Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Get your FCRA cancelled - without any effort!!!!

FCRA Department has asked 18,523 NGOs to file missing FC returns immediately. These NGOs are named in a notification, along with years for which the returns are required. However, there has been poor response from the NGOs, many of whom may not be aware of this.

FCRA Department has now warned (again!) that if these NGOs do not file the missing returns (from 10-11), they will face cancellation of their FCRA. If your FCRA has been renewed already, it will be revoked.

You should therefore visit the FCRA site immediately and check whether your name is on the list. If yes, please file the missing returns online without delay, before 14-June-17. Or have your FCRA cancelled - automatically!

The choice is yours.

Ref:
1. FCRA notification dated 12-May-17 https://fcraonline.nic.in/home/PDF_Doc/fc_Notice_12052017_01.pdf
2. FCRA notification dated 22-May-17 https://fcraonline.nic.in/home/PDF_Doc/fc_Circular_22052017.pdf
3. FCRA Circular dated 29-May-17 https://fcraonline.nic.in/home/PDF_Doc/fc_Circular_30052017.pdf

Despite Kinks, Home Ministry’s New System Will Expand Efforts to Closely Monitor Foreign-Funded NGOs

The home ministry wants a on-the-fingertip breakdown of how foreign funding shapes the NGO ecosystem in India. Credit: Reuters

New Delhi: Nearly two years after the Modi government decided to implement stricter checks on the flow and usage of foreign funds by NGOs in India, the home ministry's efforts to link the bank accounts of NGOs with a central government digital payment processing system hasn't gone off smoothly.

Nevertheless, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, as the kinks get worked out, it will become the government's most expansive attempt at monitoring and analysing the bank accounts and expenditure of foreign-funded NGOs.  

According to internal home ministry documentation, in addition to automated alerts for basic bank transactions, the MHA plans on keeping a track of "sudden rise in foreign contribution credit of persons" as well as a "month-wise trend analysis" of the credit and debit transactions of "top persons".

In June 2015, media reports detailed the home ministry's efforts to construct an automated system whereby it would receive real-time alerts of when NGOs received foreign funds. The decision to do so came just months after the Modi government cancelled the licenses of nearly 13,000 NGOs for alleged violation of rules that governed foreign funding.

The goal, quite simply, was to link the bank accounts of NGOs that came under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) to the Centre's public financial management system (PFMS). The PMFS, managed by the finance ministry's controller general of accounts, handles the processing and tracking of payments for a number of government schemes including MGNREGS.

The FCRA-PFMS system therefore would monitor the receipt and utilisation of any foreign contribution credited in the bank accounts of NGOs that had received permission to accept foreign funds under the FCRA.

What kind of tracking?

"The basic idea for automated, 24×7 monitoring was two-fold. Firstly, to crack down on any potential violations immediately, rather than noticing it months after. Another issue was that many NGOs simply didn't file the FCRA returns they were supposed to, so if there was some direct, bank monitoring system that the MHA could directly handle, it would be good," a senior government official, who declined to be identified, told The Wire.

A home ministry note from March, which The Wire has reviewed, points out what features the FCRA-PFMS is expected to have. They include "automated alerts for the bank account[s] of watch-listed persons" as well as "year-wise returns filed and amount received".

However, government officials, who help build and maintain the FCRA-PFMS system, also point out that several home ministry departments want the ability to quickly collate basic information and build profiles of the inflow of funds from various countries and organisations.

Therefore, the home ministry's tracking system is also likely to start filing away information such as "purpose-wise, year-wise foreign contribution receipts" in addition to breaking down foreign inflows into further categories such as "donor", "person" and "country".

"This helps the MHA and different intelligence agencies when they want to look at a certain section of NGOs. What countries and organisations fund a certain type of NGO? And how often do they do it and how much do they give? This is basic collation and a basic breakdown that is extremely helpful to have at one's fingertips, especially when thinking of prevention of terror incidents," a government official said.

Account analysis

The home ministry note also goes into some depth on what sort of analysis could be undertaken based on the account monitoring. The means by which foreign-funded NGOs conduct transactions appears to be of particular interest.

For instance, one area of interest includes the "total transaction amount by different instrument type (cheque, voucher, cash Internet etc)". The ministry seems set on compiling a list of the "top ten persons having maximum count of cash transaction for debit". Or in other words, NGOs that receive funds digitally from other countries but end up withdrawing a significant portion of that money engaging in cash-based transactions.

Another potential point of monitoring states simply: "Year-wise/month-wise trend analysis [of] credit/debit of top persons". While the ministry note doesn't state who these "top persons" are, officials pointed out that the larger picture was to get a feel for the "sense and shape of foreign funding" that flows into NGOs in India.

A few hurdles

Although the FCRA-PFMS system was envisioned as far back as 2015, as of March 2017, it still struggled to operate smoothly. This, officials says, is because of two major reasons. Firstly, roughly 15% of NGOs that have received foreign funding (latest stats say there are around 24,000 functioning NGOs in India) don't have their bank accounts with institutions that have core-banking facilities – these are primarily cooperative or state government-owned apex banks. If the institution does not have core-banking facilities, its impossible for the RBI, and therefore the MHA, to have real-time updates on transactions.

Secondly, according to sources, the internal banking systems (intranets) of various banks (nationalised and private) only update their intranets with transaction data of FCRA-sanctioned accounts once in 24 or 36 hours. This means that even if the home ministry wanted automatic updates on transaction activity, it was not able to get it from NGOs that had accounts with certain banks.

According to sources, while one home ministry department has tried to urge the RBI to have this issue fixed in late 2016 and early 2017, it has only just started making some headway. In March, the home ministry announced publicly in the Rajya Sabha that it had requested "RBI Banks to integrate FCRA accounts with the Public Financial Management System" – a sign that even though the MHA wanted this project done by 2015, it was still struggling as of 2017.

Source: https://thewire.in/141259/mha-system-will-expand-efforts-monitor-foreign-funded-ngos/

 

Friday, May 26, 2017

Upload Missing FC Returns or Face Cancellation

FCRA Department has asked 18,523 NGOs to file missing FC returns immediately. These NGOs are named in the notification, along with years for which the returns are required. However, there has been poor response from the NGOs, many of whom may not be aware of this.

FCRA Department has now added some teeth to its request. It has said that if these NGOs do not file the missing returns (from 10-11), they may face cancellation of their FCRA. If your FCRA has been renewed, it may be revoked.

You should therefore visit the FCRA site immediately and check whether your name is on the list. If yes, please file the missing returns online without delay, before 14-June-17.

Renewal of FCRA licence

The FCRA Department vide its notice dated 12.05.2017, has published a list of 18,523 NGOs which have applied for renewal but have not uploaded their annual returns from FY 2010-11 and 2014-15. Therefore, the Government has decided to give one final opportunity to all such associations/organizations to upload their missing Annual Returns within one month (15 May 2017 to 14 June 2017). It is to be noted, that no compounding fees will be charged during this period.

You may find the list of NGO's at the link given below

https://fcraonline.nic.in/home/PDF_Doc/fc_list_12052017.pdf <https://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/red.cgi?red=https%3A%2F%2Ffcraonline%2Enic%2Ein%2Fhome%2FPDF%5FDoc%2Ffc%5Flist%5F12052017%2Epdf&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0&rogue=919e6151124c408585705976193e4f6aad264bab&rdf=X3gGW1U1B3dWewMjBzULPFNv>

Hence, in the light of the above notice, the associations mentioned in the respective list are advised to go to the above link and search for your FCRA number or name to see whether you are in the list. If yes, check the years for which the returns are missing. Then login to your FCRA account and file/upload the missing returns.

Please note that, it is advisable to upload the missing returns, even if you think you have already filed a paper or electronic return earlier.

FCRA: A prominent tactic used by government to suppress criticism of its policies by civil society

An excerpt from the report "Minority Rights Violations in India" by Alliance for Justice & Accountability, consisting of Indian American Muslim Council, Dalit American Coalition, Organization of Minorities From India, TwoCircles and South Asian Solidarity Initiative:

One of the prominent tactics increasingly used by the Indian government to suppress criticism of its policies by civil society organizations is to restrict or outrightly deny them their right to source donations from outside India. In this the government is aided by a draconian law, the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA), which was written in 1976 and amended in 2010.

The law prohibits "organizations of a political nature" from receiving funds under, and the government has abused it to label any criticism of its policies and actions as being of this nature, even though political parties are legally allowed to receive foreign funding. Section 5 of the law authorizes the federal government to term an organization as being of a political nature "having regard to the activities of the organization or the ideology propagated by the organization."

The government has used the broad definition to abuse the law to suspend licenses and launch criminal cases against individuals and organizations. The law limits access to overseas funds for charities as well as missionaries and religious organizations. "[The] government has used it to block funds to hamper the activities of NGOs that question or condemn the government or its policies," notes the USCIRF report.

The most prominent case of this abuse is that of the activist couple, Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand, whose two NGOs, Citizens for Justice and Peace and Sabrang Trust, have done pioneering work in Gujarat in bringing to justice ultranationalist Hindus linked to the RSS-BJP who massacred Muslims in the state in 2002. Human rights defenders accuse Mr. Modi of carrying out a vendetta against Ms. Setalvad and Mr. Anand after becoming prime minister.

The government has accused both of violating the FCRA and receiving funds unlawfully. Ms. Setalvad "is renowned for her supportive endeavors" for the Gujarat violence victims, and has been campaigning to seek "criminal charges against Indian officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for their alleged involvement in the anti-Muslim riots," the HRW writes. The government also put the New York-based Ford Foundation on a "watch list" as it once funded one of Ms. Setalvad's projects.

The U.S. Department of State has "raised concerns over the constraints that were put on the Ford Foundation. 122 In May 2015, the U.S. ambassador to India Richard Verma expressed concerns over challenges faced by civil society organizations in India and the "potentially chilling effects" of the regulatory measures focused on NGOs. Yet, in June 2016, the government brazenly cancelled the registration of Sabrang Trust under the FCRA.

In another example of extreme cynicism the Modi Administration shut down India's largest Dalit NGO, the Navsarjan Trust, alleging that it was inciting caste tensions by speaking out about it. 123 This clampdown followed immediately after the Trust played a leading role in widespread protests by Dalits in Gujarat against cow vigilantes which mobilized tens of thousands.

The government has in fact taken a battering ram to the civil society. In 2015, after it came to power, it cancelled and/or suspended the licenses of approximately 8,000 NGOs under the FCRA, invoking a clause that allows it to reject foreign donations by NGOs where it "is satisfied that the acceptance of foreign contribution… is likely to affect prejudicially… public interest."

In November 2016, the Ministry of Home Affairs rejected FCRA registration renewals of 25 NGOs, including Lawyer's Collective, a legal resource NGO run by a former Additional Solicitor General of India, Indira Jaising. In addition, some NGOs were placed on a "prior permissions" list that requires government pre-approval of any transfer of funds from abroad. "Several NGOs stated these actions threaten their ability to continue to operate in the country," says HRW. The license of Greenpeace India to raise foreign funds was also cancelled, leading to its shutdown.

A legal analysis by the UN special rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly and Association published in April 2015 said the FCRA did not conform to "international law, principles, and standards." In June the UN Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights Defenders; on Freedom of Expression; and on Freedom of Association called on India to repeal the FCRA. Their call was triggered by the cancellation of the license of Lawyers Collective.

"We are alarmed by reports that the suspension was politically motivated and was aimed at intimidating, delegitimizing and silencing Lawyers Collective for their litigation and criticism of the Government's policies," they said.  "We are also concerned about procedural irregularities surrounding the order, including repeatedly leaked information to the press of suspension notices against the Lawyers Collective months before those were formally served to the NGO.

"We strongly urge the Government to reverse its decision and embrace the invaluable contribution of the two prominent human rights defenders in upholding constitutional values in India," the experts said. "We encourage the authorities to ensure a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders and civil society, which play a critical role in holding the Government to account and buttressing the Indian democracy."

The statement said FCRA "provisions were increasingly being used…to silence organizations involved in advocating civil, political, economic, social, environmental, or cultural priorities, which may differ from those backed by the Government." The government has ignored that plea.

Serious criticism has also been leveled by UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association Maina Kiai. "Access to resources, including foreign funding, is a fundamental part of the right to freedom of association under international law, standards, and principles, and more particularly part of forming an association," she has written.

"Therefore, any restriction on access to foreign funding must meet the stringent test for allowable restrictions for the right to association developed by the international human rights bodies. Given this narrow test, restricting access to foreign funding for associations based on notions such as "political nature," "economic interest of the State" or "public interest" violates the right because these terms or definitions are overly broad, do not conform to a prescribed aim, and are not a proportionate responses to the purported goal of the restriction.

"Such stipulations create an unacceptable risk that the law could be used to silence any association involved in advocating political, economic, social, environmental or cultural priorities which differ from those espoused by the government of the day. These restrictions as defined by the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (2010) and Rules (2011), do not meet the obligations of the Union of India under international law, standards and principles."

In March 2017, the government proposed in Parliament to bring a new law, without attempting to amend the FCRA, that would allow unlimited and anonymous foreign funding of political parties. Exactly a year previously, the government had introduced an amendment to the FCRA to legalize funding by foreign entities to political parties, coming into effect retroactively from 2010.

Human rights defenders have alleged that these changes in the laws would make it easier for ultranationalist Hindu groups located outside India to fund further radicalization of the BJP-linked vigilantes that indulge in hate violence against India's social and religious minorities.

As the government has cracked down on the NGOs, it has never brought the BJP-linked groups, beginning with the RSS and including the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, into its scrutiny. To enable foreign companies to route their funding through Indian subsidiaries, the amended law says such subsidiary would be considered to be Indian companies for funding under FCRA.

Source: https://counterview.org/2017/05/25/fcra-a-prominent-tactic-used-by-government-to-suppress-criticism-of-its-policies-by-civil-society/

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

File returns else face licence cancellation: MHA warns NGOs

New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) The FCRA registration of NGOs failing to submit their annual income and expenditure records by June 14 will be cancelled, the government has warned.

The home ministry in a circular said a large number of NGOs, which were registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, are yet to submit their annual returns for five years -- 2010-11 to 2014-15 despite giving a final opportunity to do so.

"It may be noted that the failure to upload annual returns by NGOs may lead to cancellation of registration/ renewal granted to them," Joint Secretary (foreigners division) in the home ministry Mukesh Mittal said.

Earlier, the ministry had said starting May 15 and till June 14, all such NGOs can upload their missing annual returns along with the requisite documents within 30 days.

No compounding fee will be imposed on them for late filing of annual returns during this period and this exemption was a one-time measure, it said.

As per the rules, the renewal of registration under FCRA cannot be granted unless the annual returns are uploaded to the FCRA website by the organisation.

"In order to avoid such a situation, NGOs are once again requested to upload their missing annual returns immediately," Mittal said in the circular issued yesterday.

The government is estimated to have cancelled the licences of nearly 7,500 NGOs in last three years after they failed to disclose their income and expenditure statements.

The government scheme is not applicable to NGOs like Greenpeace, Sabrang Trust, Islamic Research Foundation and 1,300 others whose registrations have been cancelled for allegedly violating various provisions of the FCRA.

In November, 2016, the government had directed more than 11,000 NGOs to file applications for renewal of registration by February 28, 2017.

However, only 3,500 NGOs filed applications for renewal while the registration of more than 7,000 NGOs were deemed expired due to non-filing. PTI ACB KUN

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/file-returns-else-face-licence-cancellation-mha-warns-ngos/1/961211.html

Notification regarding renewal of FCRA registration of NGOs

This is in continuation of notice dated 12.05.2017 regarding uploading of missing Annual returns from F.Y 2010-11 to 2014-15 at the FCRA website in the Form FC-4.

The FCRA Department through the attached notice has laid down the implication for non-filing of Annual returns within the prescribed time limit. It has been clarified by the FCRA Department that the non - filing of Annual returns as per the mentioned list may lead to cancellation of FCRA registration/ Renewal granted to the associations. Kindly check again if the name of your organisation figures in the list and take necessary action immediately.

The said notice has been attached herewith for your reference

How SBI’s Youth For India Fellowship programme gives its Fellows the freedom to bring about much-needed change for the marginalised in India’s remote rural areas

We are fortunate to be living in an era where India is on the cusp of great change. Modernity and convenience are everywhere. However, these conveniences come with challenges and we are quick to complain about anything that shatters that first-world illusion, be it potholes, garbage, or the rampant and unplanned urbanisation over a creaking infrastructure. Barely a handful will step up and get their hands dirty to make a positive change.

There are a few among us, though, who think beyond their own lives and about people living in the most backward areas of the country. And enabling their dream to help those less fortunate than them is State Bank of India's Youth for India Fellowship. Instituted in 2011, the programme has seen over 130 young people work with partner NGOs in the remotest corners of India on development projects that will empower some of the poorest and disenfranchised among us. YourStory spoke with 12 Fellows from the 2016-17 batch to find out how they are bringing about much needed change. Here is the first in a two-part series:

Ankur Chhabra

Ankur Chhabra will always remember Gandhi Jayanti 2016, the day he embarked on his journey as a SBI Youth For India Fellow. Over the next 13 months, he was to live in Jawhar Taluka of Palghar district in Maharashtra, working with NGO BAIF to address the issue of malnutrition among mothers and children.

This was a total contrast to the life the Durham University and XLRI graduate was accustomed to, and changed the way he saw the world. Malnourishment is rampant among children (0-5 years old) and women, especially pregnant and lactating women. Despite hundreds of crores of rupees being allocated to address the problem, in Maharashtra deaths because of malnutrition still persist.

Ankur shares a shocking fact that some families deliberately keep at least one child malnourished to be eligible for grants that can help the whole family. Also, with tribals being forced to rely solely on the Public Distribution System (PDS) scheme for their nutrition, and the decreased access to forest and farm land, farm incomes have reduced. In addition, many tribal areas allow for cultivation of only one crop, which translates to negligible post-harvest income.

As part of the programme, Ankur says he has interacted with anganwadi workers, self-help groups, medical officers and public health centre personnel, agriculture officials, Panchayat Samiti officials and gram sewaks, to address the bottlenecks in the system.

He credits the SBI Youth for India Fellowship with giving him the autonomy to work on different aspects within the development sector. Ankur, who wants to work in Public Health, says very few fellowship programmes offer this opportunity. He says he hopes to bring about a tangible impact via his interventions on health and malnutrition.

Nitesh  Bhardwaj

Nitesh Bharadwaj has worked in every aspect of media and communication –from print and broadcast media to being a part of the production team on the movie Rock Star. When doing his Masters in Development Communication, he realised he wanted to be a part of the development sector. He started working with the tribals of Dhadgaon in Maharashtra in association with NGO BAIF. At first, he worked to set up means of sustainable livelihood for the tribals by marketing non-timber forest products.  Later, he helped local college students set up, design, and publish their own newsletter. He even taught them how to get advertising and distribute their publication. Nitesh is also training the students on how to shoot documentaries and edit the footage on their mobile phones. What's remarkable is that many of these students had never even handled a computer earlier.

According to Nitesh, the SBI Youth for India fellowship offers a unique experience of working hands on with people who need help the most, and forming lifelong connections with them. Nitesh says he would have been happy to positively impact even one life through the programme. And he may just have done more than that by teaching his students to be unafraid of authority, and question wrong-doings.

What prompts someone who is a researcher at the Institute of Chinese Studies to go and live in the searing heat of a Gujarat village for 13 months to improve primary education?

Prateeksha Tiwari, who holds a Masters in East Asian Studies and a Bachelor of Engineering degrees, realised that she was a passive participant in India's development story. The need to take on a more active role led her to the SBI Youth for India Fellowship, which would give her the freedom to create educational programmes using her technology background. "The SBI Youth for India Fellowship lets you arrive at the location and decide what to do based on the pressing need there. I noticed the government has been issuing computers to schools and also had a programme on ICT in primary education. But these were not being used effectively."

Today, Prateeskha, who is working with NGO AKRSP (I), has devised a system that makes classroom learning more interactive and fun. Each student is given a mouse that is connected to a master laptop, which means that he or she can participate in a quiz-based interactive session. Prateeksha says that this game-based learning has really helped increase attendance in schools on days she holds her sessions.

For many of these children, the world began and ended in their village in Wankaner. Pateeksha has made short films showing them snippets of life from the outside world to broaden their perspective.

She says before coming to the village, the smallest things like a delayed pizza delivery or a five minutedelay in the arrival of the Metro would annoy her. Today, seeing how people live without water and how children walk miles to school only to have the teacher not show up because of election duty, has opened her eyes to what real challenges are.

And most of all, she is grateful for the life she has.

Saurabh Karodi

After working for an automation firm in Bengaluru and the UK, and a subsequent stint with KPMG, Saurabh Karodi, decided that he no longer wanted to use his expertise to line already fat corporate pockets. An MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, and an engineer, he decided to leverage his experience and education to help those who really needed support.

Saurabh says, "I has met some of the alumni of the Fellowship and I was drawn to it because you could design your project on your own, and work with the community. Most fellowships in India are focussed on research or at the policy level. This lets you implement what you are working on along with the community."

Saurabh is working in Kherwara, Rajasthan with Seva Mandir on a renewable energy project focussing on electricity supply. The villagers were relying on kerosene or candles for lighting. Where electricity is available, the bills and supply were erratic. Villages that had solar power systems were also facing maintenance issues. Saurabh developed an enterprise model involving women to manage inventory, sales, create awareness and collect feedback on the solar home lighting products.

The programme has not only helped resolve energy issues, but also created a spirit of entrepreneurship among the women of the village. Saurabh, who is planning to expand the project beyond the 10 villages it currently runs in,feels that a programme like SBI Youth for India impacts the community at many levels. He feels that people in rural areas are more open to advice from outside than their peers.He feels that NGOs get an external perspective on their programmes. He feels it also gives the youth of today who have ideas and want to do work a platform to accomplish what they want and work towards the betterment of society.

Shriti Pandey

While studying construction management in New York University, Shriti Pandey would volunteer at the homeless shelters and soup kitchens. The SBI Youth for India Fellowship was an opportunity for her to come back to India and experience a side of the country that was far removed from the life she had lived in Delhi and in the US. As part of her work with AKRSP (I) in Padhana, Madhya Pradesh, she worked with a rural Farmer Producer Company (FPO), a collective of 40 women, who were making cattle feed supplements. However, the erratic monsoon in that belt results in low yields and they ended up making losses. The low rainfall was also resulting in increased mortality among the livestock. "I am working with the FPO to develop a new supplement for the livestock and also addressing marketing issues at different levels," says Shriti.

Gender bias was one of the challenges she faced, with more women willing to talk to her than men. "I also had to overcome barriers initially and earn their trust by immersing myself in their culture, and creating personal connections by visiting and staying over at their houses," she says

She says that a programme like this makes you more empathetic. "The SBI Youth for India Fellowship programme as given me a lot of freedom to explore this development space. This programme has changed my perspective. I am more mindful of the money I spend and the food I eat, because I realise I cannot thing anything for granted," she says.

Shriti dreams of building affordable housing solutions using agricultural and biodegradable waste, once she completes the programme.

Swaha Katayini Ramnath

By her own admission, Swaha Katayini Ramnath has done a lot of things in public policy and development. After graduating in Political Science from Delhi's Lady Sriram College, she worked as a LAMP fellow writing speeches for a Member of Parliament for a year.Following a Masters in Development and Globalisation, Gender from the London School of Economics and Political Science, she worked at UN Women in New York.  That's where she realised that rather than draft policy, she wanted to interact with the women for whom these policies were being drafted. The SBI Youth for India Fellowship provided the perfect opportunity.

She decided to work in the area of menstrual health and the hygienic disposal of soiled pads and cloth. While access to menstrual hygiene products has increased in rural Rajasthan, especially with government support, disposal was an issue.

With such little awareness and conversations around menstruation, there were challenges in speaking to the community about menstrual hygiene. "Girls don't even speak to their mothers about what they go through during their periods. At Barefoot College in Ajmer, Rajasthan, where Swaha works, several girls and women throw the soiled pads among the plants in the nursery, and staff have to pick and burn them separately. "We came up with an idea to build an incinerator to dispose the pads," she says.

The idea was to create something that does not look out of place and a prototype with clay and khagla (a type of grass) modelled on the sigdi (clay oven) was developed. The idea was to promote menstrual hygiene and create a livelihood for women who could build these incinerators. They are in the process of training women who make sigdis to build these incinerators.

Swaha says the SBI Youth for India Fellowship programme has been a humbling experience and an eye-opener. "You really understand how India lives. This is an opportunity to bridge urban and rural India and learn to respect different lifestyles and skill sets," she says.

Change begins with us

These are six young Indians who have dedicated time to uplift the lot of India's most backward communities. Next week, we will feature the stories of six more SBI Youth For India Fellows who are making a difference in other people's lives

Remember, change begins with each one of us, and you too can help take India's development story to those who need it most. Applications are now open for the 2017-18 batch of the SBI Youth For India Fellowship. http://youthforindia.org/fellowship/?utm_source=Website%20Landing%20Page&utm_medium=Social%20Media%20Post&utm_campaign=Fellowship%20Program%202017

 
The last date to register and submit the online application is May 31, 2017. Apply now

http://youthforindia.org/fellowship/?utm_source=Website%20Landing%20Page&utm_medium=Social%20Media%20Post&utm_campaign=Fellowship%20Program%202017

Jammu and Kashmir: NGO launches toll-free helpline for victims of child rights abuse

Voice for Rights will cater to people in Jammu for the time being, though they plan to expand their network eventually.

Non-governmental organisation Voice for Rights has launched a toll-free helpline – 18001800304 – for victims of child rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir, PTI reported on Monday. Deepika Singh Rajawat, the chairperson of the NGO, said the helpline will cater to people in Jammu for the time being, though they plan to expand their network eventually. Through the helpline, the NGO plans to provide legal and other assistance to victims.

"Our country is growing economically, but human rights violations are hampering its progress. It is an important that NGOs come up with such projects," state Social Welfare Minister Sajjad Gani Lone said at the inauguration of the helpline. "A wrong is a wrong…be it in Delhi, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir or any part of the world. I am very happy that NGOs come up with very stringent and unambiguous definition of wrongs."

Kashmir has been on the boil since Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani was killed by security forces in July 2016. Since then, scores of civilians, mostly youth, have been detained by personnel during protests and clashes. The security forces have been accused to severe rights violations in the Valley. A large number of juveniles are believed to be in police custody, though they do not figure in official records.

"If the police think no one will produce a birth certificate, they mention the age as 18," said advocate Wajid Haseeb. "We then plead in the High Court if we have a document [proof of date of birth] and the warrant is quashed." The Valley has only one juvenile remand home.

Source: https://scroll.in/latest/838332/jammu-and-kashmir-ngo-launches-toll-free-helpline-for-victims-of-child-rights-abuse

J&K gets first helpline for rights plaints

Voice for Rights, an NGO, formally launched J&K's first helpline named 'Dial for Protection' for reporting the human rights violations, at Amar Singh Club here today.

Minister of Social Welfare Sajjad Gani Lone was the chief guest on the occasion while Jammu Divisional Commissioner MK Bhandari was the guest of honour.

While unveiling the number 1800-1800-304, Lone said it was indeed a great initiative and social work needs compassion.

"It is a great pleasure to be here for the inauguration of this project. This particular NGO approached me and I found it to be a very good initiative," Lone said, adding that the involvement of NGOs in rectifying and fighting against social issues was indeed a good sign. He added that across the world people were suffering due to the human rights, especially child rights, violations.

"As our country grows economically, human rights violations hamper its progress. It is an important step that the NGOs are coming up with such projects," he said, adding that the biggest problem was selective definition of 'wrong'.

"A wrong is a wrong... be it in Delhi, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir or any part of the world. I am very happy that an NGO came up with a stringent and unambiguous definition of wrongs," he said, adding that being a part of the social welfare department, he believes that such initiatives on the part of the NGOs were much needed.

Earlier, giving details about the project, Voice for Rights chairperson Deepika Singh Rajawat, advocate, said 'Dial for Protection' would start working from the Jammu province and will eventually venture into other parts of the state.

"As J&K is believed to be a conflict-ridden state, wherein conflict holds the prime position due to which social issues, including general human rights violations, remained unattended," she said, adding that this helpline would help in highlighting the issues pertaining to the human rights violations and will save/help victims from getting further victimised by providing them timely legal and other assistance.

Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jammu-kashmir/j-k-gets-first-helpline-for-rights-plaints/410690.html

NGO launches J&K’s first helpline

Voice for Rights-Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) on Sunday formally launched Jammu and Kashmir's first helpline 'Dial for Protection', here at Amar Singh Club.

Minister of Social Welfare-SajjadGani Lone was the chief guest on the occasion, while as Divisional Commissioner Jammu-MK Bhandari was the guest of honour, a statement issued here said.

While unveiling the number-18001800304, minister for Social Welfare-SajadGani Lone said that it is indeed a great initiative and social work needs compassion.

"It is a great pleasure to be here for the inauguration of this project. This particular NGO approached me and I found it very good initiative," Lone said and added that involvement of NGOs in rectifying and fighting against social issues is indeed a good sign.

He said that across the world people are suffering from human rights, especially child rights.

"As our country grows economically, Human Rights Violation are hampering its progress. It is an important step that NGOs are coming up with such projects," he said and added that the biggest problem is selective definition of 'wrong'.

"A wrong is a wrong... be it in Delhi, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir or any part of the world. I am very happy that NGOs come up with very stringent and unambiguous definition of wrongs," he said and added that being a part of social welfare department, he believe that such initiatives on the part of NGOs is much needed.

Earlier, in her welcome address, Chairperson, Voice for Rights-Advocate Deepika Singh Rajawat welcomed the guests on the inaugural function.

Giving details about the project, Deepika said that 'Dial for Protection' would start its work from Jammu province and eventually will venture into other parts of the State.

"As Jammu and Kashmir is believed to be the conflict ridden state, wherein conflict holds the prime position due to which social issues including general human rights violations remained unattended," she said and added this helpline would help to highlight issues pertaining to the human rights violations and will save/help victims from getting further victimized by providing them timely legal and other assistance.

Congratulating the team of voice for rights, Divisional Commissioner Jammu-MK Bhandari assured complete support from the administration. "Voice for Rights shall play a role of bridge in filling the gaps between victim and administration," he said and appreciated the initiative.

In this regard, registrar Jammu University-Keshav Sharma said that such initiatives bring substantial and constructive change in the society. "I congratulate the team of Voice for Rights for taking such a noble initiative," he said.

Advocate, Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed-Trustee Voice for Rights also addressed the gathering.

Source: http://risingkashmir.com/news/ngo-launches-jks-first-helpline

Disasters and the role of NGOs

Non governmental organizations can play a key role in disaster management.

He got injured badly. But nobody helped him. His family was not in a position to help him out. Government was unmoved. And in the meanwhile somebody informed him about them. They took him to the hospital and today he is playing with us like he used to. She was an orphan, nobody was taking care of her. She was new to this world. Her parents had died in a deadly accident, when she was only 8. Somehow, managed to live. A great man adopted her. But no one took interest in her. From nowhere, some angel came and told her about them. That girl is today married to a pious man. Engaged and absorbed in social works. She has earned a lot of fame. Our neighbours house was burnt mysteriously to ashes. Poor family was hopeless. Tried hard to get some government aid. Fake sympathy and false promises were made. Only made and never fulfilled. All of a sudden, some help came. They didn't disclosed the name. New house was built. Family survived and lived again. Who saved that family from hunger and death? Who saved his life? Who arranged her marriage? An NGO!

NGOs are loosely termed as various organizations from other then the government sector. There are many NGOs working with deep commitment, dedication and transparency. Involving the people and people's resources is their strength. But they should be well directed. Good direction is a must. The NGOs are in a position where they can play a very important role not only in identifying and prioritizing challenges of the local areas but could also examine and disseminate effectively lessons for action.

NGOs, due to their proximity to the people, society, environment etc. are in a better position to take effective steps for proper monitoring of various parameters of success.  Voluntary agencies are essentially non-profit and non-partisan organizations.  Many organizations play a very useful role in disaster management being unencumbered by a large bureaucratic structure, they can offer rapid response and a willingness to adjust to the situation prevailing on the site.

The role of NGOs remains crucial in all phases of disaster management namely relief, response, rehabilitation, reconstruction, recovery, preparedness and mitigation.  Recent trends with respect to management of natural disasters have highlighted the role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as a vital stakeholder in the relief and response efforts especially with respect to facilitating communication and coordination between the administration and the affected community.  They have grass-root presence and strong linkages with the communities, and can readily respond to the needs of the affected community.  

The High Powered Committee (HPC) 2001 has recommended a nationwide network of NGOs for coordinated action encompassing all aspects of disaster management. The Disaster Management Act 2005 emphasizes the need for continuous and integrated process of planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing policies and plans on DM in a holistic, community based, participatory, inclusive and sustainable manner. The Act entrusts/mandates the State Executive Committees at different levels with the responsibility to advise, assist and coordinate the activities of NGOs engaged in disaster management. The National Policy on DM 2009 mentions that Non-Governmental Organizations will be encouraged to empower the community and generate awareness through their respective institutional mechanisms.

NGOs play a vital role and can be made responsible at various levels in developing capacity and skills for disaster preparedness. At state level, they have been organized to take coordinated action for disaster preparedness. Government officials in many states are active partners of such coordinated action and both stakeholders are known to benefit from this collaboration.

NGOs can play a pivotal role in supporting the government's agenda of disaster mitigation and thereby ensuring long term resilience. They play  an  important  role  in  raising  awareness,  sensitizing  and building local  capacity  (communities  and  govt.)  to  carry out disaster mitigation actions. They foster disaster mitigation practices by many measures including: advocating at the appropriate forums including legislative and policy levels for disaster mitigation to be institutionalized in policy, legislative and institutional frameworks, disaster mitigation awareness and capacity-building activities, promoting inclusive disaster management approaches, developing operational sustainable livelihoods models etc.

In disaster response phase, search and rescue operations, damage and immediate needs assessment, NGOs coordinate with the administration and play an important role in it. Disaster relief is the prime responsibility of the Government and the role of NGOs is to supplement government efforts. They would be involved in relief assistance as per their mandate, available capacities and the needs of the area.

Disasters are inevitable, therefore disaster management warrants attention and is essential in disaster prone places such as Kashmir. Although it is often assumed that NGOs are charities or enjoy non-profit status, some NGOs are profit-making organizations such as cooperatives or groups which lobby on behalf of profit-driven interests.

Also, the increasing number of NGOs is a cause of concern. Everybody wants to volunteer and make huge contributions. It is welcome. Everyone should, as disaster management is our collective responsibility. But opening shops on the name NGOs is a cheap job. It is ridiculous, shut one and set another. It is heavily hurting the good cause. If the goal is same, what's in a name? The number keeps swelling. New are being created at a good pace. One person is the head of many and in competition with many people to create as many. I am personally not moved by such actions. How do the numbers matter? Do small things and make it large. Execution and implementation is all that matters. Better we continue the good work as a unit. Concentrate on the real cause. Then only disaster risk reduction is possible. Doing something for mere name and fame is useless and helps none.

Source: http://dailykashmirimages.com/Details/140266/disasters-and-the-role-of-ngos

Notification regarding renewal of FCRA registration of NGOs

This is in continuation of Notice dated 12.05.2017 regarding uploading of missing Annual returns from F.Y. 2010-11 to 2014-15 at the FCRA website in the Form FC-4.

The FCRA Department through the attached notice has laid down the implication for non-filing of Annual returns within the prescribed time limit. It has been clarified by the FCRA department that that non-filing of Annual returns as per the mentioned list may lead to cancellation of FCRA registration/Renewal granted to the associations. Kindly check again if the name of your organization figures in the list and take necessary action immediately.

The said notice has been attached herewith for your reference.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

File returns or face licence cancellation, Home Ministry warns NGOs

As per the rules, the renewal of registration under FCRA cannot be granted unless the annual returns are uploaded to the FCRA website by the organisation.

NEW DELHI: The FCRA registration of NGOs failing to submit their annual income and expenditure records by June 14 will be cancelled, the government has warned.

The home ministry in a circular said a large number of NGOs, which were registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, are yet to submit their annual returns for five years -- 2010-11 to 2014-15 despite giving a final opportunity to do so.

"It may be noted that the failure to upload annual returns by NGOs may lead to cancellation of registration/ renewal granted to them," Joint Secretary (foreigners' division) in the home ministry Mukesh Mittal said.

Earlier, the ministry had said starting May 15 and till June 14, all such NGOs can upload their missing annual returns along with the requisite documents within 30 days.

No compounding fee will be imposed on them for late filing of annual returns during this period and this exemption was a one-time measure, it said.

As per the rules, the renewal of registration under FCRA cannot be granted unless the annual returns are uploaded to the FCRA website by the organisation.

"In order to avoid such a situation, NGOs are once again requested to upload their missing annual returns immediately," Mittal said in the circular issued yesterday.

The government is estimated to have cancelled the licences of nearly 7,500 NGOs in last three years after they failed to disclose their income and expenditure statements.

The government scheme is not applicable to NGOs like Greenpeace, Sabrang Trust, Islamic Research Foundation and 1,300 others whose registrations have been cancelled for allegedly violating various provisions of the FCRA.

In November, 2016, the government had directed more than 11,000 NGOs to file applications for renewal of registration by February 28, 2017.

However, only 3,500 NGOs filed applications for renewal while the registration of more than 7,000 NGOs were deemed expired due to non-filing.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/file-returns-or-face-licence-cancellation-home-ministry-warns-ngos/articleshow/58811526.cms

File returns else face licence cancellation: MHA warns NGOs

The FCRA registration of NGOs failing to submit their annual income and expenditure records by June 14 will be cancelled, the government has warned.

"It may be noted that the failure to upload annual returns by NGOs may lead to cancellation of registration/ renewal granted to them," Joint Secretary (foreigners' division) in the home ministry Mukesh Mittal said. (Source: IE)

The FCRA registration of NGOs failing to submit their annual income and expenditure records by June 14 will be cancelled, the government has warned. The home ministry in a circular said a large number of NGOs, which were registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, are yet to submit their annual returns for five years — 2010-11 to 2014-15 despite giving a final opportunity to do so.

"It may be noted that the failure to upload annual returns by NGOs may lead to cancellation of registration/ renewal granted to them," Joint Secretary (foreigners' division) in the home ministry Mukesh Mittal said.

Earlier, the ministry had said starting May 15 and till June 14, all such NGOs can upload their missing annual returns along with the requisite documents within 30 days. No compounding fee will be imposed on them for late filing of annual returns during this period and this exemption was a one-time measure, it said.

As per the rules, the renewal of registration under FCRA cannot be granted unless the annual returns are uploaded to the FCRA website by the organisation. "In order to avoid such a situation, NGOs are once again requested to upload their missing annual returns immediately," Mittal said in the circular issued yesterday.

The government is estimated to have cancelled the licences of nearly 7,500 NGOs in last three years after they failed to disclose their income and expenditure statements.

The government scheme is not applicable to NGOs like Greenpeace, Sabrang Trust, Islamic Research Foundation and 1,300 others whose registrations have been cancelled for allegedly violating various provisions of the FCRA.

In November, 2016, the government had directed more than 11,000 NGOs to file applications for renewal of registration by February 28, 2017. However, only 3,500 NGOs filed applications for renewal while the registration of more than 7,000 NGOs were deemed expired due to non-filing.

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/file-returns-else-face-licence-cancellation-mha-warns-ngos/682368/

Friday, May 19, 2017

FCRA : Final Chance to update NGO’s old Returns

Final opportunity for those NGO's who missed to file FC returns from 2010-11 to 2014-15. FCRA department has allowed to file your FC return of old years without any penalty. It is clearly stated in the notification, that this is the one and final chance for NGOs to update their returns if fail to file.  Also, with the notification, list of 18523 NGOs, who have not filled FC return (or may be filled in paper format and not updated by FCRA department.) is attached with the details of all the years.

Please see the notification: 

Microsoft Cloud Services to Empower Non-Profit Organizations in India

• Offers free Azure credits worth US $5000 to empower Non-Profits

• Microsoft India partners with NASSCOM Foundation to host #Azure4Good Workshop for Non-Profits

Hyderabad, 19 May 2017: As part of Microsoft's 'Public Cloud for Good' initiative, Microsoft India is making Microsoft Azure broadly available to eligible non-profit organizations, bringing the power of technology to them. Qualifying non-profits can avail free Azure credits worth US $5000 for a year to unlock benefits such as insight, agility and operational efficiency. Globally, Microsoft is donating US $1 billion in cloud computing resources between 2016 and 2018 to 70,000 non-profits and NGOs worldwide, including in India.

To drive greater inclusion, Microsoft India partnered with NASSCOM Foundation to organize an Azure for Good workshop in Hyderabad today. Attended by 22 representatives from 12 local non-profits, the workshop highlighted how other organizations in the sector are using the cloud platform to drive greater impact among communities in the face of constant challenges of limited manpower and resources. Some of the participating non-profits included Share India, Rural Development Foundation, Parents Association for the Mentally Handicapped Persons, LEPRA Society, Hyderabad Eye Institute, CHORD, CAP Foundation, Bhagavatula Charitable Trust, Ashray Akruti, Jaldhaara Foundation, Dr. Reddy's Foundation and Aide et Action.

Madhu Khatri, Associate General Counsel, Microsoft India, said, "Microsoft has a long-standing commitment to contribute in new and more impactful ways to a societal ecosystem that connects the benefits of technology to those who need it most and work harder to drive inclusion. We are pleased to partner with NASSCOM Foundation who share our vision to empower non-profits with cloud computing resources to improve human challenges."

Shrikant Sinha, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation, said, "NGOs across India are challenged by the lack of funds to setup the required ICT infrastructure for their portals, apps and other online solutions. This makes it difficult for them to scale up the good work and limits their own reach. We are glad to partner with Microsoft in offering the Azure services worth $5000 for a year free of cost to the eligible NGOs and are confident that this grant will more than suffice their cloud platform needs."

New Delhi-based Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), one of the world's leading practitioners in the field of Information & Communication Technology, shared at the workshop, its story of migrating to the cloud to fulfill its mission of empowering people digitally especially those from the unreached and underserved communities of India. By adopting Microsoft Azure the organization has been able to save time and trouble with technology tools, accomplish more, streamline tedious tasks, and save money on tech support.

Similarly, Don Bosco YaR Forum, collaborated with App Point Software Solutions to create Child MISS (Management Information System and Services). It is a comprehensive Child Tracking System for effective data management, monitoring and reporting. Hosting the solution on the Azure public cloud platform enabled agility which helped scaling up infrastructure and improve the NGO's responsiveness. It enables Child MISS to maintain a holistic database of all children and contributes to the speed, structure, knowledge and services for the care, protection, knowledge and development of at-risk youth. Microsoft Azure has helped Child MISS increase its impact by 200%.

Digital Empowerment Foundation and Don Bosco YaR Forum are compelling examples of how the Microsoft Cloud can empower nonprofits to achieve their missions with greater insights, capabilities and efficiency. The company's approach reflects the unmet need it sees in communities around the world and the confidence it has in the ability of non-profits to drive digital inclusion and empowerment programs around the world.

About Azure for Good

As part of its commitment to building a global cloud for good, Microsoft is offering a comprehensive set of cloud services to non-profit organizations worldwide. Azure offers an integrated suite of cloud services – analytics, computing, web and mobile apps, networking, storage, and more to empower non-profit organization to achieve more through more insight, more efficiency and more impact. It also integrates seamlessly with the existing IT infrastructure and scales as the non-profit grows, giving them the ability to harness the power of Microsoft's data centers for a wide range of capabilities and scenarios. Non-profits can use the Azure credits to purchase all Azure workloads created by Microsoft. After the credits run out, the subscription will convert into the commercially available "pay as you go" offer.

About Microsoft India

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 8,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research and development and customer services and support, across nine Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

About NASSCOM Foundation
NASSCOM Foundation is a leading non-profit organization driving technology for good.  The Foundation's work is just as expansive and evolutionary as the potential that technology and corporate India entail. Drawing strength from its parent body NASSCOM, the Foundation works closely with four major stakeholders: NASSCOM member companies, NGOs, emerging social enterprises and Government to foster a strategic relationship between technology and development. NASSCOM Foundation's core initiatives include working for Persons with Disabilities, fostering innovative solutions for social good, creating unique skilling models for underserved communities, and digital literacy where it is the industry partner to the Govt. of India's National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM / DiSHA)


Read more at https://news.microsoft.com/en-in/microsoft-cloud-services-empower-non-profit-organizations-india/#RurRyPMLyoPrClFR.99

Microsoft Cloud services to empower NGOs in India

Hyderabad, May 19 (IANS): Microsoft India on Friday announced to make its Azure Cloud services available to eligible non-profit organisations as part of its 'Public Cloud for Good' initiative.

Qualifying non-profits can avail free Azure credits worth $5,000 for a year to unlock benefits such as insight, agility and operational efficiency.

Globally, Microsoft is donating $1 billion in Cloud computing resources between 2016 and 2018 to 70,000 non-profits and NGOs worldwide, including in India.

"Microsoft has a long-standing commitment to contribute in new and more impactful ways to a societal ecosystem that connects the benefits of technology to those who need it most and work harder to drive inclusion," said Madhu Khatri, Associate General Counsel, Microsoft India, in a statement.

To drive greater inclusion, Microsoft India partnered with NASSCOM Foundation to organise an "Azure for Good" workshop here.

Attended by 22 representatives from 12 local non-profits, the workshop highlighted how other organisations in the sector are using the Cloud platform to drive greater impact among communities in the face of constant challenges of limited manpower and resources.

"We are glad to partner with Microsoft in offering the Azure services worth $5,000 for a year free of cost to the eligible NGOs and are confident that this grant will more than suffice their cloud platform needs," added Shrikant Sinha, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation.

Source: http://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=452592

Erring NGOs Granted One Time Exemption To File Annual Returns Under FCRA

Background

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (Act), and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011 (Regulations) were enacted in place of the erstwhile Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 (1976 Act), primarily to ensure that foreign contributions were utilised for bona fide charitable activities without compromising on national security. Accordingly, in terms of the Act, an organisation cannot receive foreign contribution from a foreign source, unless it is validly registered under the Act, or has obtained a onetime prior approval for a specific project. In addition, such registered organisations are also required to comply with various post registration requirements, from time to time, as per the provisions of the Act and the Regulations.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is the nodal agency dealing with the implementation and monitoring of the Act. Accordingly, in order to encourage compliance with the Act and the Regulations, the Foreigners Divisions (FCRA Wing) of the MHA has issued notice No II/21022/36(0207)/2015-FCRA-II dated 12 May 2017 (Public Notice), granting a one‑time exemption to those organisations who are seeking renewal of their registration, and have not uploaded their annual returns from Financial Year 2010-11 to 2014-15, as required under the Act, to submit such missing Annual Returns along with the requisite documents within a period of 30 days starting from 15 May 2017 to 14 June 2017.

Provisions of FCRA and FCRR in relation to renewal of FCRA registration

Unlike the provisions of 1976 Act, which did not prescribe any expiry date in relation to the registration granted under 1976 Act, the registration certificate granted to organisations under the Act is valid only for a period of 5 years from the date of receipt of registration certificate (as provided in section 12(6) of the Act). In addition, as per the proviso to section 11 of the Act,  the registration obtained by organisations under the 1976 Act would remain valid for a period of 5 years from the date on which this section came into force i.e. 1 May 2011.

However, section 16 of the Act read with rule 12 of the Regulations permits renewal of the certificate of registration issued to such organisation after the expiry of 5 years from the date of its issue, by way of filing Form FC-3 online (at https://fcraonline.nic.in) and on payment of requisite fees to the MHA.

The said Form FC-3 (as amended by the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2015), which is to be filed for registration/ prior permission / renewal under section 11(1) & (2) / section 16 of the Act requires the applicant seeking renewal to inter alia mention:

  1. The registration number issued under the Act;
  2. Details of key functionaries;
  3. Details of past violations, which may have been compounded/condoned by the MHA; and
  4. Undertaking that the receipt of foreign contribution and its utilization shall not be in violation  of any of the provisions of the Act, rules, notifications and orders issued there under from time to time.

In addition to the said details, Form FC-3 is required to be submitted along with audited statement of accounts and activity report of the organisation for the last 3 years.

In terms of the second proviso to section 16(3) of the FCRA, the MHA may refuse to renew the registration under the Act, in case the applicant has violated any of the provisions of the Act or the Regulations.

Therefore, in case annual reports have not been uploaded in Form FC-4 (along with scanned copies of income and expenditure statement, receipt and payment account and balance sheet for every financial year) online, at https://fcraonline.nic.in, by the applicant having a valid registration within 9 months of the closure of financial year, as required under rule 17 of the Regulations, the MHA may treat the same to be a contravention of the Regulations and may refuse to grant renewal of registration to such applicant.

Exemption granted by the MHA vide the Public Notice

By virtue of the Public Notice, a final opportunity has been given to all such associations/organizations:

  1. who have applied for renewal of their registration under the Act; and
  2. who have not uploaded their Annual Returns from FY 2010-11 to 2014-15,

to upload their missing Annual Returns in Form FC-4 along with the requisite documents (at https://fcraonline.nic.in) within a period of 30 days starting from 15 May 2017 to 14 June 2017.

As an additional incentive, the Public Notice mentions that the compounding fees (as mandated videNotification dated 16 June 2016 [S.O.2133(E)]), which would otherwise be applicable in  case of non-filing of such annual reports, will not be imposed on such associations/organizations for late filing of Annual Returns during the period from 15 May 2017 to 14 June 2017.

Khaitan Comment

The Act is much more stringent in its enforcement than the 1976 Act, and prescribes severe penalties in case of its contravention. A major reason behind such strict enforcement can be inferred from the observation made by the MHA in the FCRA Annual Report (2009-10), i.e. "the NGO sector in India is vulnerable to the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing". The MHA has accordingly cracked down heavily on NGOs which do not comply with the provisions of the Act and the Regulations. However, in the process, NGOs which bonafidely carry on charitable activities, and may not be well versed with the requirements of the Act and the Regulations have been adversely affected.

The initiative of the MHA in issuing the Public Notice is therefore a welcome step, as it provides a much-needed breather to such erring NGOs who had not filed their annual reports in a timely manner. Many NGOs who were ready to do a delayed filing but were deterred due to the substantial compounding fees, would find this a good opportunity to get their compliances in order. However, in our opinion, the MHA should have also permitted organisations who are not seeking renewal of their registrations but have not filed their annual reports timely, to avail of such one-time exemption.  Additionally, the Public Notice should also have provided exemption for cases wherein annual reports have not been filed for FY 2015-16.

The content of this document do not necessarily reflect the views/position of Khaitan & Co but remain solely those of the author(s). For any further queries or follow up please contact Khaitan & Co at legalalerts@khaitanco.com

Source: http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/595776/Money+Laundering/Erring+NGOs+Granted+One+Time+Exemption+To+File+Annual+Returns+Under+FCRA

School students being used to collect huge funds, no receipts provided by NGOs

Shimla: A public welfare trust has urged Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to conduct an inquiry into Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that are urging students to collect "huge funds" in the name of cancer patients.

Ajai Srivastava, chairman of the Umang Foundation alleged that this is a fraud and is being done in connivance with the administrations of multiple schools.

Srivastava demanded that a high-level inquiry is conducted against the erring schools and a First Information Report (FIR) be lodged against the NGOs since they have collected crores of rupees by using children.

He claimed that three students from Class 11 of local government senior secondary school, came to his house asking for donations for cancer patients on behalf of one NGO 'Cancer Aid Society, Lucknow'.

When questioned why they were collecting the funds, they said that their English teacher had assigned them the task to collect funds for the NGO.

The school children were also promised prizes if they collected a handsome amount, reports news agency The Press Trust of India (PTI).

However, when Srivastava contacted the NGO at their Lucknow number to seek financial assistance for a 3-year-old girl who was suffering from blood cancer, an NGO official refused any help, stating that the NGO collects funds to create awareness regarding cancer but doesn't give any aid to individual cases.

Srivastava also stated that upon further investigation by the Umang Foundation, it was revealed that at least four NGOs are "aggressively collecting money through school students in different districts of the state" and no receipts were being provided.

When Umang Foundation asked the Director of high education in this regard, Srivastava said that he "expressed ignorance and said that no such permission had been given to anybody".

Source: http://www.timesnow.tv/india/article/non-governmental-organisation-ngo-public-welfare-trust-himachal-pradesh/61250

NGO gets notice for alleged FCRA violations

The Home Ministry has sent notice to an NGO linked to a corporate lobbyist, Deepak Talwar, asking why its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration should not be cancelled. The NGO, Advantage India, has 15 days to respond.

Mr. Talwar's properties were raided by the Income-Tax Department last year for alleged financial irregularities. He is under the scanner for meeting the then CBI Director, Ranjit Sinha, more than 50 times at his residence in 2014.

Advantage India is being probed by the Home Ministry for violating various FCRA norms for misusing foreign donations from two defence and aviation firms — MBDA and Airbus. The NGO's records were inspected on February 21, following which the show-cause notice was issued on Monday.

The notice also says the NGO flouted several provisions of the FCRA, including "false statements, false accounts, claimed bogus expenses, furnished concocted vouchers, purchased three luxury cars for over Rs. 84 lakh, payment made by NGO for foreign visits of Mr. Talwar, funds used for making payment related to business activities of the founder of the Trust."

Mr. Talwar did not respond when contacted by The Hindu . A media report on September 1, 2016, quoting Mr. Talwar, had said the "NGO had been set up by him around 17 years ago but that he was not involved in its day-to-day functioning any more."

Change in directorship

At the time of its registration in 1999, Mr. Talwar was one of the members of the NGO's Board of Directors. However, the Home Ministry notice says that in 2015 he transferred the directorship to his wife, Deepa Talwar, "but didn't intimate the Ministry about the change in violation of Rule 17A of the FCRA".

The Ministry said the "NGO is not doing any charitable activity and misused foreign contribution for personal gains/business purposes in violation of Section 12 (4)(vi) of FCRA".

In 2012-13, the NGO did not file annual returns for receiving Rs. 20.9 crore from Airbus SAS, a French aerospace company and Rs. 13.7 crore from MBDA International, a U.K.-based missile manufacturer, in violation of Rule 17 of FCRR, 2011.

The NGO also received Rs. 45 crore from Airbus, SAS in its non-FCRA account in violation of Section 17 of FCRA, 2010.

The NGO purchased medicines worth over Rs. 26 crore from two pharmaceutical companies — Astha Pharma and Hind Pharma. "On analysis, the Income Tax Department found that the amount received from Advantage India was, in turn, being transferred to 30 other accounts. The accounts were merely rotating the amount among each other and most of them had a common registered addresses. It is concluded that the association furnished concocted and fabricated vouchers in violation of Sections 8, 18, 19 and 33 of FCRA, 2010," the notice said.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/ngo-gets-notice-in-fcra-case/article18470930.ece

Inviting Applications for Organizational Capacity Enhancement Program

Dear Colleagues,

Greetings from FMSF!

Financial Management Service Foundation (FMSF) in association with Oracle India is pleased to announce the Capacity Building Program for NGO's entitled "Scalable & Replicable Model of Accountability".  For further details on FMSF, please visit our website www.fmsfindia.org

This program provides a unique opportunity for the NGO's to develop their Governance and Financial Management system. It is a one year program, wherein every organization selected will undergo two workshops focusing at "Strategic Management level" and"Operational Management level" in the areas of Governance, Financial Management and Legal Compliances. This will be followed by mentoring and guiding support which will span over a 6 months period. At the end, every organization who will successfully complete the program will be accredited by FMSF and Oracle India for a period of one year.

This program is being conducted with the generous support of Oracle India and therefore the participating NGO's do not have to make any financial contribution/fees for enrolling in the program.

Learning Objectives:

The programme aims to create centers of excellence by infusing concepts, tools and techniques that will lead to development of robust systems and processes and take the organization towards higher echelon of accountability standards. The other immediate benefits envisaged are:

·  Compliant to legal regulations

·  Professionalization of financial management practices

·  Higher visibility in the sector

·  Attract potential foreign and national funding

·  One year Accreditation by FMSF and Oracle India.

Eligibility Criteria:

This program is targeted towards small and medium scale voluntary organizations who have limited access to funding, technology and professional expertise. The bifurcation of small and medium scale organizations will be done on the basis of annual turnover .i.e.:

·  Small organization- 50 lakhs to 1 crore rupees

·  Medium organization -1 crore to 5 crore rupees

The applying organizations should have:

·  Incorporation certificate

·  12A registration certificate

·  Valid FCRA registration certificate (if any)

·  Organization operational since last 5 years etc.

Program Outreach:

In the pilot phase, 30 NGO's each in small and medium category will be selected from the following states:

·  New Delhi

·  Rajasthan

·  Uttar Pradesh

·  Uttarakhand

Selection Process:

NGO's who come from the above mentioned states which fulfill the above mentioned eligibility criteria are requested to fill in the "Online Application" in the link given below:

 
https://docs.google.com/a/fmsfindia.org/forms/d/1O2CzwnYWvLOJx9CM3CkxB2Fe79rtvyVgsitpiZTPQEU/edit?usp=forms_home&ths=true

 
·     The last date of registration is 30th June 2017.

The shortlisted organizations will be sent a confirmation mail of their selection by first week of July 2017. Further, process will be communicated accordingly to selected organizations.Incase of any further clarification or information required, please write to Ms. Akrita Bharos, Capacity Building Coordinator at akrita.bharos@fmsfindia.org.

with regards

Dr. Sanjay Patra
Executive Director

Notification regarding Renewal of Registration of NGOs

The FCRA Department vide its notice dated 12.05.2017, has published a list of 18,523 NGOs which have applied for renewal but have not uploaded their annual returns from FY 2010-11 and 2014-15. Therefore, the Government has decided to give one final opportunity to all such associations/organizations to upload their missing Annual Returns within one month (15 May 2017 to 14 June 2017). It is to be noted, that no compounding fees will be charged during this period.  You may find the list of NGO's at the link given below:

https://fcraonline.nic.in/home/PDF_Doc/fc_list_12052017.pdf

Hence, in the light of the above notice, the associations mentioned in the respective list are advised to go to the above link and search for your FCRA number or name to see whether you are in the list. If yes, check the years for which the returns are missing. Then login to your FCRA account and file/upload the missing returns.

Please note that, it is advisable to upload the missing returns, even if you think you have already filed a paper or electronic return earlier.

Hope this will be useful.

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Upload Your Missing FC Returns on FCRA Web-site or...

FCRA Department has published a list of 18,523 NGOs. The Department is not able to find the FC annual returns for these NGOs in its records. It has therefore asked these NGOs to upload their missing returns online within one month (from 15-May-17 to 14-Jun-17). No compounding fees will be charged during this period. The list can be seen here: https://fcraonline.nic.in/home/PDF_Doc/fc_list_12052017.pdf

You should therefore go the FCRA web-site and download the list. Search (Ctrl+F) for your FCRA number or name to see whether you are in the list. If yes, check the years for which the returns are missing. Then login to your FCRA account and file the missing returns.

If you face any difficulties, please send a mail to fcrenewal-mha@gov.in.

Remember, there is no fees for this. It is also advisable to file the missing returns, even if you think you have already filed a paper or electronic return earlier.

If you do not follow the advice, you may find your FCRA renewal is held up. And that won't be so nice!

Ref: 

Goa govt to tie-up with NGO to treat cardiac emergencies

Panaji, May 13 (PTI) The Goa governments health department will tie-up with a `not-for-profit organisation to draw a protocol which it said will help reduce the number of deaths due to cardiac arrest in the state.

Health Minister Vishwajit Rane today said the proposed partnership with the organisation, STEMI-India, will be first such initiative in the country.

"We are on the verge of doing something which is new in India. We will be introducing the protocol drawn by ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) India in our system to treat cardiac emergencies," Rane told reporters here.

He said the procedure has been recognised by the Indian Council for Medical Research and even the National Rural Health Mission wants to incorporate it in their programme.

The minister said state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), which is centrally located, will be the main point of contact for cardiac emergencies.

He said 108 ambulance services will sign a memorandum of understanding with STEMI India to provide required support to implement the protocol to deal with cardiac emergencies.

"Whenever any patient suffers cardiac emergency he would be thrombolysed at nearby primary health centre or community health centre (before contacting GMCH for further line of treatment)," he said.

Thrombolysis is often used as an emergency treatment to dissolve blood clots that form in arteries feeding the heart and brain -- the main cause of heart attacks.

The minister said the cardiac wing in the GMCH would be strengthened by appointing additional specialists.

The NGO was set up to review scientific literature, educate and train STEMI teams in hospitals, develop STEMI guidelines and systems of care approaches relevant to India.

STEMI is the most common type of heart attack which occurs when blood flow to a part of the heart stops, and the heart is damaged due to decrease in the oxygen supply. PTI RPS RSY

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/goa-govt-to-tie-up-with-ngo-to-treat-cardiac-emergencies/1/952971.html

Friday, May 12, 2017

Election Commission of India Launches National Contact Centre

National Contact Centre toll-free No. 1800111950

Every vote counts. And so does every voter. Serving every elector flawlessly is the commitment of Election Commission of India that it has lived up to time and again.  The Commission has added another feather to its cap with the launch of National Contact Centre with a toll-free No. 1800111950. Now any citizen from any part of the country can call on the toll-free in English or Hindi with any query or complaint at any time of the day. Callers can enquire on subjects such as elections, voting dates, EPIC, electoral roll, online registration etc.  and lodge a complaint by simply dialing in to the toll free no. Not only this, executives also make outbound calls for educating the electors and spreading voter awareness.

 
The National Contact Centre is operated on a National Grievance Redressal System Software. This software is a single window platform to manage complaints and feedback received through calls, emails, sms and website access in an integrated and time-bound manner. Callers may connect with the executives to register a complaint and know about its status of receipt and disposal as well as to give suggestions and feedback at every step of the way.

 
The Contact Centre is Commission's step forward towards bringing about electoral reforms where citizens and officials are empowered to monitor and report any anomaly or violation of ECI instructions in the field before, during or post elections.

 
Each state and UT will also soon setup and operationalize dedicated State Contact Centre (SCC) and District Contact Centre (DCC) to ensure seamless flow of information across the contact centers for handling issues/ query from citizens. National Contact Centre will build IT protocols to ensure that any call landing at NCC are properly redirected to the respective State Contact Centre.

It is expected that on operationalization of Integrated Contact Centre, ECI will be able to provide multilingual support to all the citizens across the nation in a decentralized and integrated manner.

 
ICT 2025 Vision Document

ICT 2025 is about setting up core IT infrastructure and process to consolidate multitude of election process and functions.

 
The ICT 2025 Vision Document heralds the beginning of what we call as Digitalization instead of just Digitization. Digitalization is the key strategy in ICT 2025. It is the strategy of adopting recent technologies and consolidating existing technologies in IT to make the most of the digital resources available in the Election ecosystem.

 Launch of ICT 2025 Vision Document by the Hon'ble Commission
 
The ICT 2025 Projects which capitalise on Digitalization, will capture both Electoral Process and the conduct of elections. There are four major components of the ICT 2025.

 
1.     Integrated Software application

2.     GIS, Analytic and Integrated Contact Centre

3.     IT infrastructure including data center, IT security, disaster recovery

4.     Knowledge Management, Capacity building and social media engagement

Further Election Commission has launched 'Annual Report 2017' & 'Electoral Statistics Pocket book 2017' &  'IT in Elections Booklet'.

Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=161722

 

India’s Crackdown on Nonprofits and the Need for a Comprehensive Sector Strengthening Strategy

In a recent hearing, India's Supreme Court explored the possibility of a new law to regulate NGO fund utilization. However, in a recent article in India's The Wire, Pushpa Sundar wrote, "What is needed is not just a law to regulate NGOs, but a comprehensive reform of the entire NGO charity sector."

One of the Supreme Court's proposals requires NGOs to "furnish a bond equivalent to the grant given to them, to be enacted by the government in case the funds are misused or misappropriated." NPQ has been following India's crackdown on nonprofits accepting foreign aid and those that lack accountability.

Sundar advises that any new regulator should also focus on implementing and enforcing the laws already in effect. Further, she proposes that the role of a charities regulator is "to effectively secure compliance with the charity laws of the land in a fair, transparent and nonpartisan manner, free from political influence to enhance public trust and confidence in both the regulator and the charities."

A report written by the Sampradaan Indian Centre for Philanthropy some years ago (when Sundar was the director) made reform recommendations still relevant today. In addition to short-term measures for the implementation and enforcement of current laws, it proposed the simplification of procedures, and the monitoring of malpractice and applications of sanctions. "It had also recommended a public register of charities to serve as a central record, like they have in Hong Kong, UK, and other countries."

However, the report notes that in order to overcome systemic problems, the Supreme Court should enact a "comprehensive central law to legally incorporate non­profit organizations, perhaps along the lines of the Charities Act in the UK…which gives it jurisdiction over all matters concerning charities, including regulatory powers." Further, the new law "should be flexible enough to offer registration for different types or organizations (trusts, societies and companies)," distinguishing between development organizations, chambers, and other professional membership bodies. The new agency could be called "the National Charities Commission, as in the UK." This hope that comprehensive NGO reform will ensure not only accountability but political impartiality may or may not work, but it almost certainly requires some organizing of associations outside of the government's purview so that the sector's voice is coherent and independent.—Cyndi Suarez

ABOUT CYNDI SUAREZ

Cyndi Suarez is the Senior Editor at NPQ. She is the author of the forthcoming "Power Play | Enacting Freedom," in which she outlines a new theory of power, and "Power Games," a companion manual. She has worked as a strategy and innovation consultant with a focus on networks and platforms. She studied Feminist Theory and organizational development for social change.

 
Source: https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2017/05/11/indias-crackdown-nonprofits-need-comprehensive-sector-strengthening-strategy/

German consulate fights against trafficking

Summary: Jabala works on the issues focusing Human Trafficking, HIV/AIDS, Child Marriage, Child Abuse & Migration. KOLKATA: On 06 May 2017 the NGO Jabala organized a 'Panchayat level sensitization meeting' on preventing human trafficking at Balti-Nittanandakati Gram Panchayat of Swarupnagar Block/ North 24 Parganas. The work model of Jabala revolves around the four tenets of development: Identity needs, Provide materials & services, Build capacities and Empowerment. Enthusiastic students of local high schools and college, school teachers, civic and ICDS-volunteers, village supervisors, local NGOs, religious leader, local political leader, panchayat members and police officers actively participated in the program with discussions and group work.This 'Panchayat level sensitization meeting' comes under a networking and awareness building project by NGO Jabala to fight against Human Trafficking, called 'SAMPARKA', which is funded by the German Consulate General Kolkata on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office.The aim of this eight-month long project in West Bengal is to sensitize the affected population and the policy makers including the police, about the existing problem and how to prevent human trafficking through inclusive participation. Through the project 'SAMPARKA' over 1,85,000 people will be reached in four districts (Alipurduar, Birbhum, Murshidabad and North 24 Parganas) and 12 Human Rights Defenders System as well as Adolescent Peer Groups will be formed with girls & local stakeholders represented by youth club members, self-help groups members, women's groups, local NGOs and community-based organisations to prevent violence against women & girls with focus on Trafficking.Jabala Action Research Organisation, a Human rights organisation established in 1992, has been working with marginalized children, violence survivors and youth of red light areas, slum and rural areas with an aim to empower them.

 
KOLKATA: On 06 May 2017 the NGO Jabala organized a 'Panchayat level sensitization meeting' on preventing human trafficking at Balti-Nittanandakati Gram Panchayat of Swarupnagar Block/ North 24 Parganas. Enthusiastic students of local high schools and college, school teachers, civic and ICDS-volunteers, village supervisors, local NGOs, religious leader, local political leader, panchayat members and police officers actively participated in the program with discussions and group work.This 'Panchayat level sensitization meeting' comes under a networking and awareness building project by NGO Jabala to fight against Human Trafficking, called 'SAMPARKA', which is funded by the German Consulate General Kolkata on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office.The aim of this eight-month long project in West Bengal is to sensitize the affected population and the policy makers including the police, about the existing problem and how to prevent human trafficking through inclusive participation. Through the project 'SAMPARKA' over 1,85,000 people will be reached in four districts (Alipurduar, Birbhum, Murshidabad and North 24 Parganas) and 12 Human Rights Defenders System as well as Adolescent Peer Groups will be formed with girls & local stakeholders represented by youth club members, self-help groups members, women's groups, local NGOs and community-based organisations to prevent violence against women & girls with focus on Trafficking.Jabala Action Research Organisation, a Human rights organisation established in 1992, has been working with marginalized children, violence survivors and youth of red light areas, slum and rural areas with an aim to empower them.

Jabala works on the issues focusing Human Trafficking, HIV/AIDS, Child Marriage, Child Abuse & Migration. The work model of Jabala revolves around the four tenets of development: Identity needs, Provide materials & services, Build capacities and Empowerment.. .

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/german-consulate-fights-against-trafficking/articleshow/58627085.cms

Source: https://www.nyoooz.com/news/kolkata/808987/german-consulate-fights-against-trafficking