Govt cancels think tank Centre for Policy Research's FCRA licence

New Delhi: The Centre for Policy Research (CPR)'s Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) licence has been cancelled by the Centre. The measure comes after the income tax department conducted 'surveys' on CPR premises in 2022.

According to an official, the permit was initially stopped last year in response to prima facie suspension of a violation of funding regulations. “After suspending the licence, the inquiry was initiated and it was decided that the licence should be cancelled as the CPR’s activities are likely to affect the economic interest of the state and the violations are grave in nature,” the official said.

Yamini Aiyar, CPR's president and Chief Executive, did not return calls or messages.

In October, the Centre told the Delhi High Court that the CPR was receiving foreign contributions for "purposes other than what it was registered and is using the same for undesirable purposes." The statement came in response to the CPR's petition challenging the Centre's February 27 order suspending the think tank's certificate under the FCRA, Indian Express reported.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs responded that the IT department performed a survey operation in September 2022 and communicated certain pertinent information with the ministry, pointing to the use of foreign contributions received by the CPR.

The affidavit stated that the CPR's action was a clear violation of the FCRA's provisions and that it was discovered that the CPR had transferred foreign contributions to other entities — depositing in non-designated accounts — in violation of Section 7 (Prohibition to transfer foreign contributions to another person) of the FCRA.

The affidavit also stated that the CPR's activities are likely to have an impact on the state's economic interests and that the violations are serious; to prevent the continued diversion and misuse of foreign contributions, as well as to protect the state's economic interests, foreign funding of the CPR's activities must be halted immediately. As a result, no previous warning was provided, and a prior warning for the suspension of the certificate of registration is not required under Section 13 of the FCRA, according to the Centre.

CPR had said last year, after its FCRA licence was revoked that it had “done nothing wrong”. Aiyar had said in a statement: “We hold ourselves to the highest standards of compliance and are confident that we have done nothing wrong. We are committed to working with the authorities to address any questions they might have.”

CPR, according to its website, is “recognised as a not-for-profit society by the Government of India, and contributions to the Centre are tax exempt. CPR receives grants from the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) and is a Department of Science and Technology (DST) recognised institution. CPR receives grants from a variety of domestic and international sources, including foundations, corporate philanthropy, governments, and multilateral agencies”.