FCRA licence of PHFI renewed: MHA to House
In 2018, PHFI was placed under “prior permission” category by the MHA. This meant that it could receive foreign funds but every transfer and its use was vetted by the FCRA wing of the Union ministry.
The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) informed the parliament on Tuesday that Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act) FCRA licence of Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) has been renewed. This development will now allow the public health advocacy organisation to directly receive foreign funding without the Centre clearing every foreign transfer.
“Since November, 2021, the FCRA certificate of Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), New Delhi and Missionaries of Charity (MoC), Kolkata was renewed by way of revision,” said Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai said in Lok Sabha.
In 2018, PHFI was placed under “prior permission” category by the MHA. This meant that it could receive foreign funds but every transfer and its use was vetted by the FCRA wing of the Union ministry. The organisation’s licence was cancelled in April 2017 over alleged FCRA violations that included using foreign contributions to lobby media, parliamentarians and government on tobacco control policy issues; non-declaration of all its bank accounts; and making remittances to foreign countries from its FCRA account.
Before it was removed from the FCRA list in 2017, its major contributors were Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which accounted for nearly one-third of its foreign funding.Considering the work it does with the Union health ministry, the government has put PHFI in prior permission category within next nine months but it’s full FCRA licence has been restored now.
Earlier, after refusing the renewal of FCRA licence of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity (MoC), which led to a political controversy, the MHA renewed the organisation’s licence in January.
Rai informed the parliament on Tuesday that about 5,800 associations had not submitted their application for renewal of FCRA registration, due to which the licences were deemed to have ceased to exist according to law.
He also said that FCRA registration of a total of 1,811 NGOs have been cancelled during the last three years – from 2019 to 2021.
“About 5,800 FCRA registered associations had not submitted their applications for renewal within stipulated time in accordance with the provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. FCRA registration of these associations has thus been deemed to have ceased as per Section 12 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010,” he said in a written reply to a question.
Rai said in view of the Covid-19, the government has given certain relaxations to NGOs so that welfare works are not affected.
