Tougher for India NGOs to get foreign funds |
The Indian government has further tightened rules for organizations seeking foreign funding. The new rules, notified on 11th November, mention that any organization seeking registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act must have operated for at least three years and spent “a minimum amount of 20,098 dollars on its core activities for the benefit of society during the last three financial years. Any organization seeking prior permission for receiving a “specific amount from a specific donor for carrying out specific activities or projects” shall “submit a specific commitment letter from the donor indicating the amount of foreign contribution and the purpose for which it is proposed to be given”. The government has said that if the value of the foreign contribution is over 133,984.5 dollars, it may be given in installments “provided that the second and subsequent installment shall be released after submission of proof of utilization of 75 percent of the foreign contribution received in the previous installment, and after field inquiry of the utilization of foreign contribution. However, the rules for declaring an organization as a “political organization” have been relaxed, with the student, farmer, worker, and youth organizations being exempted unless they participate in “active politics or party politics”. The amendments have made the FCRA, 2010 more stringent, with prohibition of transfer of funds from one NGO to another, decrease of administrative expenses through foreign funds from 50 percent to 20 percent, making Aadhaar mandatory for registration, and giving the government powers to stop utilization of foreign funds through a “summary inquiry”.
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