Top Universities and Institutes Given Final Chance to Retain FCRA Licenses
- No organisation is allowed to receive funds from abroad unless it is registered under the FCRA.
- It is mandatory under the law for such organisations to submit income and expenditure statement to the government annually else their registration is cancelled.
A few renowned institutes and universities across the country have been given a last chance to retain their licenses for receiving foreign funding in a latest notification issued by the Union Home Ministry. These institutes can retain their registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) provided they disclose the annual income and expenditure statements to the government on or before October 18, 2017. Additionally, the colleges will also have to pay a penalty.
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The following are some of the institutes that have been given a final chance by Union Home Ministry for retaining FCRA License: -
- Indian Institute of Rural Development
- Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College
- Pondicherry University
- North Eastern Hill University
- Punjabi University
- Mumbai University
- Indira Gandhi National Open University
- Indian Council of Medical Research
According to the guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry, the universities, institutes or organisations are not entitled to receive funds from foreign countries unless they register under FCRA. The universities and institutes, which fail to submit or disclose the income and expenditure statements to the government, will have to face the cancellation of FCRA registration.
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Around 18,681 organisations and institutes failed to submit the income and expenditure statements for five consecutive years, i.e., 2010-11 to 2014-15 following which the Ministry cancelled the registration of these institutes and gave them time to file the same by May 15 and June 17, 2017, in a series of deadlines. Taking the notice seriously, around 13,681 institutes and organisations submitted the returns. October 18, 2017, is the deadline for the remaining 4,842 institutes and organisations to submit the returns.