India Explained

Developing, unsettled

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 before a Joint Parliamentary Committee

The Centre's bill to amend the FCRA 2010 was introduced in March 2026 and referred to a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee on 12 August 2026; the committee has not yet reported.

UnsettledGovernance & Federalism

Known so far

  • The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 25 March 2026 and seeks to amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 [1].
  • The Bill provides that when an organisation's FCRA registration is cancelled, surrendered or deemed to have ceased, its foreign contribution and assets (including assets created partly from foreign contribution) vest provisionally in a Designated Authority notified by the central government [1].
  • Assets vest permanently in the Designated Authority if registration is not renewed or restored within a prescribed period, or the person ceases to exist; they may be applied for public purposes, transferred to central, state or local government bodies, or sold, with proceeds credited to the Consolidated Fund of India [1].
  • Appeals against orders of the Designated Authority lie to the District Judge within 90 days, and the central government may exempt persons from the vesting provisions in the public interest [1].
  • The Bill extends the existing ban on accepting foreign contribution to any 'person' engaged in producing or broadcasting news or current affairs programmes, reduces the maximum imprisonment for contraventions from five years to one year, and requires prior central government approval to start an investigation [1].
  • On 12 August 2026 the Lok Sabha approved a motion, moved by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, to refer the Bill to a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (21 Lok Sabha members, 10 Rajya Sabha members); it is to report by the last day of the first week of the 2026 Winter Session [2].
  • Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the DMK called for the Bill's withdrawal, and Opposition parties said some provisions could affect minority-run welfare and educational institutions [2].
  • Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the changes are not religion-specific, that reservations can be raised before the committee, and that Opposition parties had themselves sought committee scrutiny [2].
  • The chief ministers of Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya had earlier asked for detailed examination of the Bill, and some US lawmakers criticised it; India described the matter as an internal legislative one [2].

Not yet known

  • Whether the Joint Parliamentary Committee will recommend amendments, and what they would be.
  • The date on which the Winter Session 2026 will begin, and so the exact committee deadline.
  • Whether the Bill will be passed in its present form, amended, or not taken up.
  • The government's own stated rationale for the Bill; the sources consulted report the Minister's remarks on process but not a statement of objects.
  • How many registered organisations would be affected by the asset-vesting provisions; no official estimate was found.

This item records the status of a pending Bill as of 12 October 2026. Positions are attributed to the people who stated them; the item takes no view on them.

Sources

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