The Foreign Contribution Regulation (Amendment) Rules, 2026 published recently is the 10th time the stipulations under the FCRA have been amended since 2011. The government has the use of foreign contributions under strict scrutiny. As a result, non-governmental organisations have been gradually restricted in the manner of their functioning. Since 2015, the FCRA registrations of more than 18,000 NGOs have been cancelled. That number constitutes far more than the number of NGOs working currently because there are now 14,456 registered NGOs in the country. The new rules come on top of the earlier restrictions and would make working for people and the environment challenging. For example, NGOs would have to state their specific activities and the geographical area of their work. There is a fee for each function and territory. They would have to choose from social, educational, religious, economic and cultural programmes and select the purpose of their work from the list of given purposes. They would also have to indicate the states or Union territories where they would work. Work in education and culture shall be strictly non-political. There are further prescriptions here, all of which not only tend to limit the freedom of work of NGOs severely but also hold over them the threat of penalty because of violation.
By killing the dynamism that alone allows civil society organisations to respond meaningfully to the needs of those among whom they work, the government is destroying the ability of civil society to function freely in the democracy. The 2026 rules also demand that NGOs must disclose all social media accounts, websites and declare whether they or their key functionaries have published a book, magazine or a newspaper article. This level of governmental scrutiny would completely destroy the autonomy of any organisation. There would always be the fear of offending the government and losing the registration. The slightest deviation from stated purpose or area or spending beyond the stated administrative limit would attract heavy penalties. Curbing fraudulent financial activities of dubious NGOs is an imperative. But should civil society organisations be confined to government-monitored activities? This defeats the purpose of NGOs and demolishes the space for civil society participation in the work of aid and progress. The repeated amendments to the FCRA and its rules are gradually closing the space for dissent and criticism. Democracy creates this space; State encroachment on it goes against democratic principles.