MHA begins FCRA helpdesk to look into NGOs’ queries

The Union home ministry has started a helpdesk under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) for the non-government organisations (NGOs) to submit their queries and issues related to foreign funding, licensing and related issues, officials familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Around 879 users have already registered, and 121 tickets (related to the issues/queries) have been resolved on the online helpdesk till Monday evening, according to a notice uploaded on the home ministry’s website.

The helpdesk, people familiar with the development said, will help resolve various complaints of the NGOs and associations which face problems in FCRA related issues.

The government has tightened the FCRA by making NGOs accountable for receiving and usage of foreign funds. MHA data shows that NGOs have received foreign funding amounting to ₹55,449 crore in last three years. There were 16,301 NGOs in the country which had a valid FCRA licence as on July 17 and FCRA licences of over 6,600 NGOs have been cancelled in the last five years for violation of the law.

Overall, FCRA licences of 20,693 NGOs have been cancelled till date.