Christians are objecting to amendments to the legislation governing foreign funding of all non-governmental organisations in India. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) has recently been amended to allow the government significant power over organisations affiliated with minority religions. Members of the Christian community, who make up a little over 2 per cent of India’s total population, have described the amendments as “draconian” and “constitutionally suspect.”
A significant aspect of the 2026 amendment of the FCRA is the creation of a Designated Authority, which will take provisional control of foreign contributions and assets in cases of cancellation, surrender, or cessation of registration. The federal government will inform the Authority, with its control extending to assets partially funded by foreign contributions. The authority has been given the power to supervise, manage, and maintain these assets.
According to christian organization, International Christian Concern, the institutional oppression from Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has, during the past decade (as of 2024), revoked or suspended the FCRA registrations of more than 20,000 organisations.
In 2024, the FCRA registrations of major organisations, including World Vision India, the Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), and the Evangelical Fellowship of India, were cancelled. Additionally, just three years after the BJP came to power at the federal level, Compassion International, based in the U.S., was forced to stop operations in India, and in 2021, Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity faced a suspension of its renewal application.
Reports indicate that more than 70% of these NGOs, whose licenses expired as of January 2022, were affiliated with Christian programs. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the highest body of the Catholic Church in India, has expressed “grave concern” and described the Modi government’s amendments to the FCRA as “dangerous and alarming” in their implications.
In a press release, the CBCI expressed opposition to “clauses that grant sweeping powers to the federal government, allowing it to deny renewal or cancel licenses of organizations. More significantly, the proposed framework would permit a newly constituted authority to assume control over institutions, including their funds, properties, and other assets.”
The CBCI said that these regulations are unacceptable, with serious concerns about fairness, transparency, and accountability. The organisation also questioned the intentions that fuelled the introduction of the bill, claiming that it was a one-sided decision, despite protests from Opposition Parliament Members.
The FCRA was first amended in 2020, introducing regulations for the renewal and operation of licenses to receive foreign funds.
Christian leaders whose organizations receive funding say that currently the 2026 amendment introduces draconian rules. These organisations receive funding to run institutes in the fields of education, medicine, and other social spheres.
The government of India has, however, declared that these amendments were made as a result of violations of previous FCRA regulations, such as non-filing of annual returns, failure to meet renewal requirements, or using foreign funds for activities outside their mandate, such as alleged religious conversion. Despite these declarations, the Christian community in India believe that most of these cancellations are part of a broader opposition to compliance with foreign funding rules, with Christian-aligned organisations facing heightened scrutiny.
Meanwhile, the opposition and civil rights activists fear that, once implemented, this amount of access could be used to silence organisations. Critics also say that the amended Act, could be manipulated against opposing groups and minority institutions.