Catholic body meets Home Minister Shah, flags concerns over FCRA Bill
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India has opposed proposed FCRA changes that would tighten regulation of foreign-funded religious and charitable organisations.
- India’s foreign-funding regime is anchored in the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, which governs receipt and use of foreign contributions by eligible entities.
- The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India submitted a memorandum opposing the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 and the amended rules notified on June 22.
- The amended FCRA rules require non-governmental organisations to specify the activities they will undertake under permitted categories and identify their geographic area of operation.
- The amended rules explicitly bar proselytisation and list religious education, moral instruction, satsangs, discourses and meditation retreats as religious activities.
What happened
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India has submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah opposing the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 and the amended FCRA Rules notified on June 22.
The memorandum objected to compliance requirements for non-governmental organisations that must specify the activities they will undertake under permitted categories and identify their geographic area of operation.
UPSC may frame this as a question on whether foreign-funding regulation can be tightened without creating overbroad restrictions on faith-based charitable work. The issue also tests the balance between state oversight, procedural fairness, and the risk of retrospective or disproportionate enforcement.
