The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday, 31 December, said that it had extended the validity of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration certificates up to 31 March 2022 for NGOs whose certificates were due to expire between 29 September and 31 March and who have applied for its renewal, or till the date of disposal of FCRA licence renewal application, whichever is earlier.
The MHA has further clarified that in case of NGOs whose FCRA licence renewal plea has already been rejected, the validity of their licence will be deemed to have expired from the date of refusal of the application, rendering it ineligible to receive any foreign funding.
The Missionaries of Charity Context
This comes amid a row over Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation set up by Mother Teresa, being denied a renewal of their FCRA registration by the central government. This, they said, had led them to ask their centres to not operate their foreign currency accounts.
The congregation had been denied a renewal of their FCRA registration on Christmas day, 25 December. This renewal is necessary for the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions.
The MHA, meanwhile, also said in a statement that the renewal of MoC's FCRA registration was valid up to 31 December 2021 and was refused on 25 December.
The statement had come on Monday amid reports claiming that the MoC’s bank accounts were frozen by the Centre, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also tweeting about the same.
What Did MHA Say?
Stating that they did not freeze the accounts of the MoC, the MHA said that the renewal of FCRA registration of Missionaries of Charity (MoC) was refused on Saturday, 25 December, for purportedly “not meeting the eligibility conditions under the FCRA 2010 and Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules (FCRR) 2011”.
They also alleged that while considering the MoC’s renewal application “some adverse inputs were noticed.”
No adverse inputs, however, were specifically pointed out by the MHA.
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