes offences related to foreign exchange civil offenses. It extends to the whole of India, replacing FERA, which had become incompatible with the pro-liberalization policies of the Government of India. It enabled a new foreign exchange management regime consistent with the emerging framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It also paved the way for the introduction of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, which came into effect on 1 July 2005.
Throughout its history, the policies and objectives of the non-governmental environmental protection and conservation organization Greenpeace have been criticized by a number of groups, including national governments, members of industry, former Greenpeace members, scientists, political groups, and other environmentalists. The organization's methods, such as the use of direct action, have also led to controversy and legal action.
Indian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can be set up under various Indian laws.
The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is an Indian think tank focusing on public policy. Established in 1973 and located in New Delhi, it is one of the national social science research institutes recognized by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).
Aadhaar is a twelve-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by all residents of India, based on their biometrics and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a statutory authority established in January 2016 by the Government of India, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, following the provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016.
AR Rahman Foundation is a non-profit organization registered under FCRA. It was started in 2009 by Indian musician A R Rahman to raise funds for disaster relief and to provide education for poor children in India. Khatija Rahman is the director of this foundation.
The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) is a not for profit public private initiative working towards a healthier India. A national consultation, convened by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in September 2004, recommended a foundation which could rapidly advance public health education, training, research and advocacy.
Lawyers Collective was a non-governmental organization in India which promotes human rights, especially on issues relating to women's rights, HIV, tobacco, LGBT and parliamentary corruption in India. On 1 June 2016, Govt of India suspended the registration of the NGO under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA) for alleged violation of FCRA norms. This revoking of the license was challenged in the Bombay High Court and the case is currently pending. The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a first information report on 13 June 2019 relating to charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, false statement made in declaration and various sections under the FCRA and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Sai Educational Rural & Urban Development Society (SERUDS) is a voluntary and not for profit organization in India. It is a Non-Governmental Organisation serving disadvantaged children, elderly, women and youth in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, India. SERUDS raises funds and contributions from individuals and organizations across India and the world and then uses these donations to serve the needs of deprived children, economically disadvantaged women, youth empowerment and hapless elderly people.
Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti is an organisation dedicated to fighting superstition in India, particularly in the state of Maharashtra. It was founded by Narendra Dabholkar in 1989. Since 2010, the organization has been headed by Avinash Patil.
Greenpeace India is the Indian branch of the global environmental group Greenpeace, a non-profit NGO, with a presence in 55 countries across Europe, the America, Asia. Greenpeace India has legally registered society in four locations with Bengaluru as its headquarters and other branches at Delhi, Chennai, Patna.
The Priya Pillai offloading of January 2015 was an incident in India where an environmental activist was offloaded from a flight in order to prevent her from testifying internationally on the activity of a firm registered in the UK.
Unorganised Workers' Identification Number or UWIN is a proposed unique number to be issued as identity proof to unorganised workers in India.
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is meant to be a register of all Indian citizens whose creation was mandated by the 2003 amendment of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Its purpose is to document all the legal citizens of India so that the illegal immigrants can be identified and deported. It has been implemented for the state of Assam starting in 2013–2014. The Government of India announced plans to implement it for the rest of the country in 2021, but it has not yet been implemented.
The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund was created on 27 March 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Although it is named for the Prime Minister of India, and uses the State Emblem of India, it is a private fund, used at the discretion of the Prime Minister and the Fund's trustees, and does not form a part of the Government of India's accounts. The Fund was established for the purpose of redressing the COVID-19 pandemic in India, in 2020. While complete documentation for the Fund's establishment has not been made public, the Government of India has stated that the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, is the chairman of the fund, and that trustees include the Minister of Defence, Rajnath Singh; the Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah, the Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman, and several corporate leaders and industrialists, including Ratan Tata, and Sudha Murty.
Foreign funding of NGOs is a controversial issue in some countries. In the late Cold War and afterward, foreign aid tended to be increasingly directed through NGOs, leading to an explosion of NGOs in the Global South reliant on international funding. Some critics of foreign funding of NGOs contend that foreign funding orients recipients toward donor priorities, making them less responsive to the communities they work in.
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