Both Houses of Parliament have referred the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for detailed examination and wider stakeholder consultation. The Bill proposes a framework for managing the assets of organisations once their foreign-contribution registration ceases.
Separately, the Ministry of Home Affairs has notified the FCRA Amendment Rules, 2026, which aim to strengthen compliance, transparency and accountability in how NGOs and associations handle foreign contributions.
The Bill creates a Designated Authority to take custody of, manage and dispose of foreign-contribution assets after registration is cancelled, surrendered, or lapses because a renewal application was not filed or was rejected. It is meant to address a procedural gap under Section 15 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
Assets would vest provisionally in the Authority and be returned if registration is restored. If registration is not restored within the prescribed period, they would vest permanently and be used for public purposes, and sale proceeds would be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India. The Authority must preserve the religious character of places of worship and cannot convert, repurpose or secularise them.
Organisations could seek revision of the Authority's order within 90 days and appeal before the District Judge.
Proposed Section 14B would end registration automatically if renewal is not completed before expiry. The maximum imprisonment for violations would fall from five years to one year, to ensure proportionate enforcement. State governments and agencies would need Central Government approval before starting investigations under the Act, to avoid overlapping proceedings.
The Act regulates foreign donations to individuals and associations, and registration is mandatory for receiving them. Registration is valid for five years, and a renewal application is due within six months of expiry. Foreign contributions must first be received in a designated account at the State Bank of India, New Delhi Main Branch. Administrative expenses are capped at 20% of annual foreign contributions, and organisations file annual returns in Form FC-4.
Candidates, journalists, media companies, judges, government servants, politicians and political organisations cannot receive foreign funds under the Act. The government can cancel registration for violations or for a lack of reasonable activity in the chosen field for two consecutive years, and a cancelled NGO cannot re-register for three years. The law was first enacted in 1976, during the Emergency, over concerns about foreign interference through financial support to independent organisations.
One concern is institutional autonomy: government control over the management and disposal of assets may reduce the operational independence of NGOs, charitable bodies and educational or religious institutions. Vesting assets without an adequate hearing raises natural justice questions, and permanent loss of assets raises property-rights and proportionality issues.
Minority-run educational, healthcare and welfare institutions that depend on foreign contributions have expressed concern about a possible disproportionate impact. Placing management and disposal powers with an administrative authority also raises concerns about independent review and accountability, and wide executive discretion over transfer and disposal could lead to arbitrary or inconsistent application.
States have argued that reforms affecting a large network of charitable and social institutions require wider consultation with State governments and stakeholders. Regulatory uncertainty and the possibility of asset loss may also discourage legitimate NGOs from social, educational, cultural and welfare work.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee will now examine these provisions and the objections to them.
With reference to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
Provision of the FCRA, 2010 : Description
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: Several States and minority-run institutions have objected to the FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026, which proposes that State governments and agencies need Central Government approval before starting investigations under the Act.
Statement-II: The Bill raises the maximum imprisonment for violations from one year to five years.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
