- What is FCRA?
- What is the need of FCRA Act?
- Who can accept Foreign Contribution?
- Who cannot accept Foreign Contribution?
- Why is FCRN Act in news?
- Controversy
- Mock Questions
What is FCRA?
- Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)
- It regulates the foreign contribution (money donation) and foreign hospitality (e.g. free airplane tickets and hotel lodging during videsh-yaatra) given to various NGOs, institutes, judges, journalists, public servants etc.
What is the need of FCRA Act?
- To check that foreigners are not affecting India’s electoral politics, public servants, judges, journalists, NGOs etc. for wrong purposes.
- If someone violates the FCRA act, he can be sent to jail for up to 5 years.
Who can accept Foreign Contribution?
- Organizations working for definite cultural, social, economic, educational or religious programs.
- But first, they’ve get permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs AND
- Second, they have to maintain separate account book listing the donation received from foreigners and get it audited by a Chartered Accountant and submit it to Home Ministry every year.
Who cannot accept Foreign Contribution?
- Election candidate.
- MP and MLAs.
- Newspaper-walla: Correspondent, columnist, cartoonist, editor, owner, printer or publishers of a registered Newspaper.
- Public Servents: Judge, government servant or employee of any Corporation or any other body controlled on owned by the Government.
Why is FCRN Act in news?
- Earlier Mohan said that “US based NGOs are financing the protests @KundanKullam Nuke Power Plant.”
- So Home ministry got in action, bank accounts of some NGOs were frozen after it was found that they were diverting money received from their donors abroad into funding protests at the Koodankulam plant.
- Now, Home ministry has cancelled some more registrations including top 8 national educational institutions such as –Jawaharlal Nehru University, IIT-Kanpur and Jamia Milia Islamia saying that these institutes are not maintaining proper FCRA accounts.
- so, Unless their registrations are restored, these institutions cannot receive contributions from abroad.
Controversy
- The Home Ministry had earlier made a notification that if xyz organization’s accounts are audited by CAG then it doesnot need to maintain FCRA accounts.
- Jamia Milia, JNU etc. = Central Universities = hence audited by CAG = They don’t need to maintain FCRA accounts in the first place.
Mock Questions
Q1. Which of the following statements are correct?
- Finance Ministry is responsible for implementing Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)
- Kundankullam Power plant is located in Andhra Pradesh.
- A Lok Sabha election candidate can accept foreign donations for campaign after taking necessary approval from Chief Election Commissioner.
Q2. Write a note on the Salient Features of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). 12 marks.
![[Laws] DESI liquor special edition Kerala, Mizoram & IPS Training, Tribal insurgency](https://mrunal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Cover_Polity_kerala-liquor-500x383.gif)
![[Economic Survey] Corrections in the previous articles + Parting words before Qatl ki Subha](https://mrunal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Cover-Economic-Survey-correction-500x383.jpg)
Hai mrunal
Can u plz explain clearly what is DTC,GST,GAAR. It’s uses it’s pros cons
And d impact of this on Indian economy
Thank you
Regards
Dear Mohammed Yunus,
DTC is Direct Tax Code. It is a step taken by the Government to consolidate all the direct taxes in the country. That is all the direct taxes will be summed up in a single code i.e. DTC
GST – Goods and Services Tax. Just like DTC it is effort by the government to consolidate all the indirect taxes in the country. This will reduce the complexity involved in the different types of taxes are presently being implemented. It will replace all the indirect taxes in the country.
GAAR is Genenal Anti Avoidance Rule
respected sir i just started prep for civil services and ur site gives good knowledge for us thank .as i m working in govt sec my office is from 7 – 2 and sat sunday off . so plz sir can u give me some guide line for preparing for IAS exam . thank u sir
Tumhari job kaunsi hai bhai ???
Hi Mrunal,
As you said in the first section FCRA regulates foreign contribution given to NGO, public servants, judges etc……but other the other hand you mentioned that public servants, judges can’t accept foreign contribution.
I am a bit confused with this?
Please elaborate this.
Thanks & Regards,
Neha
The foreign contribution in elections ,to judges or to public servants may have adverse effect in our policy implementation and governance . To avoid this, FCRA puts restriction that judges or public servants
should not receive foreign contri. and only NGOs and other orgs should get it with approval from Home Ministry. So whatever mentioned is right.
I thnik he meant they should not recieve acc to law …fcra checks on them..
HI MRUNAL,
CAN U EXPLAINE WHAT IS TWIN DEFICIET WITH EFFECT ON INDIAN ECONOMY
Fiscal deficit & Current account deficit. Both together are known as twin deficit.
hii partho…..
nowadays mrunal seems lil bit busy so i am asking this question to u…..
my problem is that i dont how to tackle revision of stuff tht i hv already gone thru???
should on a daily basis i must revise something …or i should keep certain days aside in a week for revision….plz help???? suppose if i begin with any new book then shud i read in a single go 1st and then learn whtevr i had highlighted and then revise it……..or it shud be done chapterwise or learn things as it comes while reading tht stuff……….
thnx in advance……..
HELLO SIR
KINDLY INFORM US MORE ABOUT GAAR & FRINGE BENEFIT TAX.
I think I already wrote an article on GAAR. go through the Archives on mrunal.org/economy
u have mentioned tht newspaper walla are not allowed??? so electronic media is out of its purview or electronic media without print mode is not present at all???
and is IIT not a central university???
GOOD JOB……
Q,1 ANS IS 2
@ Sajal
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is in Tamil Nadu.
For question number 1 all the options are incorrect.
1- Ministry of Home affairs (FOREIGNERS DIVISION, FCRA Wing) is responsible for implementing FCRA.
2- Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is in Tamil Nadu.
3- A Lok Sabha election candidate can not accept foreign donations for campaign after taking necessary approval from Chief Election Commissioner.
that’s right.
THe foreign Grant sanctioned to Maharashtra Univercity of Health Sciences . What is the correct procedure to accept the sanctioned foreign Grant ?
i got fcra on 29/06/2012/. how do know that fcra is true or fake?
Sir,
Can a mnc pharmaceutical company sponsor government doctor (public servant) to attend any medical related conferences abroad? It includes free air travel, accomodation, etc. does the doctor need to take permission from central govt? Does the doctor in his application inform that the source of funds is an mnc? Will that be fine or the source of funds had to be fcra certified association
Dear,can u please define the family for the purpose of this act?thank you
Whats the link between defining “Family” and “purpose of this act”?
Dear can u pls define family for the purpose of this act?thank you
Foreigners have given their contribution to Indian Co. to give it to a trust in India. That Indian Company has given that amount to trust on behalf of Foreigners in rupees.
Hence my query is that whether that donation is foreign income for the trust or domestic income?
Recent:
AAP was funded by NRI, but it’s not covered by FCRA.
Sir, FCRA is not very clear. please explain more with an example.
dear sir we are having one ngo and we had been contacted by one agency from delhi for generating funds for our ngo but we dont know them and till now we are contributing from our pocket for social programs can we accept the proposal kindly let me know sir
Dear Sir, my question is that in my case foreigners are depositing money ($35 – $90) to us for taking part in our photographic competition. now do we come under the purview of this act? should we make an association or public charitable trust or section 25 company ?