They are among the 6,000 NGOs whose registration has not been renewed by the Union government.
They are among the 6,000 NGOs whose registration has not been renewed by the Union government.
Among the 6,000 NGOs whose FCRA registration has not been recently renewed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), also include Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the Ramakrishna Mission and the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST) of Shirdi.
The famous Tirupati Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh and the Ramakrishna Mission are registered as Hindu religious organizations, while the SSST falls under the category of “religious (other)” under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA ).
Registered associations may receive foreign contributions for social, educational, religious, economic and cultural purposes. Registration with the FCRA is required to receive foreign funds.
The MHA did not explain why the FCRA registration of the three religious associations was not renewed. A few days ago, after reports surfaced that the FCRA registration of the Missionaries of Charity, a Catholic religious congregation established by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa, had not been renewed, the MHA issued a statement on December 27 indicating that it had refused to renew the organization’s registration. the recording because “some undesirable contributions have been noticed”.
The ministry said in a Dec. 31 order that NGOs whose renewal application had been rejected would not be eligible to receive or use foreign contributions in their designated bank accounts.
According to an annual report filed by the TTD on December 22, 2021 for the financial year 2020-21, it had ₹13.4 crore in its designated foreign contribution bank account, of which ₹13.3 crore was donated by foreign pilgrims who visited the temple.
The SSST filed its annual report on December 31, stating that it had over ₹5 crore in its foreign contribution account.
The registered Ramakrishna Mission in Maharashtra filed its declaration in July, stating that it had ₹1.3 crore in its designated foreign contribution bank account. The FCRA registration of other registered Ramakrishna Mission ashrams in West Bengal, Bihar and other parts of the country has also not been renewed.
A senior government official said NGOs whose registration with the FCRA has not been renewed can reapply.
The registration of thousands of NGOs was due for renewal in 2020-2021 and the earlier deadline of December 31, 2021 has been extended to March 31, 2022 as many applications are pending. An MHA official said last week that the ministry had refused to renew the FCRA registration of 179 NGOs, while 5,789 associations had not applied for renewal by the December 31 deadline. The extended deadline will only apply to NGOs that had applied before December 31 and whose application had not been refused so far.
After the exercise, the number of active NGOs registered with the FCRA fell from 22,762 to 16,907.
