Nearly 6,000 non-governmental organisations(NGOs) have their license ceased or expired as of January 1, 2022, after they had failed to apply for renewal of their Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act(FCRA) license.
The total NGOs registered under FCRA that are active or alive as of today, January 1, 2022, have come down to 16,829 from 22,762 a day ago. As per the official website, 12,580 NGOs are deemed to have ceased or expired on account of the expiry of the validity of their certificate. As per the source cited by Times Of India’s Bharti Jain, the NGOs lost their FCRA registration because they failed to apply for renewal.
Among those who have had their FCRA license expired include Oxfam India Trust, Indian Youth Centres Trust, Jamia Millia Islamia, Tuberculosis Association of India, among others.
Earlier this year, the validity of FCRA registration of those NGOs that were expiring between September 29, 2020, and September 30, 2021, was extended till December 31, 2021. The government had then asked organisations nearing expiring for their FCRA license to apply for renewal in order to continue to remain active. However, close to 6,000 organisations out of 22,762 nearing expiry failed to apply for renewal of their FCRA license.
Then on December 31, 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued another public notice, informing about the extension of the validity of FCRA registration certificates expiring between the period September 29, 2021, and March 22, 2022, of those organisations who have applied for renewal on FCRA portal in accordance with rule 12 of the Foreign Contribution(Regulation) Rules, 2011 before the expiry of the validity of their certificates of registration.
“All FCRA registered associations are therefore advised to take note of the fact that in case of refusal of the application for renewal of the certificate of registration, the validity of the certificate shall be deemed to have expired on the date of the refusal of the application or renewal and the association shall not be eligible either to receive the foreign contribution or utilise the foreign contribution received,” the notice read.
