Foreign funding applications of over 12,000 NGOs under scrutiny for approval after expiration; 179 rejected so far, including Missionaries of Charity
NEW Delhi/IBNS: FCRA licenses, required for foreign funding, of over 12,000 NGOs have expired as their scrutiny for approval is underway, the Home Ministry said this morning.
Days ago the ministry had rejected the renewal of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity citing "adverse inputs".
A total of 18,778 organisations' Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licences were due for renewal between September 29, 2020 and December 31, 2021. Of them, 12,989 had applied for renewal.
The remaining 5,789 organisations had not applied for renewal and their licenses lapsed overnight.
According to NDTV, ministry officials said the organisations had been sent reminders to apply before the deadline but many of them didn't submit the papers.
The applications of 179 others, including Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, have been rejected while the scrutiny of others is going on.
The list of NGOs whose FCRA licence are under scrutiny Oxfam India and the Oxfam India Trust, Jamia Milia Islamia, the Indian Medical Association, the Leprosy Mission, the Tuberculosis Association Of India, the Indira Gandhi National Centre For Arts, and the India Islamic Cultural Centre, reported NDTV.
The licence of Missionaries of Charity was cancelled following a police complaint in Gujarat against the Director of a children's home run by the organisation for allegedly attempting to convert young girls.
Mother Teresa's charity confirmed their renewal had been rejected, and that "we have asked our centres not to operate any of the FC (foreign contributions) accounts until the matter is resolved", according to media reports.
The Home Ministry also said it had not received a request to review its decision.
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