Government Suspends Registrations of 156 Different NGOS

The government has suspended the FCRA Registration of over 156 NGOs over violations involving foreign contributions. Furthermore, there are 36 other organizations that are facing some restrictions due to not being compliant with certain guidelines.

The home ministry has stated in the notification that the 156 companies have gotten their FCRA registration suspended for six months because of the following reason:

1. NGOs have failed to open their accounts with 32 designated banks
2. These banks follow the PFMS (Public Financial management system)
3. Furthermore, the NGOs have contravened the directives of FCRA 2010 despite being given repeated warnings.

What are the results of the suspension?

As the NGO’s FCRA registration has been suspended. They cannot accept foreign funds for their organization. The FCRA 2010 has regulations for accepting the foreign funds and foreign hospitality by certain associations, companies, organizations or individuals to ensure that these funds are not used in any way to compromise the national interest in any shape or form.

The 32 Designated Banks

The 156 NGOs could have been saved from the FCRA registration suspension if only they have opened an account in any of these 32 designated banks:

1. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank,
2. ICICI Bank,
3. Cosmos Co-operative Bank,
4. Bank of Baroda,
5. State Bank of India,
6. South Indian Bank,
7. IDBI Bank,
8. Central Bank of India,
9. Corporation Bank,
10. Karur Vysya Bank,
11. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd,
12. Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd,
13. HDFC Bank, UCO Bank,
14. IndusInd Bank Limited,
15. City Union Bank
16. Syndicate Bank
17. Allahabad Bank,
18. Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd,
19. Punjab National Bank,
20. Allahabad UP Gramin Bank,
21. DCB Bank Ltd,
22. Manipur State Co-op Bank,
23. Vijaya Bank,
24. Bombay Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd,
25. Yes Bank,
26. Oriental Bank Of Commerce,
27. Dena Bank,
28. Bank of Maharashtra,
29. Canara Bank,
30. Andhra Bank
31. Axis Bank

What is PFMS?

PFMS refers to the Public Fund Management System. This particular system is under the control of the Controller General of Accounts in the Ministry of Finance. Its Features are:

1. It is a finance management platform for plan schemes.
2. It is a database of all the recipient agencies
3. It is integrated with the core banking solutions to handle plan funds
4. It is integrated with State treasuries
5. It is effective and efficient in tracking the fund flow of even the lowest level of implementation for the plan scheme of the government.
6. It provides information related to all the plan schemes
7. Information about the information agencies
8. Fund utilization information
9. Fund monitoring
10. Reviewing the decision support system
11. Enhancing the accountability of the public

The government has suspended the 156 organization’s FCRA to lay stress on the importance of the Public Fund management system. This system is going to ensure that you are handling the matters pretty well.

Conclusion

FCRA online registration does open a lot of venues for you when it comes to foreign contribution. However, you need to make sure that you comply with the directives of the FCRA. If you don’t you might as well be the next in line to get a suspension.

Author: Dushyant Sharma

Hey there, I'm Dushyant Sharma. With the extensive knowledge I've gained in past 8 years, I have been creating content on various subjects such as banking, insurance, telecom, and all the important registration and licensing processes for various companies. I'm here to help everyone with my expertise in these areas through my articles.