Thread by @LAOT_Blog

On 14 Sept. 2021, @the_hindu reported that the government has restricted funding for 10 international NGOs working on issues related to the environment, climate change (specifically their ‘advocacy against coal’) and child rights.
thehindu.com/news/national/…

This has been done by placing these NGOs on the Prior Reference Category (PRC) which implies that when a foreign donor would want to transfer money to a recipient association in India (which is in the PRC), they would require the prior clearance of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Our editor Shravani had written a post explaining how the #FCRA, amended in Sept. 2020, resulted in over-regulation of civil society organisations, having a chilling effect on effective public participation of CSOs in opposing government policies lawandotherthings.com/2020/11/over-r…

@sruthisagar for @scroll_in wrote how during Covid-19, #FCRA created barriers for NGOs by prohibiting subgranting, mandating bank accounts with SBI, & instituting a 20% cap on administrative expenses for any foreign funds received by FCRA-registered NGOs scroll.in/article/993897…

@DeshmaneAkshay writing for @MorningContext explains the context behind the Govt's latest effort to rein in green NGOs, informed by a 2014 IB report that names foreign funded NGOs which seemingly want to ‘take down’ Indian development projects bit.ly/3Cg20e8

@MorningContext highlights the irony, showing how the government is not against foreign donations when it is made for their benefit. It refers to a @HindustanTimes
article by @MilanV to highlight the “double-speak of parties on foreign funding” hindustantimes.com/analysis/the-d…

It also mentions the article by @KabirDixit1 for @IndianExpress which states that FCRA creates a “Catch-22” like situation, containing provisions that give unbridled powers to the Home Ministry to disqualify any NGO. indianexpress.com/article/opinio…