Rajya Sabha passes Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020

FCRA Bill passed in Rajya Sabha, Parliament News: The Rajya Sabha, during the monsoon session of the Parliament, passed The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill, 2020, on Wednesday.

The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on September 21.

 The government had proposed to include public servants in the prohibitory category in the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2011. An amendment to this effect was proposed.

Also Read | All you need to know about The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020

The proposed amendment also sought directive to decrease the administrative expenses through foreign funds by an organisation to 20 percent from 50 percent earlier.

The bill also proposed to make Aadhaar mandatory for the registration and give the government authority to stop utilisation of foreign funds by an organisation through a “summary enquiry”.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State MHA, Nityanand Rai, in Rajya Sabha, said that "The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 is a law for the national and internal security. Its main motive is to ensure that foreign funds don't dominate the political and social discourse of India."

Rai added that "Experience says that many organisations attempted to hide their identity and were successful in doing that. The reason behind this is that they had no fear because their identity wasn't established completely. So, Aadhaar Card has been brought in to establish their identity."

-PTC News