Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA)
FCRA was enacted to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions by individuals, associations, and companies to prevent foreign money from being used for activities "detrimental to the national interest." It replaced the earlier FCRA, 1976. Under the Act, any person or organisation must obtain registration (Section 11) or prior permission (Section 12) from the Central Government before receiving foreign contributions; registration is valid for five years and must be renewed.
- Administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA); all FCRA-registered organisations must operate a designated FCRA bank account at SBI's New Delhi main branch.
- The FCRA (Amendment) Act, 2020 reduced the permissible administrative expenditure cap from 50% to 20% of foreign contributions, banned sub-grants between FCRA-registered entities, and introduced Aadhaar-based identification of office-bearers.
- As of 2022, over 22,000 NGO registrations had been cancelled since 2014, making asset management post-cancellation a pressing governance issue.
- The Supreme Court upheld the 2020 amendments in Noel Harper v. Union of India (2022), ruling that no fundamental right exists to receive foreign contributions.
● Tracked since March 25, 2026 · last seen August 12, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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