FCRA Amendment Bill 2026: Centre Likely To Refer Bill To Joint Parliamentary Committee

The Centre is ready to refer the contentious Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), in a move that could help break the deadlock over the legislation in Parliament amid sustained opposition from political parties, civil society groups and Church bodies.

The Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, seeks to overhaul the framework governing foreign contributions and assets created from such funds. The government’s willingness to send it to a JPC comes just a day before the Monsoon Session is scheduled to end on August 13.

A Union Minister said the government did not see anything objectionable in the proposed amendments and rejected the charge that the legislation targeted any particular community. However, the Minister said the government was prepared to send the Bill to a JPC for further deliberation.

The Opposition, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Left parties and DMK, has been demanding that the Bill be withdrawn. However, Congress sources have indicated that the party would be agreeable to its referral to a JPC if the government does not withdraw it.

The legislation has faced particularly strong opposition from Christian organisations, which have raised concerns over provisions dealing with the vesting of assets of organisations whose FCRA registration is cancelled, surrendered or ceases to remain valid.

DMK MP P Wilson recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with a delegation of Church leaders and submitted a memorandum seeking withdrawal of the Bill or its reference to a parliamentary committee. Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma has also met Shah and conveyed concerns over the proposed amendments among the Christian community in the state.

The issue has also triggered protests in the Northeast. The Council of Churches in Mizoram organised a rally in Aizawl on August 11 against the Bill, while Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has urged the Centre to reconsider the amendments and called for detailed parliamentary scrutiny with stakeholders being given an opportunity to present their views. The Tamil Nadu Assembly has also passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of the Bill in its present form.

What the Bill proposes

A key provision of the Bill is the creation of a government-designated Designated Authority to take custody of, manage and eventually dispose of foreign contributions and assets created from such funds when an organisation ceases to have a valid FCRA certificate.

Under the proposed framework, an organisation's certificate would be deemed to have ceased if it does not apply for renewal, its renewal application is rejected, or the certificate is not renewed before its expiry. In such circumstances, its foreign contribution and assets created from it would initially vest provisionally in the Designated Authority.

If the organisation subsequently obtains a fresh, renewed or restored certificate within the prescribed period, the assets would be returned. If it fails to do so, the vesting could become permanent.

The authority would then be empowered to transfer such assets to a government ministry, department, agency or local authority, or dispose of them. Proceeds from the sale, along with unutilised foreign contribution, would be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.

For places of worship, the Bill provides that their religious character must be maintained even if their management is entrusted to another person or entity.

Another contentious provision concerns assets created partly through foreign contribution and partly through domestic funds. The Bill provides that the entire asset would initially vest in the Designated Authority, although the organisation could seek return of a distinct or ascertainable portion attributable to domestic funds. This has raised concerns among organisations running schools, hospitals and other institutions funded through a mix of domestic and foreign donations.

The Bill had also proposed retrospective application of the new framework to foreign contributions and assets that had already vested under the existing law. Critics have argued that this could have implications for organisations whose FCRA registrations had lapsed in the past.

The government, however, has maintained that the proposed amendments are aimed at plugging gaps in the existing law concerning the management and disposal of assets when an organisation's FCRA registration is cancelled, surrendered or otherwise ceases. The government has also said that the proposed system is intended to bring greater transparency and administrative certainty to the handling of such assets.

The Bill also proposes reducing the maximum imprisonment for violations of the FCRA from five years to one year and introduces provisions identifying "key functionaries" who may be held responsible for offences committed by an organisation.

With the government now open to a JPC referral, the immediate confrontation over the legislation could give way to a detailed examination by MPs from both Houses. A JPC can examine a Bill clause by clause, hear the government and stakeholders and recommend changes, although its recommendations are not binding on the government.

The referral, if formally moved and approved, would therefore defer a final decision on the contentious legislation while allowing the government to address concerns over the proposed asset-vesting regime and its potential impact on charitable, educational and religious organisations.