The government on Tuesday, 15 March, told Lok Sabha that the Government of United Kingdom (UK) had raised the issue of refusal of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) renewal to Oxfam India in a bilateral meeting.
Minister of State (MoS) Home Affairs Nityanand Rai told Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question, “Government of United Kingdom (UK) raised the issue of status of Oxfam India under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA, 2010) during the bilateral dialogue held on 10 February 2022. Status of Oxfam India was shared with the UK side during the dialogue.”
Giving reasons for the refusal, Rai said, “The renewal application of Oxfam India was refused as it did not fulfil the eligibility criteria specified in the FCRA, 2010 and rules made thereunder. Oxfam India has filed an application for revision of refusal order under Section 32 of the FCRA, 2010. The registration, renewal and cancellation of registration is done based on the criteria specified in the FCRA, 2010 and Rules made thereunder.”
At midnight on 31 December 2021, the FCRA registration of Oxfam India along with 5,932 other NGOs lapsed.
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sources had stated that while 5,789 of these NGOs had not applied for renewal, the applications of the rest had been rejected due to “various irregularities.”
Some of these NGOs are the Oxfam India Trust, Jamia Millia Islamia, the Indian Medical Association, and the Leprosy Mission.
After the MHA had refused to renew Oxfam India’s registration, the organisation had said the action would hamper its humanitarian work in 16 states.
Oxfam had said in a statement,
“The Government of India’s decision to refuse renewal of Oxfam India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration will severely affect the organisation’s ongoing crucial humanitarian and social work in 16 states across the country. This includes setting up of oxygen plants, providing lifesaving medical and diagnostic equipment such as oxygen cylinders and ventilators and delivery of food to the most vulnerable communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
‘77 Terrorists Killed While Trying To Infiltrate India'
Meanwhile, MoS Nityanand also informed the lower house that as many as 77 terrorists were killed and 12 were arrested while trying to infiltrate into India from Pakistan in 2021. The same figure for 2020 had stood at 99 and 19 respectively, he added.
While replying to a question on infiltration, Rai said, “Attempts of terrorist infiltration from across the border are mainly in Jammu and Kashmir which has been affected by terrorist violence, sponsored and supported from across the border.”
Rai also informed the house that in 2021, as many as 42 security force personnel had died in terror violence while 117 had been injured. The corresponding figures for the year 2020 were 62 and 106 respectively.
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