The amendments to the foreign donation bill are not targeted against any community but concerns over internal security and national interest have prompted the government to bring the legislation, Union home secretary Govind Mohan told the Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) in the capital on Friday.
The 31-member JPC, headed by BJP’s Sanjay Jaiswal, is reviewing the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill , 2026, which proposes a government-appointed authority to manage and dispose of assets of organisations who cease to have registration to receive donations from abroad. As a result, most assets remain with associations while their bank funds are frozen. Several MPs, including P Wilson of the DMK , Christopher Tilak and Anto Antony of the Congress, and Zia Ur Rehman of Samajwadi Party (SP), questioned whether the bill would adversely affect minority interests. Mohan clarified that the legislation was not aimed at any community but argued that the FCRA was essentially a national security law. The meeting also saw discussion on foreign-funded NGOs and their activities. Did Gujarat and Tamil Nadu benefit from the two respective projects or not.
Mohan told the panel that some provisions of the existing law could not be implemented. In his presentation, he said the framework for vesting of assets resulted in “the prescribed authority (states) unable to implement provisions” and that there were “no clear rules for managing or disposing vested assets. Jaiswal said, “We have seen how NGOs opposed the Sardar Sarovar dam in Gujarat and Kudankulam nuclear power station. Jaiswal told HT that the panel would meet several chief ministers, including all Christian chief ministers and those from other parties. “We will have a wide-ranging debate,” he said. The home secretary told the panel that while notified agencies were allowed to investigate FCRA violations, the proposed amendments would require prior approval from the Central government before an investigation could be initiated.
