MHA Refuses to Reveal Why FCRA Was Amended, Even as Changes Impair NGOsâ COVID Aid Efforts
Disclosure of this information will not serve any interest, the MHA says. But if there is no public interest in disclosure, why was the FCRA and its rules amended in the first place, asks RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak.
An India Rupee note is seen in this illustration photo June 1, 2017. Photo:Reuters/Thomas White/Illustration
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New Delhi: Even as non-government organisations (NGOs) face severe fund shortages due to changes in the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) effected by the Centre last year â which has adversely impacted their ability to reach out to the poor and marginalised in both rural and urban areas during the second wave of the coronavirus in India â the Centre has repeatedly thwarted attempts by Right to Information (RTI) activists to access details surrounding the reasons why the Act was amended.
Inspite of adding the highest number of cases in the world every day, India continues to label itself as a country with no community transmission (CT), opting instead for the lower, less serious classification called ‘cluster of cases’, according to the latest weekly report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on May 11.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday visited areas affected by post-poll violence in Cooch Behar. He went ahead with the visit despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressing her disapproval, calling it “unilateral proceedings” by the Governor which is “violative of long-standing norms of procedures”.
India’s IT industry body Nasscom has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant emergency use authorisation for all WHO-approved vaccines in view of domestic vaccine shortages, and temporarily relax stringent Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) norms to ease the flow of overseas COVID-19 relief into the country.
Bake sales on Instagram. Online fund-raisers involving Hollywood celebrities. Pledges of aid from companies like Mastercard and Google. A middle-of-the-night flight by a FedEx cargo plane transporting thousands of oxygen concentrators and masks.
India’s devastating surge in Covid-19 cases has galvanised corporations, non-profit organisations and individuals in the US into raising millions of dollars and sending medical supplies to the nation of 1.4 billion.
But a sweeping change to India’s decades-old law governing foreign donations is choking off foreign aid just when the country needs it desperately. The amendment, passed by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September with little warning, limits international charities that donate to local nonprofits.
Nasscom urges govt to temporarily relax FCRA Act
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Last Updated: May 13, 2021, 01:10 AM IST
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Synopsis
Nasscom said that providing a temporary waiver to the FCRA Act would enable the industry to bring in the required aid to India.
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Doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine are seen being prepared on Wednesday, May 12, 2021, in Decatur, Ga. Hundreds of children, ages 12 to 15, received the Pfizer vaccine at the DeKalb Pediatric Center, just days after it was approved for use within their age group. (AP Photo/Ron Harris)
IT industry body Nasscom has urged the government to temporarily relax the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and liberalise the import of WHO-approved vaccines to harness resources by the tech industry for tackling the second Covid-19 wave.