LS approves strict foreign funding rules, works beyond midnight

The Lok Sabha worked beyond midnight on Monday to clear a number of bills, marking the second consecutive day when the Lower House worked beyond 12am.

On Sunday, too, the Lok Sabha was in session after midnight. This is the first time that the House sat for two straight days beyond midnight. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was chairing the session. The Lower House-- which started at 3pm due to Covid-related protocols this session-- cleared The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 and late in the evening gave its approval to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020 and The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

The long working hours in Lok Sabha took place on a day when the Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned without much work due to disruptions by Opposition MPs.

The Lok Sabha passed the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 aimed at making rules governing the foreign funding of non-government organisations (NGOs) more stringent and also mandating Aadhaar for all office bearers of these organisations.

The bill also seeks to bar government employees and judges from receiving foreign funds, and to prevent recipients from transferring funds to other organisations or individuals.

The new bill also gives sweeping powers to the Centre to suspend the licence of any NGO, which could previously be suspended for 180 days under the original law, by an additional 180 days. And it reduces the amount of funds received that can be spent on administrative expenses to 20% from the previous 50%.