FCRA registration for Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity restored
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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday renewed the FCRA registration of Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity (MoC), which got cancelled after they failed to comply with revised guidelines or apply for renewal.
The move comes just two days after the UK Peers slammed India in the House of Lords on Thursday for not renewing the foreign funding licences of over nearly 6,000 organisations, including the charity founded by Mother Teresa, and called for the UK to engage with India to reverse the decision.
The Catholic organisation runs more than 240 homes for orphans, the destitute and AIDS patients across India.
The ministry in a press release had said that the organisation's application was refused on Christmas Day for failing to meet the eligibility conditions under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act 2010 and Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules 2011.
The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration is mandatory to receive foreign donations.
On January 7, the MoC was removed from the list of around 6,000 NGOs whose registration has ceased to exist.
The registration of nearly 6,000 NGOs ceased to operate from January 1 as the MHA refused to renew their application or the NGOs did not apply for renewal.
An MHA official said on January 1 that the Ministry declined to renew the FCRA registration of 179 NGOs, while 5,789 associations did not apply for a renewal before the December 31 deadline.
The deadline for those NGOs who had applied before December 31 and whose application was not rejected have been given an extension till March 31.
All NGOs are required to apply for renewal of their FCRA registration before the expiry of the five-year validity of their respective licences, in accordance with Rule 12 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011. While applying online for renewal, the NGOs are required to furnish the details of their FCRA account in SBI's New Delhi branch and affidavits of office bearers furnishing details like their Aadhaar number, besides paying a Rs 5,000 renewal fee