FCRA has renewed the Congress-led NGO registration which was charged by the allegation of receiving the foreign funds. This was at a time when Congress President Rahul Gandhi was having critical comments about the government. These comments came to light after the Galwan clashes in mid-June 2021. He accused the government of surrendering the Indian borders to the Chinese army.
NGOs breached acts, such as-Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), The Income Tax Act, The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), etc. The Government announced to form a committee to probe the role of these NGOs. After that Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF), Rajeev Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT), and the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust (IGMT) were under scrutiny. But the answer to queries filed under RTI revealed no such committee. Both (RGF) and (RGCT) are entitled to receive the foreign funds while (IGMT) is not entitled to this.
. B.C Joshi, Director of FCRA replied saying it was something that is out of the ambit of RTI. RTI gives access to information under Section 2(f) of the RTI Act 2005. But RTI Act does not mention the clarification of the information given.
FCRA AMENDMENTS:
FCRA can receive foreign funds. While the recent amendments in the FCRA have made it mandatory for the NGOs to follow certain rules. Such as opening their bank accounts in SBI main branch New Delhi by the end of 31st May 2021 so that they can foreign funds.
All the key representatives of the NGO’s including trustees were meant to submit their Aadhaar card as a mandatory document for their verification. These strict conditions along with the delay of the administrative process created difficulty for the NGOs to survive. This led to the cancellation of the registration of several NGOs. Thus declining the toll of registered NGOs to 16,876 at present.
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