Opinion

Why is the Church getting rattled about the FCRA Bill 2026?

A deep dive into why the Church opposes stricter foreign funding rules and what it means for NGOs and national policy

April 5, 2026

Church vs FCRA Bill 2026: Follow the foreign funding trail

The Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill, 2026, proposes firm directives, stringent compliance, enlarged government control over foreign funds and assets, and introduces mechanisms for more detailed oversight, FCRA asset management, and enforcement.

The Amendment was to address the alleged misuse of foreign funds for activities such as forced religious conversion, political agitation, and actions detrimental to national security. Minister of State for Home Affairs asserted that the Bill is aimed at those who use foreign contributions for forced religious conversions.

Unfortunately, the Bill introduction was ill-timed, as it coincided with the Kerala Assembly Elections, and the powerful Church authorities created a ruckus, forcing the Union government to defer a discussion on the Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25.

The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010, was intended to regulate the acceptance, utilisation, and accounting of foreign contributions and foreign hospitality received by individuals, associations, and NGOs. Additionally, the FCRA prohibits foreign funding for candidates for election, journalists, media persons, judges, government servants, politicians, and political organizations. The Act was originally enacted in 2010, came into force in 2011, and was amended in 2016, 2018, and 2020.

Today, there are approximately 16,000 associations registered under FCRA receiving around Rs.22,000 crores annually, bigger than the annual budgets of some state governments! Among the associations which reported receipt of foreign contribution, the highest amount of foreign contribution was received by Christian religious organizations, notably, the World Vision of India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (Rs.233.38 crore), followed by the Believers Church India Pathanamthitta, Kerala (Rs.190.05 crore) and Rural Development Trust, Ananthapur, A.P., founded by Vicente Ferrer Moncho a Spanish Jesuit.

The list of donor countries continues to be led by the USA (Rs.3838.23 crore), followed by the UK (Rs.1219.02 crore) and Germany (Rs.1096.01 crore). The list of foreign donors is topped by Compassion International, USA (Rs.183.83 crore), followed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, USA (Rs.130.77 crore), and Kindernothilfe (KNH), Germany (Rs.51.76 crore), Europe’s largest Christian NGO.

Basically, it is foreign Christian organizations, pumping money into the hands of Christian organizations set up in India, for the express purpose of religious conversions, but done clandestinely through a network of schools, colleges, and hospitals, which provide excellent camouflage for conversion activities.

Innumerable countries restrict or ban foreign funding to civil society and political parties to protect national sovereignty, with a 2013 study identifying at least 51 countries that prohibit or heavily restrict foreign NGO funding. Bans on foreign donations to political parties are common, particularly in emerging democracies in Africa, Asia, and many European nations. Examples of countries with strict restrictions on foreign donations include Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Brazil, France, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, etc. Surprisingly, the United States, which pumps money into many NGO’s in third-world countries, does not permit any donations!

In Eritrea, the government has restricted foreign NGOs and aid agencies, insisting that all aid and development projects be managed through government channels or state-affiliated organizations, often rejecting foreign donations that go directly to local entities or independent actors. Countries like Zimbabwe and Nigeria have passed stringent laws aimed at controlling foreign influence in national affairs. What is interesting is that these are all African Christian countries, rejecting aid from Christian Western countries, for they know that the money will be used for inciting revolts and insurgency in the future, if the governments do not follow the dictates of foreign powers.

The events rocking Manipur should have been an eye-opener for the government. Raging armed conflicts between the tribal communities, drug trafficking, and arms trafficking have created a chaotic state. Foreigners are intruding into the state freely, having a hidden agenda to destabilize the entire Northeast.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961, with headquarters at Paris, in its OECD Anti-Corruption and Integrity Outlook 2024, it argues that allowing foreign donations leaves countries exposed to:

Undue influence on political parties and candidates.
Overrepresentation of foreign interests within public institutions.
Prioritization of foreign agendas over domestic public interest.
China allows foreign donations, but they are strictly regulated under the Overseas NGO Law and other regulations. Foreign entities must work with registered Chinese partners, and activities must be registered, approved, and align with state priorities, with strict limitations on political and religious activities.

This writer thinks that the Government of India should have banned all types of foreign donations, rather than restricting them. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) across the country received foreign contributions worth Rs.88,882 crore between 2017-18 and 2021-22. This is the period that witnessed a crackdown on NGOs allegedly violating provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, with the Act itself being made more stringent. It is a mind-boggling sum of money, which, if used properly, would have eliminated poverty completely. But that money has been diverted for other clandestine activities, and the government is unable to trace where the funds have gone. Heavy conversion activities are happening in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, where efforts are underway to destroy Buddhism. Even in Tawang, which is a holy site for Buddhists, the Christian Revival Church (CRC), an illegal church, has been constructed on government land and is situated in a region dominated by the Buddhist Monpa community.

Sikhism is facing directed destruction at the hands of missionaries from Kerala. How has Punjab seen over 3.5 lakh conversions to Christianity in just two years? The population of Christians in Tarn Taran alone has surged by 102% in the last decade, fuelled by foreign-funded pastors conducting “healing meetings” and exploiting vulnerable Sikhs.

The entire controversy of foreign donations reaching the wrong hands for the wrong purposes can be simply stopped by passing a law empowering only the government to receive donations, which will be distributed to genuine NGOs only for targeted development works. Religious conversions and terrorism are Siamese twins, fattening on foreign funds, masquerading as humanitarian aid.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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