Polity and Governance › Governance and accountability

Civil society, voluntary organisations and foreign contribution rules

Voluntary organisations and the law that governs their money from abroad, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.

Showing 1 of 1 article, those that changed from 1 July to 30 September 2026.Show all

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010

Prelims and Mains

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010 regulates the receipt and use of foreign donations by associations, which need registration, valid for five years, or prior permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The 2020 amendment barred onward transfer of foreign contribution, cut the cap on administrative expenses from 50 to 20 per cent, and required receipts into an account at the State Bank of India's New Delhi Main Branch.
The Supreme Court upheld the 2020 amendment in Noel Harper v. Union of India (2022).

What changed

12 Aug 2026newly added
- The Lok Sabha referred the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 to a Joint Parliamentary Committee of 31 members, 21 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha.
- The Bill lets a designated authority take charge of foreign contribution and the assets created from it when an organisation's registration ends.
- Critics argue that schools, hospitals and places of worship built partly with foreign money could pass to the State, touching Articles 19(1)(c), 26 and 30.
Mains: The test for the committee is proportionality: keeping foreign money to its purpose without taking over institutions without a hearing, a valuation of the foreign share and an appeal.
The Hindu, 12 Aug 2026: 31-member parliamentary panel to review FCRA Bill (opens in a new tab) · Onmanorama, 12 Aug 2026: FCRA Bill referred to JPC (opens in a new tab) · The Indian Express, 12 Aug 2026 · PRS Legislative Research, 12 Aug 2026: Joint Committee on the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Show history (1 other update)

23 Jun 2026Briefnewly addedThe Home Ministry amended the FCRA Rules: organisations must declare their social media accounts and the States where they will work. To keep registration, an organisation must have spent at least ₹10 lakh of foreign contribution over two years. The penalty for diverting funds is ₹1 lakh or 30 per cent, whichever is higher. The Hindu, 23 Jun 2026: FCRA Rules tightened: NGOs must declare social media accounts, stick to specified activities; political content barred (opens in a new tab)