The Union Home Ministry has mandated NGOs in India to clear foreign funding the age of the organization as three and spent Rs 15 lakh in voluntary activities are eligible to receive money from abroad. In a notification from the home ministry said office bearers of the NGOs seeking registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act must submit a specific commitment letter from the donor indicating the amount of foreign contribution and the purpose for which it is proposed to be given.
Previously, central government has made compulsory to register the Aadhaar numbers of the office bearers of the NGOs, office expenses were brought down to 20 percent of such amount and election candidates, government servants, members of any legislature and political parties were prohibited from accepting foreign funding. The FCRA rule comes two months after that amendment. "A person seeking registration under clause (b) of sub-section (4) of section 12 of the Act shall meet the following conditions, namely:? (i) it shall be in existence for three years and have spent a minimum amount of rupees fifteen lakh on its core activities for the benefit of society during the last three financial years," the notification said.
As per the new rule, only an FCRA account holder of any NGO or person can submit an application to receive foreign funds. Over Rs 58,000 crore foreign funds were received by NGOs registered under the FCRA between 2016-17 and 2018-19. There are around 22,400 NGOs in the country.
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