Home ministry sets up helpdesk for NGOs registered under FCRA

PTI, New Delhi, Jul 17, 2023 :  The Union home ministry has set up a helpdesk for NGOs to submit their queries related to foreign funding, licensing and other issues with regard to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), officials said.

Nearly 880 users have already registered and 121 tickets (related to the issues and queries) were resolved on the online helpdesk till Monday evening, according to a notice uploaded on the home ministry’s website.

The helpdesk, the officials said, will help resolve various complaints of the non-government organisations (NGOs) and associations that face problems regarding FCRA-related issues.

The government is now strictly monitoring the activities of the FCRA-registered NGOs, which receive foreign funds.

All NGOs that receive foreign funds have to mandatorily register under the FCRA.

According to the home ministry’s data, all NGOs together have received foreign funding amounting to Rs 55,449 crore in the last three years.

A total of 16,301 NGOs in the country had valid FCRA licences as on July 17 and the licences of more than 6,600 NGOs have been cancelled in the last five years for violations of the law.

Overall, the FCRA licences of 20,693 NGOs have been cancelled till date.