The Ministry of External Affairs rejected US lawmaker criticism of India’s FCRA Bill, affirming that domestic foreign funding regulations are an internal sovereign matter for Parliament to decide.
Published: August 7, 2026, 6:56 PM IST
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New Delhi: Rejecting recent international criticism, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) firmly reiterated that foreign funding laws fall under Parliament’s sole legislative jurisdictionIn the recent statement, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal pointed out during a bi-weekly briefing that several global democracies, including the United States, enforce similar regulations to oversee foreign monetary inflowsHere are all the details you need to know about what the MEA has said on the much-talked about FCRA Bill.
What are FCRA framework?
The FCRA framework governs the intake and utilisation of overseas funding across non-governmental organisations, charitable entities, academic institutions, religious trusts and affiliated bodiesMinistry of Home Affairs figures indicate that 13,520 entities received foreign remittances totalling Rs 55,741 crore between 2019 and 2022.
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, seeks to establish a Designated Authority tasked with overseeing foreign contributions and assets acquired through such capital in instances where an entity’s FCRA registration stands cancelled, surrendered or lapsed.
What India’s Ministry of External Affairs said on foreign funding laws?
“Regarding the issue you are referring to, we have seen it, and several comments have been made on itAs far as legislative matters are concerned, and particularly matters relating to India’s own legislation, this is an internal matter for us, on which our Parliament takes the decision,” Jaiswal said.
“I would also like to tell you that there are several countries in the world, including the United States, that regulate foreign funds and foreign financing,” he added.
India’s Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA)
The response comes following remarks from US lawmaker Riley Moore, who raised objections to proposed modifications to India’s Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), claiming the provisions could enable state control over churches and philanthropic institutions, while cautioning that the development might strain bilateral ties.
“But despite this long Christian history, India’s Parliament is considering amending the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act to permit government takeovers of churches and religious charities,” Moore wrote.
Expressing his concerns on social media platform X, the Republican Congressman from West Virginia acknowledged that Christianity holds deep historic roots in India, tracing back to the arrival of St Thomas the Apostle on the Malabar Coast.
(With inputs from agencies)
