Home Ministry cancels FCRA licence of Centre for Policy Research

Guwahati: Acting strictly not abiding by the set guidelines, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR).

The licence is cancelled for allegedly violating provisions of the foreign funding law, according to reports.

It is understood that a decision to cancel the FCRA licence was taken last week and has been conveyed to the organisation.

The cancellation of the FCRA registration, a mechanism that enables CPR to receive foreign donations, is attributed to alleged violations that include publishing reports on current affairs, which contradicts FCRA norms.

CPR has been a leading policy think-tank since 1973, which conducts advanced and in-depth research on a wide range of policy-relevant issues, with a focus on India’s 21st-century challenges.

The FCRA licence of CPR was suspended in February last year for 180 days and then the suspension was extended for another 180 days.

It is learnt that the Income Tax department had in September 2022 conducted a ‘survey’ operation against CPR, and two other organisations — Oxfam India and a Bengaluru-based Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF) — as part of a probe to look into their foreign funding.