Six Organisations Whose Foreign Funding Licence Was Suspended By Govt
The Centre on Monday suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of the non-governmental organisation (NGO), Centre for Policy Research (CPR), for 180 days over an alleged violation of laws.
As per reports, The CPR has been asked to give clarification and documents regarding FCRA funds received by it. The FCRA licence of CPR was last renewed in 2016 and was due for renewal in 2021.
CPR president and chief executive Yamini Aiyar while responding to the suspension said in a statement: “We hold ourselves to the highest standards of compliance and are confident that we have done nothing wrong. We are committed to working with the authorities to address any questions they might have.”
The FCRA registration is mandatory for any NGO or association to receive foreign funds. With the suspension of its licence, the CPR will not be able to receive any funds from abroad.
The CPR also cannot utilise the existing foreign donations without the home ministry’s clearance.
Here are some more NGOs and organization whose foreign funding were frozen by the government.
Oxfam India
Earlier in 2021, Oxfam India’s foreign funding was blocked when the Union home ministry refused to renew its FCRA licence and the ministry cited “adverse inputs” as the reason for revoking the licence last week. Oxfam India moved the high court against the decision and the court directed the Centre to pass a reasoned speaking order on its revision petition. After this, the Centre passed an order on December 1, 2022, rejecting Oxfam’s revision application, and denying the renewal of its FCRA registration.
The Missionaries of Charity
On the Christmas day in 2021, the government refused to renew the foreign-funding license for the Missionaries of Charity, a charity organisation founded by Mother Teresa, citing ‘adverse effects’. The organization however released a statement noting that no “freeze” has been ordered on any of its bank accounts but that its renewal under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act has not been approved by the government.
Amnesty International India
Probe authorities froze Amnesty’s bank accounts in 2020 for allegedly receiving foreign funds illegally, a charge the rights group denied. The organisation said it had been forced to lay staff members off and pause its work in India because it could not access its funds, and accused the government of “incessant witch-hunt” and “constant harassment”. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached assets worth ₹1.54 crore in bank accounts of trust linked to Amnesty India last year.
Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation
Along with Oxfam, IPSMF was another organisation that was surveyed by income-tax officials, however, it denied reports of having any foreign funds. According to the IPSMF chairman, the I-T officials went through the papers and records of the Foundation and asked questions.
Greenpeace India
On April 9, 2015, the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) suspended Greenpeace India’s foreign funding. The MHA claimed that the environmental NGO’s registration had been cancelled because Greenpeace had “prejudicially affected the economic interest of the state”.