Following the arrest of six ministry of home affairs officials in the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) bribery case, the foreigners division of MHA has been overhauled to break the chain of deep-rooted network.
The Union home ministry has granted approval to the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra to receive contributions from foreign sources for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, its general secretary Champat Rai said on Wednesday.
The Aam Aadmi Party dismissed the allegation as "baseless" and claimed it was "another conspiracy hatched by the BJP" to tarnish AAP's image ahead of voting for Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and Punjab.
The administration appealed that the process of law should be allowed to take its own course and expressed confidence that "together we will bring back normalcy in the peace-loving Leh township and continue with our dialogue process".
Certain data related to hundreds of NGOs, which were registered with the government, have been removed from the website of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) operated by the Union home ministry, officials said.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested Friday by a police party in Leh, two days after violent protests by supporters of the movement for statehood and extension of Sixth Schedule of Constitution left four persons dead and 90 others injured, officials said.
However, organisations such as the Missionaries of Charity will not be eligible for the extension benefits as their applications for a renewal of the FCRA registration have already been rejected, according to a notice issued by the ministry of home affairs.
These entities did not apply for renewal of their FCRA licence. In addition, the Union home ministry also rejected renewal applications of 179 organisations, officials said.
Official said a CBI inquiry has been recommended against Aman Biradari for violation of various provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
'I want to request the central government that they should not target someone just for the sake of targeting him if he has not done anything wrong.'
The Central Bureau of Investigation has named 10 non-government organisations, including the US-based Omidyar, as accused in the case of allegedly conspiring to illegally facilitate the registration and renewal of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act licences.
The income tax department on Wednesday conducted a survey operation against Delhi-based think-tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and global NGO Oxfam India apart from a media foundation as part of a probe related to alleged FCRA contravention in funds received by them, official sources said.
Swami Giri said the trust has so far collected more than Rs 3200 crore in donations from individuals and organizations within the country.
The CBI had sought the sanction of the government to prosecute the international human rights organisation because of mandatory clause of Section 40 of the FCRA.
The Missionaries of Charity is a Catholic religious congregation established in 1950 by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa to help the poor and destitute,
Most of these cancellations were done on account of non-filing of annual returns which is a mandatory requirement under the law, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed that the home ministry's decision to cancel the FCRA licences of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust for alleged violation of laws has "exposed" their corruption.
The action came after investigations carried out by an inter-ministerial committee formed by the home ministry in 2020.
Shiv Sena functionary Rahool Kanal has said that comedian Kunal Kamra, who is facing a police case in Mumbai for making a derogatory remark against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, will be welcomed in "Shiv Sena-style" when he comes to the city. Kanal also said the party has written to the Mumbai police demanding a probe against Kamra under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) over foreign funding and unaccounted money. Kamra was summoned to appear before the Mumbai police on March 31 in a case related to derogatory remarks against Shinde. The Madras High Court granted interim anticipatory bail to the comedian on the condition that he execute a bond to the satisfaction of the judicial magistrate at Vanur in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu.
After the case was registered, the CBI carried out searches at four places in the national capital and Bengaluru.
In a notification, the home ministry also said if the amount exceeds, the individuals will now have 90 days to inform the government instead of 30 days earlier.
Funding challenges are not limited to just one think tank. Several scholars say that access for conducting research and getting foreign funds has become a major hurdle for think tanks, with the government raising many questions regarding such inflows. As a result, many think tanks are keeping a low profile and becoming less prolific.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha said the petitions raise three separate issues and hence, the need to hear them separately.
The CBI has registered a case of alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act against human rights activist Harsh Mander and his NGO, and searched his premises on Friday, officials said.
The UK government has asked for specific numbers over a period to drill-down on the use of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act by the Indian government around funding licences of non-governmental organisations, the House of Lords was informed during a debate.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a charge sheet against noted Malayalam author Paul Zacharia and four others including two charitable organisations in a case related to embezzlement of foreign funds.
Giving a reform boost to the commodity futures market, the government on Thursday cleared a Bill that seeks to provide more power including financial autonomy to regulator FMC and introduce new categories of products.
Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the legislation was not against any NGO and is an effort to maintain transparency. This amendment is in the interest of good NGOs which want to do good work in the country.
The home ministry also ordered a probe by the Computer Emergency Response Team-India to ascertain whether there was hacking of government software systems as there have been several instances where licences of NGOs under scrutiny were renewed automatically.
NRIs lobby for unrestricted flow of foreign funds in India for philantrophic purposes. They appealed to the govt. to do away with FCRA.
The court while granting bail to the duo also held that it does not find any possibility of the accused persons fleeing from justice and that their custodial interrogation was not required.
Amidst allegations of anti-India slogans being raised at an Amnesty event in Bengaluru, the home ministry has launched a probe into the funding of the NGO, its expenses and "possible" violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act by it.
The department had launched searches against the 48-year-old actor and the Lucknow-based group of industries involved in infrastructure on September 15 and the CBDT said the action was continuing.
Bill Gates' remark, intended to underscore India's role in global development efforts, faced swift backlash on social media, where many criticised the choice of words as inappropriate and patronising.
The Union home ministry on Thursday recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the affairs of the Indian arm of the global NGO Oxfam for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, sources said.
The top court noted many recipients of foreign contributions had not utilised the same for the purposes for which they were registered or granted prior permission under the Act.
The Election Commission (EC) had, in 2019, flagged its concerns in the Supreme Court on the changes made in several laws relating to political funding to facilitate the electoral bonds scheme, saying it will have 'serious repercussions' on transparency.
The CBI registered an FIR against NewsClick and its founder Prabir Purkayastha for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act and carried out searches at the office and residence of the portal's founder on Wednesday, officials said.
'All those who participated in the agitation were branded as anti-nationals.'
The ministry of home affairs has suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of prominent public think-tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR) over violation of laws, officials said on Thursday.
