Here's how foreign contribution regulations changed the landscape for grassroot ngos.

The regulation of foreign contributions in India goes back to 1976, when the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act 1976 was enacted to regulate the inflow of foreign funds in India to voluntary organisations set up for various socio-economic, religious or cultural objects. While the 1976 regulated foreign funding to such organisations, in 2010 it was repealed in favour of a wider and stricter law on foreign contributions in India. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act 2010(FCRA), along with the Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules 2011(FCRR) repealed the Foreign Contribution Regulation Ac, 1976. The FCRA permitted registered entities to receive foreign contributions but subject to strict conditions and disclosure requirements. The FCRA has been in the limelight in the past few years following widespread crackdown on several NGOs for FCRA violations, resulting in cancellation or suspension of registration of thousands of NGOs. Most recently, Amnesty International has also wound down its India operations following the Government’s freezing of its accounts alleging FCRA violations.