FCRA licence of think tank CPR suspended amid IT searches

Centre for Policy Research (CPR), a leading public think tank, had its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence cancelled by the central government on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs reportedly suspended the licence due to legal infractions. CPR was under investigation following Income Tax surveys and on Oxfam India, a non-governmental organisation, in September last year, reports The Economic Times.

While the Ministry has reportedly, sought clarification and documents from the think tank regarding FCRA-based funds, CPR officials have maintained that their FCRA application is still under renewal and that they are unaware of the suspension of the licence, as quoted by The Economic Times.

Oxfam India had filed a revision petition with the home ministry after its FCRA licence was cancelled in January 2022.

The FCRA licence of CPR was last renewed in 2016 and was due for renewal in 2021.

With the suspension of licence, given under FCRA, CPR would not be able to receive any funds from abroad.

CPR is a non-profit, non-partisan, independent institution dedicated to conducting research that contributes to high quality scholarship, better policies, and a more robust public discourse about the issues that impact life in India, it claimed.

It brings together India's best thinkers and policy practitioners who are at the forefront of both research and engagement in the policy space, drawing from various disciplines and professional backgrounds, the website of CPR said.

While the donors included the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania, the World Resources Institute and the Duke University, CPR also receives grants from the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR).

Based on a story in ET