Final chance for 11,000 NGOs for renewal of FCRA licence

Giving a final chance, the government is all set to ask 11,319 NGOs to submit their applications afresh for the renewal of FCRA licence, failing which it will be cancelled permanently.
"We will soon tell these NGOs to avail the opportunity to renew their FCRA registration. If they fail to do so, their registration will lapse permanently," a Home Ministry official said.
The government had derecognised 11,319 NGOs last month after they failed to renew their registration by June-end, preventing them from receiving foreign funds.
As many as 1,736 NGOs, including Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Mata Amritnandmayi Math and Church of South India Diocese of Madras, have failed to renew their registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act within the stipulated date of June 30.

The NGOs were given time till November 8 for submission of non-complete applications for FCRA licence renewal with all relevant documents to avoid the cancellation.
However, most of them failed to take the opportunity.

In addition, the Centre also denied renewal of FCRA registration to 25 NGOs after they were allegedly found to be involved in anti-national activities.
The 25 NGOs' operations in the country are "contrary" to the provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act (FCRA) and allegedly anti-national, an official said.
In 2015, the Union Home Ministry cancelled FCRA
registration of 10,000 NGOs because they did not file their annual returns for three years in a row.

Many of these organisations were defunct or did not want the FCRA registration in any case.
The Centre's decision brings down the number of not-for-profit organisations permitted to receive foreign funding to 20,500, less than half of what it was two years ago when 42,500 were registered under FCRA, 2010.
FCRA 2010--which replaced a 1976 law by the same name-- ended the system of permanent registration, and required NGOs to seek renewal of their licence every five years.
The validity of FCRA registration of the NGOs was extended till October 31, 2016 but they were required to submit applications for renewal of registration by June 30.

In its original form, the FCRA was enacted apparently to restrict flow of foreign funds to civil society groups during the 1975-77 Emergency.
Parliament had passed a stringent version of the FCRA in 2010, with the Congress-led UPA government insisting that NGOs that rely on foreign funds had to be prepared for greater scrutiny.
The Modi government has so far cancelled registration of more than 22,000 NGO for various alleged lapses.