NGO Forum

The Economic Times posted an article online titled, “Government prepares draft guidelines for accreditation of NGOs.” The article reads as follows;

“The rural development ministry has drawn up draft guidelines for the accreditation of NGOs and other voluntary organisations, it informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

These include proposals on how they should maintain their accounts and the course of action if they misused grants. The draft also details conditions under which criminal action could be initiated.

Additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta circulated the proposals in the court on Wednesday to seek suggestions. The proposed norms, said the ministry, would help ensure transparency and autonomy of NGOs.

The Times of India published an article titled, “10,000 NGOs may face action for not filing FCRA returns.” The article reads as follows;

“The home ministry is contemplating penal action against around 10,000 NGOs that have not filed their missing annual returns under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules, 2011, for all for some years between 2010-11 to 2014-15, despite the one-month grace window offered by the home ministry to do the same. Ministry sources said as many as 286 NGOs that were yet to file the returns for a single year upon expiry of grace period on June 15, 2017, could face cancellation of registration under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) and review of renewal already granted. For the remaining defaulters with partial compliance, action is still being discussed and may be graded depending on the level of compliance.

The Diplomat published an article titled, “More Than 7,000 Foreign NGOs in China: Only 91 Registered So Far.” The article reads as follows;

“China’s foreign non-governmental organizations (NGO) law has been in force for half a year, since January 1, 2017. Under the law, any not-for-profit, non-governmental social organizations lawfully established outside mainland China, such as foundations, social groups, and think tank institutions, should register with the Ministry of Public Security, or the police, before conducting any activities within mainland China. (Ironically, groups from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, also counted as ‘foreign’, should comply with the law, too.)