India Delays Crackdown on Foreign-Funded Ministries

Government pauses FCRA amendment after Christian organizations protest.

A new amendment to India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, or FCRA, would give the Indian government greater control over Christian organizations, including the power to seize their assets. The amendment also emphasizes the exclusion of proselytizing from permitted activities. India’s government has paused the bill after Christian organizations protested.

The Lok Sabha (lower house of the Indian parliament) chamber in India’s new parliament building / Wikimedia Commons

MinistryWatch’s Kim Roberts reported on the changes earlier this month, detailing administrative updates to the FCRA made June 22 that tightened funding rules for nonprofits — regulations that weigh heavily on Christian ministries. The updates require nonprofits to provide more detail at registration, including the purpose of their funding and the specific areas where they operate, and to get government approval before moving funds between projects. The updates also expressly bar the use of funds for proselytizing.

Those administrative changes are still in force while the proposed amendments are under review and will remain in effect whether the amendments pass or not. The updated bill’s key difference is that it would grant designated authority to seize assets that have been wholly or partially bought with foreign funds, such as a foreign-funded church. It also has a retrospective effect. Non-governmental organizations that used foreign funds in the past could have their assets seized.

Following another FCRA amendment enacted in 2011, more than 10,000 Christian ministries had their licenses to receive foreign funds revoked, according to The Hindu, an Indian newspaper. Compassion International, which operates in 29 countries, was one of those ministries — it shut down its India operations in 2017 as a result.

The CEO of a nonprofit ministry operating in India told the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association what the new amendment could mean for organizations like his. “The government will take over the buildings, take over whatever money that is left over in the bank accounts,” he said. “That’s where things are right now. It is a scary situation.”

Christian organizations have pushed back against the bill through social media campaigns and appeals to Parliament.

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Sasmit Patra, a member of India’s Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, told reporters Aug. 10, “Various communities and denominations from within the Christian community have met the government over the last few days and have been demanding a joint parliamentary committee for the FCRA bill. There are serious concerns, and these concerns have to be addressed only through a joint parliamentary committee. Rushing and passing the FCRA bill will not serve the purpose of the FCRA bill and will not assuage the feelings of the minority community, the Christian community.”

On Aug. 12, Nityanand Rai, India’s minister of state for home affairs, moved a motion in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s Parliament, to give lawmakers more time to consider the bill’s provisions, The Hindu reported. The motion was granted, and the bill will now be reviewed by a 31-member parliamentary committee. The committee is expected to submit its report during the first week of Parliament’s winter session, which typically runs from late November to early December.

The India National Inland Mission, which trains evangelists and plants churches in India, says it is prepared to stay in compliance with the FCRA’s restrictions by aligning foreign funds with specific project categories.

Alliance Defending Freedom India says now is the time for Christian organizations to treat compliance as an essential function of their operations; audit their assets and funding structures; improve governance and oversight; build legal awareness; and stay informed about and engaged with developments in India’s legal system.

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