Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, proposing to bring clarity in respect of prior permissions by enabling the govt to prescribe the validity period within which foreign contributions may be received and also the timelines for their utilisation.The bill is likely to be introduced in the current session of Parliament. People aware of the development said the bill proposes to introduce comprehensive and time-bound statutory mechanism for the management, utilisation and disposal of foreign contributions and assets of associations or NGOs whose registration has been suspended, cancelled, surrendered, or has ceased. “In the current act, there is no provision for managing such assets. This will bring a lot of clarity. The bill intends to streamline the reporting process and ensure that all organisations adhere to the regulatory framework,” an official said.The bill also proposes to introduce a safeguard to ensure criminal probes under the act are initiated only with the prior approval of the Union govt.Officials said the bill further proposes to rationalise penalties, including reduction in maximum jail term for different offences, which includes unauthorised receipt of foreign contribution. It also mandates approval of central govt before any criminal investigation is initiated under the act.There are 16,000 FCRA-registered associations and NGOs which receive contributions of over Rs 20,000 crore annually. The act aims to ensure such inflows do not affect national security or public interest
