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Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Some NGOs with foreign funding get access to FCRA director as the series of monthly meetings kicks off today

Out of at least 100 applicants, representatives of 14 organizations were given appointments, according to a document seen by Mint

A top bureaucrat in the Union home ministry on Monday separately met representatives of several non-profit organizations to discuss matters relating to their foreign contributions, in the first of a series of such meetings.

Out of at least 100 applicants who had sought to meet Deba Prasad Tripathy, director, FCRA, representatives of 14 organizations were given appointments, according to a document seen by Mint.

A circular, dated 18 June, on the website of the home ministry’s division which deals with the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), had said the official will meet their representatives for a total of three hours every month. “In order to redress grievances of the associations who have submitted their applications for the grant of registration/prior permission, etc., it has been decided that a monthly meeting will be held by director (FCRA) with genuine representatives of these associations...”, the circular had said.

While representatives of non-profit organizations, who had turned up for the meeting on Monday refused to go on the record about what they discussed, merely indicating that they wanted to take up small technical challenges while filing documents such as annual returns.

An official at a non-profit who had turned up said his Delhi-based organisation had submitted annual returns for 2013-14 three times in the past one year, but its status on the FCRA website had not changed. The organization was not given an appointment on Monday, but after making several calls to the FCRA division, it was assured that the problem will be addressed.

FCRA director Tripathi and joint secretary in the foreigner’s division G.K. Dwivedi declined repeated requests to seek their comments.

Some of the 14 organisations listed for Monday were Hyderabad-based IP India Foundation, a global charity organization set up by American International Paper Ltd, New York-based Vision Spring, which distributes spectacles to the visually impaired, the Indian arm of the international organization Child Help Foundation headquartered in Mumbai which works with underprivileged children, W.H.Y. Foundation (Working for Humanity with You) headquartered in Andhra Pradesh working with the under privileged, Delhi-based Livelihood Initiatives for Empowerment working on livelihood-related research and skill development of poor and India wing of the global network Doctors Without Borders - MSFHolland India Trust.

The foreigner’s division in the home ministry monitors, controls and approves or cancels licences for non-profits who receive overseas funding. It has cancelled thousands of such licences in the last one year, citing various violations. Following this, the division has been flooded with requests to meet the officers in charge, to gain some clarity or to update information.

Organisations like Greenpeace India, Caritas India, Ford Foundation and Teesta Setalvad’s Sabrang Trust have been in the news lately for alleged violations of rules on foreign contributions.

Source: http://www.livemint.com/Politics/RH2JA6KB4wXL68O5mSHihJ/Some-NGOs-with-foreign-funding-get-access-to-FCRA-director-a.html