FCRA licences of Odisha-based NGOs revoked

The Centre has revoked the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licences of two Christian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for alleged violation of FCRA norms. Odisha-based Peoples Organisation for Empowerment of Tribals (POET) and Heavenly Grace Ministries (HGM), primarily working in the domain of tribals, employment, education and youth development, were under the radar for the past one year.

North Block officials said the FCRA licences of the two NGOs were suspended last year for 180 days and later a review was held before cancellation. “During scrutiny, the NGOs were found to be non-compliant with the FCRA rules while receiving and disclosing the source of foreign funding and its utilisation,” the official explained.

The voluntary organisations cannot receive foreign contributions during the period of suspension, states the law.


The MHA is likely to issue cancellations to more NGOs after examining their six-month suspension orders. As per section 13 of the FCRA Act, 2010, the Centre can suspend the registration certificate of the organisations for 180 days for reasons to be recorded in writing, if it is satisfied that the NGOs violated FCRA law. Recently, the union home ministry has cancelled FCRA licences of human rights organisations namely Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and Apne Aap Women Worldwide (AAWW) on charges of similar violations.

The move came after the Delhi High Court refused to interfere against the suspension of FCRA by CHRI. The New Delhi-headquartered NGO’s executive committee consists of leaders from legal professions, media, academia, and activist organisations. It is chaired by Wajahat Habibullah, the first chief information commissioner of India. According to FCRA legislation, NGOs whose certificate has been cancelled shall not be eligible for registration or grant for a period of three years from the date of cancellation.

For receiving foreign grants, NGOs must register with the Union home ministry, which assigns a unique FCRA registration number, to be renewed every five years. Under the FCRA, 2020, rules, every NGO needs to compulsorily open an ‘FCRA account’ with the State Bank of India’s main branch in New Delhi for initial receipt of foreign contribution from a foreign source.

On January 1, FCRA licences of 5,968 organisations, including Missionaries of Charity, Delhi University, JNU, IIT-Delhi, Oxfam, Jamia Millia Islamia, Hamdard Education Society and India Islamic Cultural Centre were cancelled after they allegedly failed to comply with the revised guidelines and apply for a renewal. A week later, the ministry restored the licences of Missionaries of Charity, JNU, IIT-Delhi, Ramakrishna Mission and Delhi University, among others.