https://sputniknews.in/20260810/india-fact-checks-us-congressmans-statement-on-fcra-bill-11906985.html
India Fact-Checks US Congressman's Statement on FCRA Bill
India Fact-Checks US Congressman's Statement on FCRA Bill
Sputnik India
Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra has sought to clear "misunderstandings in the media and civil society" with regards to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill (FCRA), 2026,
2026-08-10T16:34+0530
2026-08-10T16:34+0530
2026-08-10T16:34+0530
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Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra has sought to clear "misunderstandings in the media and civil society" with regards to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill (FCRA), 2026, a proposed Indian law which seeks to regulate foreign funding of charities.In a thread on X, Kwatra rejected the "myth" that the new law would cut off foreign aid to civil society and that it targetted a specific religion or a community. Last week, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected the criticism around the proposed law, describing it as an internal affair.The Indian Ambassador to Washington recalled that the Indian parliament passed its first FCRA law in 1976, with upgrades in 2016, 2018 and 2020. He said that the proposed bill was the "next step" in the direction to ensure "more transparency, better governance, clearer rules".Further, Kwatra highlighted that contrary to another myth that the FCRA law had been depriving Indian civil society of funding, the fact remained that foreign donations pouring into India had been on the rise in recent years. Further, the former foreign secretary said that only 14,450 of India's nearly 3 million NGOs hold an FCRA registration. "Thus, the overwhelming majority of the civil society organizations are entirely outside the Act," said Kwatra.He explained that the main requirements of India's FCRA rules was that charities receiving foreign funding registered themselves with the Union Home Ministry, recieved funds as per guidelines and reported how they used the funds.Importantly, Kwatra rejected the propaganda that the FCRA law would lead to seizure of assets of NGOs and religious charities that relied on foreign donations. India's proposed FCRA (Amendment) Bill states that a "designated authority" would take over the foreign-funded assets of any organisation whose FCRA certificate has been cancelled, surrendered or simply not renewed. It also stipulates that an FCRA license of an entity could be cancelled if the holder has been convicted of “indulging in activities aimed at conversion through inducement or force, either directly or indirectly” or creating "communal disharmony". Several Indian states have already passed anti-conversion legislations in recent years to counter "forced conversions".Kwatra clarified that in event of an FCRA license being cancelled or surrendered, foreign contributions and assets created by them would vest in a state government authority and that law had already been in place since 2010."What the 2026 Bill adds is a designated authority to safeguard those assets — and a way back. If the organisation restores its registration, all assets and unused funds are returned in full," the Indian Ambassador stated.Finally, Kwatra outrightly rejected the claim that the FCRA law targetted any particular religion.
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india, us, united kingdom (uk), ministry of external affairs (mea), foreign interference, foreign conspiracy, religious conversion, christians, minority rights, religious discrimination, religious freedom, religious affairs, bharatiya janata party (bjp)
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India Fact-Checks US Congressman's Statement on FCRA Bill
US GOP lawmaker Riley M Moore said last week that India's proposed FCRA (Amendment) Bill is a “clear attack against Christians” and that it could become a “major concern" in India-US ties.
Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra has sought to clear "misunderstandings in the media and civil society" with regards to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill (FCRA), 2026, a proposed Indian law which seeks to regulate foreign funding of charities.
In a thread on X, Kwatra rejected the "myth" that the new law would cut off foreign aid to civil society and that it targetted a specific religion or a community. Last week, India's
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected the criticism around the proposed law, describing it as an internal affair.
Kwatra said that the regulation of foreign financial flows in public and private places was a sovereign step driven by national security concerns. Further, he highlighted that many other democracies, including the US, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom (UK), had similar legal frameworks in place.
The Indian Ambassador to Washington recalled that the Indian parliament passed its first FCRA law in 1976, with upgrades in 2016, 2018 and 2020. He said that the proposed bill was the "next step" in the direction to ensure "more transparency, better governance, clearer rules".
"The fact is that the law does not forbid Indians from receiving foreign donations or shut down law abiding civil society. Tens of thousands of associations are registered under FCRA and routinely receive foreign funds for health, education, disaster relief, research and humanitarian work," Kwatra said.
Further, Kwatra highlighted that contrary to another myth that the FCRA law had been depriving Indian civil society of funding, the fact remained that foreign donations pouring into India had been on the rise in recent years.
"Foreign contributions to registered organisations grew from roughly $1.2 billion in 2010–11 to $2.67 billion in 2024–25," Kwatra said.
Further, the former foreign secretary said that only 14,450 of India's nearly 3 million NGOs hold an FCRA registration. "Thus, the overwhelming majority of the civil society organizations are entirely outside the Act," said Kwatra.
He explained that the main requirements of India's FCRA rules was that charities receiving foreign funding registered themselves with the Union Home Ministry, recieved funds as per guidelines and reported how they used the funds.
Importantly, Kwatra rejected the propaganda that the FCRA law would lead to seizure of assets of NGOs and religious charities that relied on foreign donations.
India's proposed FCRA (Amendment) Bill states that a "designated authority" would take over the foreign-funded assets of any organisation whose FCRA certificate has been cancelled, surrendered or simply not renewed. It also stipulates that an FCRA license of an entity could be cancelled if the holder has been convicted of “indulging in activities aimed at conversion through inducement or force, either directly or indirectly” or creating "communal disharmony". Several Indian states have already passed
anti-conversion legislations in recent years to counter "forced conversions".
Kwatra clarified that in event of an FCRA license being cancelled or surrendered, foreign contributions and assets created by them would vest in a state government authority and that law had already been in place since 2010.
"What the 2026 Bill adds is a designated authority to safeguard those assets — and a way back. If the organisation restores its registration, all assets and unused funds are returned in full," the Indian Ambassador stated.
Further, he clarified that in cases where a cancelled organisation had created a property connected to a place of worship, then that property would get transferred to "another FCRA-registered association of the same faith to ensure continuity of worship".
Finally, Kwatra outrightly rejected the claim that the FCRA law
targetted any particular religion.
"Nothing could be farther from it. The Act applies uniformly to all organisations regardless of religion, community or ideology. Faith-based welfare activities, including religious education, maintenance of places of worship, and charitable work by organisations of every faith, continue to be eligible for foreign funding," the Indian Ambassador said.
