Centre Suspends FCRA Licence Of Think Tank Centre For Policy Research

The think tank Centre For Policy Research (CPR) was under scrutiny after Income Tax surveys on it and Oxfam India in September last year

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Updated on: 1 March 2023 12:35 pm

FCRA licence of think tank CPR has been suspended

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has suspended the FCRA licence of think tank Centre For Policy Research (CPR), reported PTI on Wednesday.

The PTI cited officials as saying that the MHA suspended CPR's FCRA licence months after the Income Tax (IT) Department conducted surveys on CPR premises.

The FCRA stands for the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. The law regulates financial contribution from abroad to individuals and organisations.

"FCRA (2010) has been enacted by the Parliament to consolidate the law to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies and to prohibit acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to national interest," says a government document.

CPR was under scrutiny after Income Tax surveys on it and Oxfam India in September last year.

The FCRA licence of CPR has been suspended over violation of laws, the officials said.

Oxfam's FCRA licence was suspended in January last year, after which the NGO had filed a revision petition with the home ministry.

With the suspension of its licence, given under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), CPR will not be able to receive any funds from abroad.

The CPR is a Delhi-based non-partisan think tank that was founded in 1973. The CPR is a Delhi-based non-partisan think tank that was founded in 1973. It's headed by Yamini Aiyar, who is the daughter of Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar.

Following the action, the CPR said it's in compliance with the law and will seek recourse for the timely resolution of the situation.

In a statement, the CPR said, "We are in complete compliance with the law and are routinely scrutinised and audited by government authorities, including the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. We have annual statutory audits, and all our annual audited balance sheets are in the public domain. There is no question of having undertaken any activity that is beyond our objects of association and compliance mandated by law.

"In light of the current MHA order, we will explore all avenues of recourse available to us. Our work and institutional purpose is to advance our constitutional goals and protect constitutional guarantees. We are absolutely confident that the matter will be resolved speedily, in fairness and in the spirit of our constitutional values."