The Lok Sabha on Monday approved amendments to the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act 2010 that seek to make Aadhaar mandatory for office holders of any NGO to receive foreign funds.
The bill says that anyone applying for prior permission, registration or registration renewal must provide the Aadhaar number of their office holders, directors or key officers, as an identification document.
Once the bill is approved by the Rajya Sabha and obtained the consent of President Ram Nath Kovind, public officials will not be able to receive funds from abroad.
In addition, the bill proposes that no more than 20% of the total foreign funds received can be spent on administrative expenses. Currently, the limit is 50%.
Amid concerns raised by various opposition members about the 2020 FCRA amendment bill, Minister of State for the Home Nityanand Rai said the legislation was not against any religion or NGO.
Responding to the debate on the bill, Rai said the Foreign Tax Amendment (Regulation) Bill of 2020 will stop the “misuse of money” and rejected criticism from some members of the opposition that it is targeting minorities and has some unnecessary provisions.
“When the government introduced the FCRA bill in 2010, we were in opposition, but we supported it. This amendment is not against NGOs and is not an attack on any religion. It will not stop foreign contribution. FCRA is a security law domestic and domestic. This amendment is essential for Atmanirbhar Bharat, “he said.
He said the amendment will bring transparency in foreign contributions and the central government wants that money to be spent in the public interest. “The opposition does not want to stop the misuse of foreign money. We will stop the misuse,” Rai said.
In response to inquiries from parliamentarians about the Aadhaar card, the minister said that it is significant proof of identification.
“The issue of the Aadhaar card was raised. The Supreme Court clearly said that it is not mandatory to make the Aadhaar card a means of identifying yourself everywhere. But it may be mandatory when introducing a law, if it is important. Hence the amendment “, said.
“If the director or manager of an organization wants to hide their identity and cannot reveal their address, what work will they do? It raises suspicions about their intention. Why is the Aadhaar card opposed? The Aadhar card is an important proof of identification.” added.
The Statement of Purposes and Motives of the Bill establishes that the Law entered into force on May 1, 2011 and has been modified twice. The first amendment was made by section 236 of the Finance Act of 2016 and the second by section 220 of the Finance Act of 2018.
The amendment to section 17 establishes that any person who has been granted a certificate or prior permission under section 12 will receive foreign contributions only in an account designated as an “FCRA Account” that must be opened in said branch of the State Bank. of India. in New Delhi, as specified by the government by notice.
However, congressional deputy Anto Antony previously said that the bill is another “exotic adventure” by the central government after demonetization and alleged that the bill targets minorities.
Participating in the debate on the bill at the Lok Sabha, Antony said that the FCRA registrations have been canceled “for purely technical reasons.”
Above ₹NGOs registered under the FCRA received foreign funding of Rs 58 billion between 2016-17 and 2018-19.
There are around 22,400 NGOs in the country.
With contributions from the agency
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