Centre directs NGOs to list publications, social media accounts for seeking foreign funding

Non-profit organisations seeking foreign funds will now be required to declare whether the association or its key functionaries have published a book, magazine or newspaper article during the year, and disclose their social media accounts and websites, under amended rules notified by the Union government on Monday.

The amended rules also require such organisations to choose from a pre-defined list of purposes and specify the states or the Union Territories where they will operate.

The home ministry issued a notification amending the Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules to this effect. Registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act is mandatory for a non-profit organisation to receive funds from abroad.

The pre-defined list of purposes for non-governmental organisations encompasses a range of faith-based activities, but explicitly excludes religious conversions. Among the religious activities for which foreign funding can be sought are constructing places of worship, documenting and preserving religious philosophy, carrying out religious education and facilitating inter-faith dialogue and peace initiatives.

“Every application for registration shall mention…the purpose or purposes for which registration is sought, chosen only from such list of purposes as specified in the schedule appended to these rules; and…the states or Union Territories in which the association proposes to undertake the activities,” the amendment states.

All organisations that are already registered under the Act...

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