Missionaries of Charity & FCRA Row: Story So Far

Despite the fact that the government did not freeze the Missionaries of Charity's (MoC) bank accounts, their FCRA registration issues are expected to create a major interruption to their philanthropic operations across India. Experts who work on such issues told that the central government's reluctance to renew their FCRA registration will take at least a year to remedy, and even then, it may not be effective.

Now, what is it about? The whole row is in regards to the organization that Mother Teresa founded in 1950 in the country.

What is it About?

The Ministry of Home Affairs explained that the MoC's request for renewal of their FCRA certification was denied on December 25, 2021, because they "did not meet the eligibility standards under the FCRA 2010 and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules (FCRR) 2011."

The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) was enacted in 1976 to control the flow of money into the country from abroad. The old law was repealed in 2010, and a new FCRA was enacted in its place.

Election candidates, newspaper editors or publishers, judges, public servants, members of Parliament and state legislatures, and even political parties are all prohibited from accepting foreign contributions including cash donations or any gift, under any circumstances under the FCRA. In case of prior permission and registration with the government, then charitable organizations can accept foreign donations.

The actual reason why the MHA rejected to renew the MoC's request to renew their FCRA registration is unknown at this time. The motive for doing so, on the other hand, will be crucial to what happens next. If the cause is genuinely, "audit abnormalities," the problem isn't insurmountable.

A 2020 amendment that could have resulted in an audit irregularity is that now every FCRA-registered organization must have a specific FCRA account for receiving funds at a State Bank of India branch in Delhi; foreign funds cannot be received in any other bank account, even if it is notified to the government.