The government today informed the Lok Sabha that a total of 33,091 NGOs are registered under the FCRA in the country and that they received over Rs 50,000 crore in last three years.
“As on date, 33,091 NGOs are registered under the FCRA and the total funds received from abroad during the last three years and current year is Rs 50,944.54 crore,” Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju told Lok Sabha in a written reply.
The acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution by association or institutions is regulated under the provisions of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010.
The government monitor funds received by the NGOs and also complaints that are received from various sources including security agencies in this regard, he said.
In 2014, penalty amounting to about Rs 60 lakh was imposed on 24 associations; Rs 80.11 lakh on 71 associations in 2015 and penalty of Rs 32.78 lakh on eight associations so far this year was imposed for compounding the offence for receipt and utilisation of foreign contribution without holding registration or prior permission under the FCRA, Rijiju said.
The notices were issued to around 21,000 associations in 2011 and to 10,343 NGOs in 2014 for not filing annual returns continuously for three years, the Minister said.
Consequently, registration of 4,138 NGOs was cancelled in 2012 and of 10,020 in March 2015 after issue of show cause notices to such associations and giving them adequate opportunity, he added.
As many as 14,222 NGOs were barred from receiving foreign funds in the past four years for violating norms, the government had announced last week in a similar written reply by Rijiju to the Lok Sabha.
