Amid criticism from some US lawmakers and civil society groups about proposed changes to India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act FCRA), Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra took to X in an effort to counter what he said were misperceptions about the amendments.
Evidence and Data
Kwatra’s statements came amid expectations that Parliament would take up the FCRA Amendment bill for discussion and voting this week. Opposition from religious groups in India – including the Catholic Bishops Conference of India – has centered around concerns that the foreign contributions and assets of a civil society or religious organisation could be seized permanently should it fail to regain an FCRA licence. These concerns have travelled borders, with HT reporting in June that a number of US based Christian groups and lawmakers had begun taking up the matter. FCRA does not stop anyone from accepting foreign charity, research grants or humanitarian aid. The amended bill in front of Parliament this month will only seek to clarify procedures once assets are seized. “When a registration is cancelled or surrendered, foreign contributions and the assets created from them already vest in a State Government authority. It is not new.
Addressing concerns about provisions related to the seizure of assets, the Indian envoy pointed out that many of these frameworks were not new and had been in place since 2010. This has been in force since 2010. What the 2026 Bill adds is a designated authority to safeguard those assets — and a way back.
It asks three things — register, receive the money through laid down process, report what you did with it,” he said in one post. If the organisation restores its registration, all assets and unused funds are returned in full,” Kwatra asserted, before adding that places of worship received their own protection such that “where a cancelled association has created property connected to a place of worship, that property goes to another FCRA-registered association of the same faith to ensure continuity of worship.”
