UPSC Articles
Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)
Part of: Prelims and GS-II and III – Polity, law, fundamental rights, NGOs; Economy
Context The Union Home Ministry said that it had refused to renew the FCRA registration of Missionaries of Charity (MoC), a Catholic religious congregation set up by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa, as “some adverse inputs were noticed”.
- The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration is mandatory for any NGO or association to receive foreign funds or donations.
What is FCRA?
- It is a law enacted by Parliament to regulate foreign contribution (especially monetary donation) provided by certain individuals or associations to NGOs and others within India.
- FCRA Act was originally passed in 1976 and majorly modified in 2010.
- 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.
- Ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs
Do you know?
- As per the FCRA Act 2010, all NGOs are required to be registered under the Act to receive foreign funding.
- According to terms stipulated in the FCRA, an organisation cannot receive foreign funding unless it is registered under the 2010 Act, except when it gets government approval for a specific project.
- Under the FCRA Act, registered NGOs can receive foreign contribution for five purposes — social, educational, religious, economic and cultural.
