Oxfam, others may build case after FCRA licence to Missionaries of Charity

The restoration of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of the Missionaries of Charity will pave the way for over a dozen NGOs, including Oxfam, to present their case for renewal, officials said.

As many as 179 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including MoC and Oxfam, were denied renewal permission by the home ministry in December last year.

Officials, while citing MoC's case, said the Mother Teresa-founded NGO submitted documents clarifying its stand regarding "adverse input" flagged by the monitoring unit of FCRA.


A home ministry official said that with the restoration of the FCRA licence, the Kolkata-based organisation will be able to receive foreign funding and can also spend the money it has kept in banks.

On the FCRA registration renewal, Missionaries of Charity chief spokesperson Sunita Kumar told ET, "I know it has happened and I am very happy that it has happened so quickly. Otherwise, these approvals take time, but in Missionaries of Charity's case, it has happened so quickly. Look at their work--it is all for the poor, destitute and ailing, and the sisters are not living in luxury."

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien, who was among the opposition leaders who had slammed the central government for the cancellation of the FCRA licence, on Saturday tweeted, "The power of love is stronger than the power of 56 inch."

On December 27, the home ministry had said that it cancelled the FCRA licence of Missionaries of Charity after receiving some "adverse inputs".