NGOs in India asked to declare their assets publicly

NGOs who receive over ₹1 crore in funds from the government or if they get a funding of more than ₹10 lakh from foreign countries will have to declare their assets.

 
The Home Ministry has said that the NGOs will now work under the Lokpal Act and will have to declare their assets and liabilities every year. The data received will be published on a public domain.

 
Until now, the Indian government only had access to the details of foreign funds received by NGOs. However, with this latest move, all transactions will be open for the public scrutiny.  

 
The decision came after a prolonged tussle between the government and the civil rights activist, Teesta Setalvad.

 
Setalvad’s NGO works for the victims of the Gujrat riots and is under the scanner for allegedly accepting a ₹1.8 crore donation from a US-based organisation, according to an NDTV report. A donation of this amount is against governmental regulations. 

Setalvad’s NGO was banned from accepting any foreign funds in the future, and the case against her - for allegedly misappropriating funds and taking funds against regulations - is ongoing. 

 
The anti-nuclear Kudankulam protests in 2011 primarily triggered this in-depth scrutiny on NGOs. The government, under PM Manmohan Singh in UPA II, had publicly accused foreign-funded NGOs of working against the interests of India. 

The new regulations will certainly help the government check anti-development activities.
 

 Currently, the registrations of over 10,000 NGOs were cancelled, and 18 foreign donors are on the government’s radar.

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