Oxfam in India says it’s ‘severely’ affected by foreign-funding license loss
The restriction came into effect from 1 January 2022, Oxfam said.
It added that it will reach out to India’s home ministry to “urge” them to lift the restrictions.
This comes a week after India blocked foreign funding for the The Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa.
The home ministry had cited “adverse inputs” as the reason for revoking the license last week.
But it’s still unclear what led to Oxfam losing its license.
Registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) is mandatory for charities, NGOs, and any non-profit organizations receiving foreign funding.
The license granted to nearly 6,000 such organizations lapsed on 1 January, The Hindu newspaper reported. It quoted an unnamed official who said the government had canceled the renewal for 179 organizations over alleged violations, while the remaining – around 5,700 – did not apply for a renewal before the deadline, 31 December.
Oxfam said in its statement that the “government’s decision to refuse renewal” of its license would hurt its “ongoing humanitarian and social work in 16 states across the country”, but the federal government has not commented on the matter.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has sought to squeeze foreign funding for charities and non-profits based in India since coming to power in 2014.
In 2020, it amended the FCRA – changes included a ban on non-profits transferring money to other groups and a ceiling on administrative costs – saying it was necessary to strengthen accountability and transparency.
But several representatives from NGOs have accused the government of targeting its critics.
In 2020, Amnesty International halted operations in the country after accusing the government of pursuing a “witch-hunt” against human rights organizations.
It said its bank accounts were frozen and it had been forced to lay off staff in India.
The legislation caused unnecessary delays to Covid relief aid due to additional form-filling and complex rules around distributing funds, office-bearers from these organizations told Newsnight.
“Even if you’re working on Covid, the law makes it very difficult for you to be able to even accept foreign aid coming in without being in violation of the law,” Aakar Patel, former head of Amnesty International India, had said at the time.
Oxfam said in a statement that it first entered India in 1951 to provide famine relief in Bihar state, though it was registered as an independent organization only in 2008.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES