Kwatra says FCRA amendments boost transparency, not control of churches

Washington,UPDATED: Aug 10, 2026 09:26 IST

India's Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra has defended the proposed amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, saying they are aimed at increasing transparency and ensuring that organisations receive foreign money through a laid-down process. He said regulating foreign financial flows in public and political spaces is a sovereign step linked to national security concerns and is a common feature in many democracies.

In a series of posts on X on Sunday, Kwatra responded to concerns raised days earlier by a US lawmaker, who claimed the FCRA amendments would allow the Indian government to take control of churches and charities. Rejecting those apprehensions, he said the law applied uniformly to all organisations and did not target any particular community.

Kwatra said countries such as the US and others already have comparable legal frameworks. "The US has had FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act) since 1938 and FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) since 2010. Australia legislated in 2018, Canada in 2024. The UK's scheme came into force in July 2025. The EU is legislating now," he said.

Explaining the proposed changes, Kwatra said that when an organisation's registration is cancelled or surrendered, foreign contributions and assets created from them already vest in a state government authority under a provision that has been in force since 2010. "What the 2026 Bill adds is a designated authority to safeguard those assets - and a way back. If the organisation restores its registration, all assets and unused funds are returned in full," he said.

On places of worship, he said, "Places of worship carry their own protection. Where a cancelled association has created property connected to a place of worship, that property goes to another FCRA-registered association of the same faith to ensure continuity of worship." The FCRA Bill, 2026 seeks to empower the government to create a "Designated Authority" to take over the management of foreign contributions and assets created using foreign contributions when an organisation's FCRA registration is cancelled, surrendered or ceases because it is not renewed. It also says that in the case of assets that are a place of worship, the authority must ensure that their religious character is maintained.

Kwatra also rejected suggestions that the amendments were intended to cut off foreign aid to civil society. "Tens of thousands of associations are registered under FCRA and routinely receive foreign funds for health, education, disaster relief, research and humanitarian work," he said. He added that India has over three million NGOs, and only 14,450 of them hold FCRA registration. "Thus, the overwhelming majority of civil society organisations are entirely outside the Act," he said.

He said India first enacted the FCRA in 1976 and brought in a more modern framework through amendments in 2010, before strengthening it further in 2016, 2018 and 2020. "The 2026 Bill and Rules are the next step in the same direction: more transparency, better governance, clearer rules," he said. He also said, "It is an accepted feature of modern governance in many democracies around the world," and dismissed claims that the amendments targeted a community. "Nothing could be farther from it. The Act applies uniformly to all organisations regardless of religion, community or ideology. Faith-based welfare activities, including religious education, maintenance of places of worship, and charitable work by organisations of every faith, continue to be eligible for foreign funding," he said.

Overall, Kwatra said the proposed FCRA changes were meant to strengthen an existing framework by improving transparency, setting out clearer rules for handling foreign funds and assets, and ensuring that protections remain in place, including for places of worship and organisations that regain their registration.

With PTI Inputs

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