India (MNN)—Thousands of Christian organizations in India have lost some of their funding—and others are still at risk of losing funding—due to government changes to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
The FCRA is the law governing any donations or charitable contributions sent into India from outside the country. Organizations must be registered with the FCRA in order to receive such funds. In the past, this registration did not need to be renewed. However, in 2021, the rules were changed to require renewal every five years. All organizations were asked to reapply at that time.
About 45,000 organizations submitted applications to have their registration renewed back in 2021. At the last count, 3,500-4,000 organizations were still waiting for their applications to be reviewed.
“So the Indian government under this current ruling party has been seeing this is a way that perhaps they can stop the flow of funds into the country,” says John Pudaite of Bibles For The World. “They have been going through these and canceling registrations as they see fit.” He notes the changes have been used to scrutinize Christian and Muslim organizations.
Some large organizations, including World Vision and Compassion, as well as some social service organizations well known within India, have already been denied. Bibles For The World recently received news that one of their key partners had lost its registration.
“It’s a long standing partner—probably have partnered with them for over 50 years,” says Pudaite, “and by God’s grace, they’re a very strong organization, and our contribution only makes up seven to eight percent of their annual budget. So they can continue the work of the Lord that they’re doing there without us, praise God—but at the same time, it’s a tough blow for them to be on that black list of organizations that lost their FCRA.”
Bibles For the World’s other primary partner has received their FCRA registration.
“We still have all of these Christian organizations and people who have been serving the Lord. They’ve been trying to build the body of Christ there in India, and now one of their sources of funding might have been cut off because they are not able to receive donations properly, through the proper channels, and so we need to keep lifting them up in prayer.”
Pray God will continue to provide for the needs of these organizations, that they will use this time to sharpen and refine the their mission, and that they will not be subjected to unnecessary oppression or pressure from government authorities.
Header photo courtesy of Bibles For The World.
