"The action needed was taken last year and it sent a strong message bringing the erring NGOs back on track," said a home ministry official, Gujarat activist Teesta Setlavad's NGO Sabrang Trust was the lone organisation whose FCRA registration was cancelled and foreign funding banned this year.
BRIEFCASE
· 1 The government this year has cancelled registration of only 1 NGO, unlike last year.
· 2 Teesta's NGO Sabrang Trust's registration has been cancelled this year.
· 3 The government said, they have not softened their stance on foreign funding to NGOs.
In a massive crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs last year, the Home Ministry cancelled over 10,000 registrations, but this year there has been just one such organisation in the firing line.
The Narendra Modi government came under severe criticism for cracking the whip on NGOs soon after coming to power and the United Nations human rights experts also urged India to repeal the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) that governs foreign funding of NGOs.
This was also communicated to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). However, MHA officials say this year's action against just one NGO compared to 10,020 last year doesn't imply that the government has softened its stand after pressure was exerted from activists.
"The action needed was taken last year and it sent a strong message bringing the erring NGOs back on track," said a home ministry official, Gujarat activist Teesta Setlavad's NGO Sabrang Trust was the lone organisation whose FCRA registration was cancelled and foreign funding banned this year.
CRACKDOWN ON TEESTA'S NGO
Teesta was one of the activists who took up the cause of victims of Gujarat riots of 2002 and even lashed out at Narendra Modi who was the CM of the state then. Cancelling the registration, the government argued that the foreign funds received by the NGO under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence had not been used for the purposes meant. The order said during inspection, MHA found that foreign contribution has been frequently used for items of personal expenses.
RECAP
The action against foreign funded NGOs in 2015 started soon after Modi took charge and the number of FCRA cancellations of over 10,000 NGOs was far more than previous years. According to MHA data in 2014, there were 59 cancellations and in 2013, there were only four. There were 4,138 NGOs that lost their foreign aid in 2012.
MONEY LAUNDERING IN DONATIONS TO NGOs
Replying to a parliament question on the need to repeal FCRA as the law was obstructing civil society's access to foreign funding MHA stated, "The government is also aware about the one sided and biased views expressed by certain persons / associations regarding the cancellation of FCRA Registration. MHA has clarified the position against these one sided views earlier."
Other than cracking the whip on dubious NGOs, intelligence agencies are now focussing to crack down on the donors who are using these organisations for money laundering. Several donors have been blacklisted on suspicion of being part of a money laundering syndicate.
"There is a strong suspicion that some of these donors are funding these organisations to push their agenda and derail India's economic growth," said a home ministry official. While traditional tax havens like Switzerland, Mauritius and the UAE and Thailand are among the top donor countries, frequent donations from smaller countries North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Tonga, Kyrgyzstan, Burkino Faso, Swaziland, Luxembourg and Malta have raised suspicions of large scale money laundering.
POSSIBLE TERROR FUNDING IN DONATIONS?
It's not just money laundering but MHA in its report on FCRA had also red-flagged the issue of terror funding through these dubious foreign donors.
Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ngo-teesta-setalvad-sabrang-trust-modi-government-fcra-foreign-contribution-regulation-act-mha-ministry-of-home-affairs-10-000-ngos-only-1-banned-this-year/1/720051.html
BRIEFCASE
· 1 The government this year has cancelled registration of only 1 NGO, unlike last year.
· 2 Teesta's NGO Sabrang Trust's registration has been cancelled this year.
· 3 The government said, they have not softened their stance on foreign funding to NGOs.
In a massive crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs last year, the Home Ministry cancelled over 10,000 registrations, but this year there has been just one such organisation in the firing line.
The Narendra Modi government came under severe criticism for cracking the whip on NGOs soon after coming to power and the United Nations human rights experts also urged India to repeal the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) that governs foreign funding of NGOs.
This was also communicated to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). However, MHA officials say this year's action against just one NGO compared to 10,020 last year doesn't imply that the government has softened its stand after pressure was exerted from activists.
"The action needed was taken last year and it sent a strong message bringing the erring NGOs back on track," said a home ministry official, Gujarat activist Teesta Setlavad's NGO Sabrang Trust was the lone organisation whose FCRA registration was cancelled and foreign funding banned this year.
CRACKDOWN ON TEESTA'S NGO
Teesta was one of the activists who took up the cause of victims of Gujarat riots of 2002 and even lashed out at Narendra Modi who was the CM of the state then. Cancelling the registration, the government argued that the foreign funds received by the NGO under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence had not been used for the purposes meant. The order said during inspection, MHA found that foreign contribution has been frequently used for items of personal expenses.
RECAP
The action against foreign funded NGOs in 2015 started soon after Modi took charge and the number of FCRA cancellations of over 10,000 NGOs was far more than previous years. According to MHA data in 2014, there were 59 cancellations and in 2013, there were only four. There were 4,138 NGOs that lost their foreign aid in 2012.
MONEY LAUNDERING IN DONATIONS TO NGOs
Replying to a parliament question on the need to repeal FCRA as the law was obstructing civil society's access to foreign funding MHA stated, "The government is also aware about the one sided and biased views expressed by certain persons / associations regarding the cancellation of FCRA Registration. MHA has clarified the position against these one sided views earlier."
Other than cracking the whip on dubious NGOs, intelligence agencies are now focussing to crack down on the donors who are using these organisations for money laundering. Several donors have been blacklisted on suspicion of being part of a money laundering syndicate.
"There is a strong suspicion that some of these donors are funding these organisations to push their agenda and derail India's economic growth," said a home ministry official. While traditional tax havens like Switzerland, Mauritius and the UAE and Thailand are among the top donor countries, frequent donations from smaller countries North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Tonga, Kyrgyzstan, Burkino Faso, Swaziland, Luxembourg and Malta have raised suspicions of large scale money laundering.
POSSIBLE TERROR FUNDING IN DONATIONS?
It's not just money laundering but MHA in its report on FCRA had also red-flagged the issue of terror funding through these dubious foreign donors.
Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ngo-teesta-setalvad-sabrang-trust-modi-government-fcra-foreign-contribution-regulation-act-mha-ministry-of-home-affairs-10-000-ngos-only-1-banned-this-year/1/720051.html
