FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026 Goes to a Joint Parliamentary Committee: What It Changes for Foreign-Funded Organisations
The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 is starting a detailed, clause-by-clause study of the Bill. A JPC is a committee with members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 25 March 2026 by the Ministry of Home Affairs. In August 2026, Parliament sent it to a 31-member JPC (21 Lok Sabha members and 10 Rajya Sabha members). The JPC must report by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session 2026.
At the committee's first meeting (18 September 2026), the Union Home Secretary explained that the changes aim to deal with internal security concerns and to improve transparency and financial oversight of foreign-funded bodies.
For the next rounds, officials of the Ministries of Home Affairs and Law and Justice will brief members on each clause. The Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI) and senior law officers will explain the financial, compliance and legal sides. SBI matters because all foreign money must first land in one FCRA account at SBI's New Delhi Main Branch.
The main proposal: if an organisation's FCRA registration is cancelled, surrendered or not renewed, its unused foreign money and the assets built with foreign money (land, buildings, schools, hospitals) will go under a government-appointed Designated Authority. This authority can manage them, hand them to a government body, or sell them and put the money in the Consolidated Fund of India.
Members of the committee and voluntary organisations have raised concerns. They say the change could hit organisations that only missed a renewal, not just those found guilty of misuse. They have also asked for wider consultation with stakeholders across the country. The JPC invited public suggestions until 25 September 2026.
Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA)
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, or FCRA, is the law that controls how people and organisations in India can receive money or gifts from foreign sources. Any NGO, trust, society or institution that wants foreign donations must first get permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The law also completely bans some people, such as political parties, judges and journalists, from taking foreign money. Its aim is simple: foreign money should not be used to harm India's national interest, internal security or democracy.
The FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026 would add the Designated Authority and a wider rule on vesting of foreign-funded assets. The concerns raised in committee are about due process for organisations that lose registration. The Joint Parliamentary Committee is now examining these provisions before Parliament votes on the Bill.
Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)
A Joint Parliamentary Committee, or JPC, is a small group of MPs taken from both Houses of Parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Parliament sets it up for a single task: to study a particular Bill in detail, or to investigate a particular matter such as a financial scam. When the task is over and the report is submitted, the JPC ends. So it is a temporary, or ad hoc, committee.
Parliament sent the FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026 to a 31-member JPC for detailed study and stakeholder views. The committee has heard the Home Secretary and is now taking clause-wise briefings and expert evidence, including from SBI and law officers. Its report, due in the Winter Session, will be advisory, but it can shape the final form of the law.
- FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026: introduced in the Lok Sabha on 25 March 2026 by the Ministry of Home Affairs
- Referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee in August 2026; 31 members (21 Lok Sabha, 10 Rajya Sabha)
- JPC report due by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session 2026
- JPC first meeting: 18 September 2026; public suggestions invited till 25 September 2026
- Core proposal: Designated Authority to take over foreign money and foreign-funded assets when registration is cancelled, surrendered or not renewed
- Sale proceeds of such assets go to the Consolidated Fund of India
- Maximum jail term for many offences proposed to fall from 5 years to 1 year
- FCRA registration valid for 5 years; administrative spending cap 20% (since 2020)
- All foreign contributions must first be received in the FCRA account at SBI, New Delhi Main Branch
- About 22,496 FCRA registrations cancelled since 2015; about 14,466 active (September 2026, as reported)