Why in news? The Union Home Ministry has suspended the FCRA registration of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), a Delhi-based think tank for 180 days.

Highlights

• FCRA registration is mandatory to receive foreign funds.
• The suspension means that the association will not be able to receive any fresh foreign donations or utilise the existing foreign donations without the Ministry’s clearance.

About Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010

• It is a consolidating act whose scope is to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies and to prohibit acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest and for matters connected
• It is designed to correct shortfalls in the predecessor act of 1976.

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020

• It is mandatory for office bearers of any non-governmental organisation (NGO) to provide their Aadhaar numbers.
• Amendment act also gives the government the power to hold a “summary enquiry” to prevent an organization from using foreign funds and changes were intended to increase transparency regarding the use of foreign money for non-governmental organisations.

Amendment 2022

• The Centre has also omitted provision ‘b’ in rule 13, which dealt with declaring foreign funds including details of donors, amount received, and date of receipt every quarter on its website.
• Now only once a year the organizations in FCRA can file the audited balance sheet in the website of the Ministry or also on their own website.