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Retail FDI- Creating political storms
The announcement by the gov ernment about cabinet decision on 51% FDI in Multi Brand Retail and 100% in single brand has created significant debate among political parties even to the extent of affecting the stability of this Government.
Trade constitutes the largest segment of the economy with a nearly 16.7 % share in NDP in 2010- 11, that is, in the aggregate NDP of Rs 43.2 lakh crore that year trade accounted for Rs 7.2 lakh crore [ at 2004- 05 constant prices] higher than the share of manufacturing [at 13.4%] and Agriculture [ at 15.0%]. ( National Accounts Statistics of the CSO, New Delhi 2011).
Trade is conducted mostly [ more than 80%] by partnership / proprietorship firms with active involvement from members of family and community. More than 125 lakh kirana stores provide a source of livelihood to nearly 16 crore people. Retail trade has grown faster than the economy: it registered a compounded annual growth rate ( CAGR) of 9.2% between 2004- 05 and 2010- 11 when the Indian economy grew at 8.6%. The retail trade comprises all kinds of people and formats – from street vendors to departmental stores of various types, shapes and characteristics.
More than 80% of trade is accounted for by partnership and proprietorship forms – often called the ” unorganized” sector. The kirana shop adjacent to my home opens at 7am and closes at 10pm every day, 365 days of the year. It is very efficient, and one can order through a mobile. The owner knows the tastes and price preferences of our family, but his business is classified as ” unorganized” by our experts and economists.
The retail trade suffers from two major handicaps. One is the non- availability of credit at reasonable rates from institutions; the other is the bribe one has to pay to the government babus to leave him in peace.
Two main arguments are given for this decision. One it will improve logistics/ supply chain and enhance agricultural efficiency and the other is it will bring down prices to help consumers
THE retail trade suffers from two major handicaps. One is the non- availability of credit at reasonable rates from institutions; the other is the bribe one has to pay to the government babus to leave him in peace since middlemen are eliminated.
My vegetable vendor carries half a truck- load of vegetables on his TVS 50 at morning 5am. In India small businesses use capital more efficiently than big ones- So supply chain if at all will be more expensive. As far as consumer prices – they may come down initially but global experience suggest after ” predatory pricing for some time” global companies will hike it to much higher levels since they need to increase returns.
The other argument is that the MNCs bring ” funds” and ” efficiency” . An MNC does not normally bring funds from outside sources as it can access them in our market by showing ” comfort letters” from their parent companies.
Many financial institutions, both government and private, are ready to lend to them below the prime rate as they are ” Global”. That the MNC will bring funds from abroad is largely a myth.
Remember, Enron which was supposedly bringing Rs 10, 000 crore from outside. The final result is that Indian FIs are holding more than Rs 6,000 crore of worthless paper.
Has anyone studied the ” aggregate cost” of these global retail chains? Most American homes have a retail store in their basement.
In the US, it is an issue of labor shortage but in India there is surplus that is part of the large self- employed group. For the economic expert goods held by household is consumption but held by mom- and- pop store is inventory.
Hence, inventory reduction has been achieved in the economy. Not much space is available in Indian houses to convert them as ” retail stores”. Another aspect is the fuel cost of driving long distances to the super- market and spending thousands of man- hours between aisles. Plus mobile phones are useful in placing orders from our Mata- Pita stores [also known as mom and pop stores in USA]. All petroleum services and products, rice, tobacco, salt, alcoholic beverages and fresh food traded at public markets are excluded in Japan from any ” distributional aspect” by companies of other countries. Australia, Japan, South Korea do not allow trade services in petroleum, its products, rice, tobacco, salt, milk, fertilizers etc by foreign companies.
French using their Loi Royer simply restrict any development of hypermarkets to protect what they call the ” centres of French towns and villages and the living of small shopkeepers”. Germany has legislative constraints on outlets above 1200 sq. m.
Very cleverly, the Central government has allowed the State governments the final say in allowing FDI in retail. This may to some extent pacify those State governments opposed to big retail.
We are signatory with more than 70 countries on to Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements ( BIPAs), India has to provide national treatment to the investors. State governments therefore, may have to open up for big retail. Industries will use the legal option to force the States to comply.
The paan- chewing, dhoti- clad, English- ignorant retail trader should not be seen as an inefficient entrepreneur who needs to be bleached by globally- accepted detergents. What he needs is a level playing field, in the full sense of the term, with access to affordable credit and the abolition of inspector raj in the form of harassment by various arms of the government. Let us remember that we are still a savingsbased, family- oriented economy.
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Swiss court may unveil black money names on 3CDs
Julius Baer had until 31 May to object to a Zurich High Court decision to unseal three CDs containing names of several account-holders, but the Swiss bank failed to do so – which could mean that these names could soon be in the public domain.
Over the next couple of weeks, a Zurich court could unveil the names of several account holders of Swiss.
Three CDs are at the core of a case involving Rudolf Elmer, a former Julius Baer Chief Operating Officer, who leaked 2,000 names to WikiLeaks. Elmer was then arrested and went on trial for allegedly breaking Swiss banking secrecy laws. However, the case against him would not hold if the CDs are found to contain names of account-holders of the bank in Cayman Islands, where Elmer worked for two years.
AFP
The CDs could soon become public information since Elmer has chosen to have his trial in public. They could have a big impact in India if the CDs are found to contain any Indian names, given the huge political impact of this disclosure.
Elmer claims that he has only published 5 percent of the data on WikiLeaks and so there may be much worse to come.
The prosecution case in the lower court was that Elmer had a Swiss contract with the bank (under which he had to respect banking secrecy laws) even though for two of the eight years he worked for the bank in Cayman Islands.
A lower court upheld the prosecution case and found him guilty but on appeal the high court judge decided in November last year that because the data on the CDs had not been revealed, it was not known whether it was Cayman or Swiss data.
“If it’s Cayman data, then it’s not under Swiss banking secrecy laws and they cannot find me guilty on a contract,” Elmer has said.
After that, the fight has been about what is on the CDs, one of which had been given to the newspaper Cash. The prosecution had asked the paper to hand over the CDs, but Cash instead sent them to Julius Baer on the grounds of protecting their sources. The bank argued that they should remain sealed to protect client privacy.
The high court dismissed this argument and opted to unseal the CDs. JB had until 31 May to appeal against the decision, but the deadline has now passed with no appeal, which means the contents of the CDs are set to be revealed against the bank’s wishes.
The important point to note is that the consequences could be disastrous for the bank and for tax evaders around the world. The Prosecution Office of Zurich will get all client names and in an open trial the names could be made public. Even if the names aren’t divulged, the tax authorities in other countries will have the option to request information from Zurich’s Prosecution Office. Whether India is going to ask for the names is another matter.
“The can of worms will be opened even more,” Elmer has been quoted as saying in the media. “I believe it is very important for international clients to know that the CDs are now with the prosecution and an enormous risk arises that their names might be published, or even that information requests will be filed with Zurich’s Prosecution Office.”
Now let us look at what kind of black money from elsewhere is lodged in secret Swiss bank accounts. Nearly one trillion Swiss francs out of 2.8 trillion of Swiss money is black money, says Konrad Hummler, former chairman of the Swiss Private Bankers Association. (See August 2009, Swiss Review, “Atlantic hurricane hits Switzerland in full force.”)
Hummler is quoted as saying: “Switzerland has become a paradise for foreign capital on which tax is not paid. The uproar from foreign governments is understandable.”
As to what this means, in August 2009 one Swiss franc was nearly equal to the US dollar. It means that US$ 1 trillion in black money has been kept in Swiss banks. Julian Assange of WikiLeaks has mentioned that Indians are a large class of investors in Swiss banks and much of the recent revelations pertaining to Commonwealth Games, Koda and other scams lead us to the Cayman Islands through Swiss banks.
Sources in the Swiss banking industry feel that since the Elmer data belongs to 2002, it may be less damaging than if it were recent. However, any Indian names found on the list will have huge political impact.
Elmer asserts that he has published only 5 percent the data on WikiLeaks, and says he did not release the other 95 percent because it was not his job to publish client names. It was up to the tax authorities to chase cases of evasion. He also claimed that when the CDs were unsealed it would do a lot more damage than the original WikiLeaks publication
Only time will tell whether or not the bank or its clients have anything to fear when the full contents of the CDs are revealed. But the fact that the bank fought so hard to keep them private suggests otherwise. The CDs are a ticking time bomb both for whose names may be on them, and for the political establishment.
Obama’s gay vision lights fire under US’s Bible Belt
Barack Obama has electrified his liberal constituency by announcing his support to same sex marriage. In an interview to ABC television, which he has emailed to all his supporters, he says:
“I’ve always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I was reluctant to use the term marriage because of the very powerful traditions it evokes. And I thought civil union laws that conferred legal rights upon gay and lesbian couples were a solution. But over the course of several years I’ve talked to friends and family about this. I’ve thought about members of my staff in long-term, committed, same-sex relationships who are raising kids together. Through our efforts to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, I’ve gotten to know some of the gay and lesbian troops who are serving our country with honor and distinction.
“What I’ve come to realize is that for loving, same-sex couples, the denial of marriage equality means that, in their eyes and the eyes of their children, they are still considered less than full citizens. Even at my own dinner table, when I look at Sasha and Malia, who have friends whose parents are same-sex couples, I know it wouldn’t dawn on them that their friends’ parents should be treated differently. So I decided it was time to affirm my personal belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. I respect the beliefs of others, and the right of religious institutions to act in accordance with their own doctrines. But I believe that in the eyes of the law, all Americans should be treated equally. And where states enact same-sex marriage, no federal act should invalidate them.”
In making his views public, Obama has lit a time-bomb in American society which is deeply divided on the issue of same sex relationships, including same sex marriage.
In one sense he has brought the end to what is called the “American Project” which was excellently elucidated by Alexis de Tocqueville – the French traveller – in the 1830s. He stresses that the American institution of marriage was fundamental to the civil society of a free nation. Of course, he also praises the ability of Americans to form associations at the drop of a hat and its then minimal levels of crime due to the deterrent nature of punishment.
What has happened to the “American Project”?
The President’s support for same-sex marriages has evoked mixed responses. AP
The pendulum has swung from one extreme to the other. A relationship-based, local community-based system of self-governance (and hence law-abiding society) has been turned into a rule-based/contract and small print-based society. There are now pre-nuptial contracts/marriage contracts/friendship contracts and child rights contracts. When a society becomes obsessed with rules, it loses its spontaneity and, in the process, the sovereignty of families gets destroyed. When families are not in control, children spend more time with game consoles than their grandmother.
This trend has been visible from the 1980s, when everyone was for enforcing rights and nobody argued about duties. Old people are the responsibility of the government so also unwed mothers and young children. The joint family got liquidated into nuclear families which, in turn, became single parent or co-habiting families. Single parent children are low performers compared to the children of married and living together parents. Unfortunately, lots of studies have shown that children of co-habiting mothers are no better than those of single parents (usually a mother). (See Charles Murray: The Coming Apart: The State of White America 1960/2010).
More than 50 percent of children born in 2009 to under-30 women were out of wedlock. What was once considered illegitimate has now become the new normal. Among blacks it is nearly 75 percent and for Latinos it is 55 percent (See Marriage is a Luxury Good).
At a time when marriage and family as institutions are under severe stress and may not exist in the coming decade, in this cauldron President Obama has poured shudh ghee to accentuate the issue by arguing that same sex marriages be recognized and supported.
This will be extraordinarily divisive since only a few days before North Carolina has rejected any attempt to recognise gay marriages. The USA is now broadly divided into two camps. The West Coast (San Francisco is known as the capital of same sex America) and the liberal North East, on one side, and the Bible belt of South and Midwest, on the other. The Economist newspaper says “it is safe to say that over one-third of Americans, more than 100m, can be considered evangelical, with the greatest concentration in the South. Not only that, the vast majority of evangelicals oppose gay marriage”.
It seems the entire religious and family edifice of America, as understood by Tocqueville, is under threat.
“American exceptionalism” has come exceptionally under threat. To the best of my current information, same-sex marriages or unions cannot consummate and so they have to adopt or go for sperm and egg donations. From all accounts, born-again Christians or evangelicals are not going to accept it under any circumstances and many more states will fight it tooth and nail. It is worth recalling that the American civil war was not only about African-American issues, but about federalism and the rights of states.
What about the church? The Catholic Church has to oppose it tooth and nail, but given the recent scandals regarding child abuse, etc, and their diminishing hold on followers, it may not matter much. But the opposition of New Age Churches like the Pentecostals, which have strong evangelical followers, will be severe. One possibility is for the Church to lose but Christianity to win by slowly projecting Christ as gay-friendly just as the historical West Asian Christ has, over time, been converted into a White Christ (as depicted in the History Museum of New York).
The reactions of Islamic theologians will be very critical since all sections of Islam consider homosexuality to be unnatural and in some Middle Eastern countries it is punished with death.
As far as India is concerned, even Marxist historians have not provided instances of any gay person being killed in our history for being gay. At worst he may be looked upon with amusement in our villages, not contempt.
But Americans are passionate and very religious people, unlike Europeans. The Bible belt is not going to accept Obama’s election-eve announcement of support. Obama has enthused his flock but the undone “American Project”.
It is going to be long-drawn-out civil war fought on religious and federal principles which will split America into two: those who are for and those who are against. The present has become tense, and the future uncertain.
Will social media break the next scam,trumping TV and print
A Lok Sabha member of Parliament, Meenakshi Natarajan, was to introduce the Print and Electronic Media Standards and Regulations Bill 2012.The bill provides, among others things, for a regulatory authority with sweeping powers, including powers to ban or suspend coverage of an event or incident that may pose a threat to national security from foreign or internal sources. It even provides for a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh, suspension of a media organisation’s licence for up to 11 months and cancellation in some cases.
Natarajan, a first-time MP representing Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, is an All-India Congress Committee secretary and a member of Rahul Gandhi‘s core team of youth leaders. The bill, incidentally, was not introduced since she was absent on the day it was taken up. “The bill was based on her (Natarajan’s) views. These are not the views of Rahul Gandhi. Neither are these his views or nor has she got his consent to this bill,” Congress General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said.
Courtesy: Getty Images
Earlier, Press Council of India Chairperson, former Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju, called for regulating social media, saying it would prevent unpleasant material from making it into the public domain. “Social media like Facebook and Google need to be regulated as a lot of dirty and filthy material is available on these sites and these affect the minds of the younger generation,” Katju said during an interaction with women journalists at the Indian Women Press Corps. Katju also supported some kind of regulation for media, and especially electronic media.
“Everybody should have self-regulation. I was scared when I was the high court judge that if I took a bribe I would be impeached by Parliament. A lawyer’s licence can be cancelled by the Bar Council of India and similarly a doctor’s licence can be cancelled by the Medical Council of India for any medical negligence. So everybody is accountable except the media, especially the electronic media. They say we will have self-regulation. Then everybody should have self-regulation, why should there be laws? The very fact that you have laws is that society realises that self-regulation is not all that sufficient. There should be some fear among media,” he said (Read here).
According to Katju, Indian media has been playing a very irresponsible role. “I am not against the media and fight for their rights as nobody else would have. I am not calling for controlling media but regulating them. Maybe a separate committee should be constituted and the media fraternity should be a part of framing its guidelines,” he said.
In the eighties, it was the print media which was in the forefront of exposing corruption and other misdeeds of government and political leaders. But by the beginning of this century TV has overtaken print media in terms of “Breaking News” – whether it is the Adarsh scam or Commonwealth Games or the 2G spectrum scandal. TV as a medium has become the main stream. The print media is struggling to function as a pure news media since TV pre-empts it the previous night. Printed newspapers are thus trying to focus on analysis and backgrounders to stories. TV is focusing on combining views and news bundled into one.
But a significant change has come about with the advent of social media such as Twitter and Facebook. They have captured the imagination of youth, especially since they are fully democratic – with no owner or editorial control. In print and mainstream media, owners appoint editors who vet the news and views to be published. So is the case with TV media.
But in the social media everybody has an equal chance and all are kings and the speed of dissemination is unbelievable. It is not constrained by a sense of controlled partisanship or private agenda because for every viewpoint there are 100 counterviews.
There is a general perception that the print and electronic media are run by Left liberals in our country who do not provide opportunities for other views to surface. This could be due the fact that most of the journalists have been brought up in the Nehruvian tradition of Left liberalism and the Columbia School of Journalism. Even the local journalism schools encourage such points of view. Many an editor has come out of these schools of journalism. So, to that extent, Right-wingers, both of the economic and religious varieties, have found the social media to be an effective tool to counter the perceived Left liberal print and TV medium bias.
Since they are not bothered about being “insiders” or “consensus builders” and they are unpaid part-timers, they focus sharply on the rightist point of view. They also are in the forefront to expose wrongdoing by the ruling establishment.
Two recent examples highlight their success and provide clues to the shape of things to come.
For instance, when the Abhishek Manu Singhvi (AMS) CD hit the social media they circulated it far and wide. In Twitter jargon, AMS was “trending” for many days. This made the case not only popular but also difficult to be ignored. The issue was his alleged sexual dalliance with a middle-aged lawyer in his chambers during day-time and the insinuation is that he promised to help make her a judge. His driver, who was allegedly unhappy with him, was supposed to have made the recording.
The video was removed from some locations on Youtube, but enterprising persons managed to put it in several different locations, some which can be censored and some which were not easily amenable to censorship for technological reasons. The Delhi High Court had given an injunction based on AMS’s petition. But neither the court nor government had the wherewithal to prevent the videos from being distributed globally.
The TV channels, by and large, were silent, and, by doing that, they actually worsened the situation for Singhvi. It was perceived that the mainstream media protects the high and mighty, particularly if they belong to the “narrow elite” of Delhi compared to, say, small town leaders. Both TV and print media were suddenly talking about privacy and consenting adults.
But social media quoted the Swami Nithyananda case and argued that you cannot have different yardsticks for different individuals. It was reasoned that Nityananda was a private individual while AMS was not. Actually AMS was chairman of the standing committee of Parliament and spokesperson for the ruling party. When the mainstream media published his denials and his version of the story, it increased the curiosity of the average reader/viewer. The advantage of social media is that it has millions of writers who are also editors unlike mainstream media, where a bunch of senior editors try to decide what is good for their readers/viewers.
Another important case is the supposed “land grab” by the present president in constructing a palatial residence in Pune for constructing a post-retirement home. As the supreme commander of the armed forces, Pratibha Patil was perceived as misusing her position since the said land was meant to be used by army personnel. The issue was first exposed by Vinita Deshmukh, a staff of MoneyLife (a financial journal from Mumbai) and soon Twitter carried it far and wide.
It appears that the president tried to influence army officers in Pune through some influential people, but even that was highlighted by the social media. In this entire episode, mainstream media was circumspect, as in the case of the AMS videos. The mainstream carried largely denials from the office of the president. The denizens of social media saw this as yet another example of mainstream media not taking up substantive issues involving the powerful elite. When the president finally announced that she would be giving up the Pune residential plans, it was, in a sense, a victory for social media.
So it seems that we are moving from the print era to TV and social media. Social media may not be powerful enough to move voters, but it is already able to take on the powerful. It is interesting to observe that social media participants always ask about sources and verification before jumping to conclusions, With the Right to Information (RTI) Act available in India, social media may begin to get their own feeds using RTI.
In other words they need not get news only from print or electronic media. They are not controlled by business houses or by political parties. In other words, we are entering an interesting era of millions of editors in cyberspace, unpaid and driven by agendas that also include the social good. These social media participants are slowly turning out to be unpaid guardians of our Republic.
Of course, there is talk of regulating or controlling the social media – like Justice Katju wants. It is also interesting to note that he was on Twitter for a short period, but has since wound up his account. Those who talk of controlling the social media know not what they are talking about both from a technological point of view and from the intellectual evolution point of view. It is actually real power in the hands of the middle class captured from the narrow ownership-driven agendas of the elite.
So don’t be surprised if the next major scam is exposed by the social media rather than the mainstream media.
Increasing impact of social media in India
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In the eighties when the Bofors scam hit the headlines everyone was eager to read ” The Hindu” newspaper, where it was exposed by Chitra Subramanian and N Ram – of The Hindu. It was print media which was the torch bearers. But by the beginning of this century TV has overtaken print media in terms of ” Breaking News” whether it is of Adarsh scam or that of CWG and 2G. TV as medium has become The MSM or Main Stream Media. Actually print media world over is struggling to function as a pure news media since TV has pre- empted it the previous night.
Hence slowly printed news papers are focussing on analysis and back ground to stories. TV is more focussing on combining views and news bundled into one.
But the advent of Twitter and Face- Book is changing all these. Broadly classified as Social Media ( SM) – it has captured the imagination of, particularly youngsters since it is fully democratic without the control of owners of media or editors. To publish in a print MSM one needs to be vetted by the editor and the editor is vetted by the owner of the media house. So is the case in TV. But in the social media everybody has equal chance and all are kings and the speed is unbelievable. It is not constrained by sense of partisanship or agenda driven since for every one view point there are hundred counter view points.
In India generally it is perceived that the print media is by and large liberal and supporter of ruling group and TV media is left and liberal and so agenda driven. So to that extent the rightist elements both the religious type and other right elements have found the social media to be an effective tool to counter the perceived left liberal TV MSM. To an interesting extent they seems to have succeeded since they are not governed by traditional norms of being an ” insider” or ” consensus” builders.
For instance when the Abhishek Manu Singhvi- AMS- tapes hit the social media they circulated it far and wide and in the jargon of Twitter he was trending for many days. This made his case very difficult. The issue was his alleged sexual dalliance with a middle aged lawyer in his chambers during day time and the insinuation is that he promised to make her a judge. The said video was supposed to be done by his driver who was unhappy of the treatment/ salary meted out to him by his boss. It was removed from some locations in U tube but enterprising persons managed to put it in several different locations, some which can be censored and some which cannot be easily amenable for technological reasons. Even though the Delhi High Court has given an injunction based on his petition, neither the court nor Government had full wherewithal to prevent the tapes being distributed globally.
At the same time the TV MSM was conspicuous by its silence and by doing that they actually worsened the situation for him. It was perceived that the MSM protects the high and mighty particularly if they belong to the ” narrow elite” of Delhi compared to say small town leaders. The print media was more circumspect and both TV and print media were suddenly talking about privacy and consenting adults. Social media then questioned MSM about Nithyananda case and argued that you cannot have different yard sticks to different individuals.
It also forcefully reasoned that Nityananda was a private individual while AMS is not. Actually AMS is – he has resigned since then as Chairman of the standing committee of Parliament and a top legal counsel. The MSM had egg in its face when it published his denials and part of the story and increased the curiosity of average reader/ viewer. The advantage of SM is it has million editors and million writers unlike MSM where there are bunch of editors trying to decide what is good for their reader/ viewers.
Another major case is that of the ” land grab” done in Pune by the present President in constructing a palatial palace for her to be occupied post- retirement.
The said land was meant to be used by army personnel and she being the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces was perceived to misuse her position.
This was first exposed by Money Life ( a financial journal from Mumbai) staff Vinita Deshmukh and soon it spread in the twitter far and wide. It appears that the President tried to influence the army person at Pune through some Governor etc but even that was highlighted by the SM. In this entire episode MSM was a passive observer rather one can say circumspect as in the case of AMS tapes except for publishing the denials from her office. In the process MSM has become just an outpost of Governments Press Information Bureau and publishes / presents what is handed out.
For instance majority of newspapers or TV channels did not vigorously debate the appropriateness and legality etc of the actions of the incumbent President either due to deference to the post or due to lack of investigation into the issue. Then we heard the news that the President has given up her idea of a new home in Pune and in a sense bowed to the pressure of SM. It seems that from print era to TV era we are moving into SM era. SM may not be powerful in influencing voters as of now but it is becoming powerful to take on the high and mighty. It is the most democratic medium to a large extent self regulated. Actually it is interesting to observe that the participants in SM always ask about sources and verification before jumping to conclusions.
They are not controlled by business houses or by political parties. In other words we are entering an interesting era of millions of editors in the cyber sphere, unpaid and not driven by any agenda other than social good. These SM participants are actually unpaid guardians of our republic.
It is fun to hear old media types talking of regulating it or controlling it.
They know not what they are talking both from technological point of view and from intellectual evolution point of view. It is actually real power in the hands of middle class captured from the narrow ownership driven/ agenda driven elite. SM may begin to get their own feeds using RTE instead of depending on the MSM. Have a keyboard will go places. This is the real citizen journalism unpaid/ without agenda and motives. We eagerly await the next scam to be exposed by the Social Media with bated breath.
Scrap FCRA and Save the Republic
Introduction
Normally reticent and mild mannered Manmohan Singh in an interview to Science magazine during February mentioned that American NGO’s are funding the protests against Kudankulam nuclear plant. He also blamed protests against genetically modified crops on groups which were funded from the US and Scandinavian countries.
He said that “they are not fully appreciative of the development challenges that our country faces” [http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_american-ngos-funding-nuclear-protests-pm_1654379]. This is a major revelation coming from the PM and unfortunately our media which is frenzy or agenda driven has not fully comprehended the dimensions of the issues raised by our PM. Let us understand the nature of the threat posed by these NGOs or WMD’s –Weapons of Mass Destruction – to our republic and the need to stem the rot here and now.
Among the largest members of the Indian economy is the NGO sector or what is known as the Third Sector or Civil Society (other than government and private) in academic circles.
Two important criteria are that they should be independent from government and organizations not meant for making profit. But many get money from the government or from foreign governments. The type of activities they are involved is mind-boggling which can extent from “aging issues” to “corruption” to “human rights” to “waste management”. Many of them call themselves “Civil Society” and involve in socio-political activities even though they do not directly participate in the electoral process. Many are Church-related organization and others involve in human rights issues as a civil society organization. The funding for many of these civil society groups is substantially international.
Before we proceed let us look at some numbers.
The international flow of funds is regulated by the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act [FCRA Act] of the Central Government which the ministry of home affairs has re-formulated now. In the period from 2001 to 2010 [ 9 years] such organizations received more than Rs 70000 crore and in the year 2009-10 [of which data is available] it was Rs 10338 crore.
[Source: http://www.mha.nic.in/fcra.htm]
Salient Features for the year 2009-2010 [ year for which latest data is available]
Its salient features are as below:
I. A total of 38436 Associations have been registered under the Foreign
Contribution (Regulation) Act up to 31.3.2010. During the year 2009-10, 2022
Associations were granted registration and 388 Associations were granted prior permission to receive foreign contribution.
II. 21508 Associations reported a total receipt of an amount of Rs.10, 337.59 crore as foreign contribution.
III. Among the States and the Union Territories, the highest receipt of foreign contribution was reported by Delhi (Rs. 1815.91 crore), followed by Tamil Nadu (Rs. 1663.31 crore) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs. 1324.87 crore).
IV. Among the districts, the highest receipt of foreign contribution was reported by
Chennai (Rs. 871.60 crore), followed by Bengaluru (Rs. 702.43 crore) and
Mumbai (Rs. 606.63 crore).
V. The list of donor countries is headed by the USA (Rs. 3105.73 crore) followed by Germany (Rs. 1046.30 crore) and UK (Rs. 1038.68 crore).
VI The list of foreign donors is topped by the Gospel For Asia Inc, USA (Rs. 232.71 crore) followed by the Fundacion Vicente Ferrer, Barcelona, Spain
(Rs.228.60 crore) and the World Vision Global Centre, USA (Rs.197.62 crore).
VII. Among the Associations which reported receipt of foreign contribution, the highest amount of foreign contribution was received by the World Vision of
India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (Rs.208.94 crore), followed by the Rural Development Trust, Ananthapur, A.P. (Rs.151.31 crore) and Shri Sevasubramania Nadar Educational Charitable Trust, Chennai, T.N. (Rs. 94.28 crore).
VIII The highest amount of foreign contribution was received and utilized for Establishment Expenses (Rs. 1482.58 crore), followed by Rural Development (Rs. 944.30 crore), Welfare of Children (Rs. 742.42 crore), Construction and Maintenance of school/college (Rs.630.78 crore) and Grant of Stipend/scholarship/assistance in cash and kind to poor/deserving children (Rs.
454.70 crore).
We have provided some salient statistics from the Home ministry web site in Tables 1 to 5
Some important observations.
Establishment expenses consist of buying land, buildings, jeeps, setting up offices, mobiles, laptops, cameras, salaries, consultancy fees, honorarium, and foreign travel etc., constituting nearly 50 % of the expenses and in some cases as high as 70%. This goes against the grain of service motto where the ultimate recipient is supposed to get the maximum. Now, such organizations even recruit “executives” from management institutions. Most of the top recipients are Church or Church related organizations. They use the funds for service as well as religious purposes.
However, they are not covered by Right to Information Act as they are not part of Government. For instance, this writer has tried unsuccessfully to get the annual accounts from the web site of the top 25 recipients, many of whom are often reported in newspapers and TV and stressing the importance of “transparency” in the functioning of the government. Many do not have any information on their web sites. Some of the web sites contain nothing on finances. These Civil society groups who day in day out harangue us on TV talk shows about transparency and disclosures for the government and corporate sector etc., should practice what they preach
There is a long list of illustrative programmes /activities to be carried out by these associations receiving foreign contributions. This is given in the MHA web site
More importantly the amended act suggests that acceptance of foreign contributions should be within the broad parameters as listed in the appendix 1
We have provided in Appendix 1 to 4 some salient aspects of the act including a paltry punishment for violating the act.
Issues:
Nature of Use of Funds:
Significant portion of the received funds are used for ‘Establishment Expenses” which is against the basic cannon of charity work. It is expected that Charity involves lesser fixed assets creation particularly of the flamboyant nature. Also the jet setting aspect of the NGO’s provide clues to the nature of expenditure. Whether it is New York or Geneva we find members of Indian NGO community lobbying for some cause mostly of human rights. This creates a closed loop wherein they receive money to further some agenda and for that they receive more money
Religious Conversion:
Large amount of funds go to Christian organizations whose purpose is conversion. This act of “soul harvesting” or “planting of the Church” is an anachronistic practice of nineteenth century which is totally incongruous in the twenty first century where faith based political movements like the Church movements are disappearing from Europe their cradle of growth. Europe which has given up on the Church is trying to overcome its guilt by exporting Christianity to India. The recipient organizations may argue that they are serving poor but do they need European money to serve Indian poor.
Also some organizations like World Vision appear to be secular or non-denominational in India. But the fact of the matter is that is Christian in origin and membership. This has been affirmed by the Supreme Court of USA. We can take them as a representative example wherein they do not mention much about their exclusive Christian identity when campaigning for funds within India
To quote from World Vision Website
Quote
History of our Christian identity
World Vision was founded 60 years ago as a Christian humanitarian organization. Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, World Vision’s work with the poor and oppressed is a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people.
As a Christian organization, World Vision has virtually the same Statement of Faith included in its September 1950 articles of incorporation. While about 20 percent of our worldwide staff are of other faiths, all prospective staff at World Vision U.S. are required to sign that Statement of Faith or, as an alternative, the Apostles’ Creed.
Far from being narrow in scope, the Apostles’ Creed and World Vision’s Statement of Faith reflect the basic theological beliefs shared for millennia by the vast majority of orthodox Christian traditions — Roman Catholic, Mainline Protestant, Pentecostal, evangelical, or Orthodox.
Issues of the current court case
The issues at the center of the Spencer case — the plaintiffs’ denial of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus Christ — are central to Christianity. By definition, a Christian believes that Jesus Christ is the only son of God. World Vision believes one can be a good person, a moral person — even a religious person — without believing this. But World Vision believes that one cannot be a Christian unless one can confess, as the Apostle Peter did in Matthew 16:16 (NIV), “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
To be clear, we hire Christians, imperfect and flawed, not because we think they are superior, but because we believe that any real success will come only through the presence of Christ in each employee’s heart and His power through prayer in each staff member’s mind and hands.
The plaintiffs in this case signed the Statement of Faith when they were hired, but later changed their core beliefs. It was only when these staff members stopped attending World Vision’s weekly chapel services and instead began alternative worship and study sessions at work that the change in their beliefs became obvious. We regret the departure of our former colleagues, and we pray they have been able to find areas of humanitarian service that are compatible with their new beliefs.
Hiring people of shared beliefs
World Vision believes that staff commitment to core Christian beliefs as we understand them from the Bible is essential for maintaining our Christian identity. Organizationally, our humanitarian work is done as a reflection of — and an extension of — our Christian faith. We represent Christ in our work.
Hiring people of shared belief is a common practice among charitable institutions, many of whom receive federal funding. A non-profit that advocates for animal rights, for example, would be unlikely to hire a hunter or a non-vegetarian. An environmental organization is unlikely to hire a global warming skeptic. Non-profit organizations are defined by their core mission and motivation. To hire those uncommitted to that mission would be to undermine the organization
Who we are and how we serve
World Vision has worked hard to be clear with our donors in our communication and transparent about our Christian identity. We do not want to take donations under false pretences.
Similarly, World Vision always identifies itself as a Christian organization in the communities where we serve, including many where there are few, if any, Christians. World Vision works in many countries where the majority of people follow another religion, including some areas where Christian teaching is not welcome. In all cases, we respect the local culture and abide by local laws.
World Vision is a signatory to the Red Cross Code of Conduct and does not proselytize. That is, we never require aid recipients to listen to a religious message as a condition of our help, nor do we use aid as an inducement for recipients to change religion. We also never discriminate on the basis of religion in giving aid; we serve every child in need that we possibly can, of any faith or
Our staff worldwide
More than 80 percent of World Vision’s 40,000 staff members worldwide are Christian.
We work in some countries where there are few Christians with the needed professional qualifications, and in some where it is illegal to hire only Christians. However, in each of the nearly 100 countries where World Vision works, our leadership is Christian.
Federal law
In the United States, nearly 50 years of federal law has guaranteed that faith-based organizations can consider religion in hiring staff. The 1964 Civil Rights Act explicitly allows religious preference in employment by any “religious association, corporation, educational institution or society.”
Similarly, Congress has never said that faith-based organizations lose their hiring rights if they receive federal grants. Neither have the courts. In 1987, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that religious hiring rights do not violate the Constitution’s ban on government preference for religion.
Again quoting from their World Vision website
Unquote
The above mentioned quote highlights the dubious role played by mainly religious organizations presenting themselves as social or secular organizations in our context but receiving massive funds for global Christian activities
Not only that, we also finds that the Government of India involves mainly Christian organizations for carrying out their social agenda about Aids or reducing TB. For instance
The Organizations that currently comprise the National TB Consortium India are the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA), Damien Foundation India Trust (DFIT), German Leprosy and TB Relief Association (GLRA), LEPRA Society, PATH India, Project Concern International (PCI) India, TB Alert India and World Vision India.
We do not find Rama Krishna Mission or that of Amritanandamayi in these government funded endeavors. Check this link
The power of the Converting Lobby
The planting of the cross [conversion] among the poorer and weaker segments creates social tensions. If a girl gets converted then her parents and siblings are impacted giving raise to family and social tensions. But if even SC points this out there is a furore and the court is asked to erase it from its records.
How much the power of the church and its lobbies has spread far and wide is illustrated by the Supreme Court altering the wordings in its judgment in the famous Dara Singh Case
In the supreme Court of India-Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction
Criminal appeal nb. 1366 of 2005 Rabindra Kumar Pal @ Dara Singh …. Appellant(s)
Versus Republic of India…. Respondent(s) with Criminal appeal no: 1259 of 2007 And
Criminal appeal nos: 1357-1365
Its original verdict, the apex court observed, “the intention was to teach a lesson to Graham Staines about his religious activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity. All these aspects have been correctly appreciated by the High Court, which modified the sentence of death into life imprisonment with which we concur”. This was later modified as, “more than 12 years have elapsed since the act was committed, we are of the opinion that the life sentence awarded by the High Court need not be enhanced in view of the factual position discussed in the earlier paras.”
Secondly, the sentence, “It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone’s belief by way of use of force, provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other” (the meaning of the constitutional principle of equality of faiths and non-discrimination in matters of religion) was replaced by “There is no justification for interfering in someone’s religious belief by any means”.
The facts are as follows: while upholding the life sentence on Dara Singh, main accused in the Staines murder case, Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chouhan observed that the murder had taken place in an atmosphere that had been poisoned by the conversion activism of foreign missionaries in that part of Orissa. They said in their judgment pronounced in open court:
- “It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone’s belief by way of use of force, provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other.”
However, our two Supreme Court judges, proved even more nimble-footed than what John Dayal and company had expected. The original judgement was pronounced on 21 Jan. (a Friday), and the cacophony orchestrated by the Christian gang started straightaway, reaching a crescendo during the weekend and on the following Monday.
On 25 Jan. (Tuesday), Sathasivam and Chouhan re-opened the matter in open court and announced the deletions / changes. There are some reports that the counsels for the two parties (the State and Dara Singh) were given notice to attend, but this is not verifiable as yet. What is certain is that there was no application for a Review Petition or any other form of legal representation before the two judges, asking them to reconsider their observations already on record. It was a suo motu act by the two judges. Clearly, Dayal and his cohorts would have been delighted and overjoyed with the supersonic speed of the two judges and their commendable powers of foresight and anticipation.
What can possibly account for this change of mind and heart? Divine intervention, a hyperactive conscience? Impossible to pinpoint, for mere mortals. What happened was the observations quoted above (“It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in…) were deleted / expunged and replaced by the platitudinous and ambivalent sentence, “There is no justification for interfering in someone’s religious belief by any means.” This piece of pontification has no judicial import at all, either in the case under discussion or in general. All that can be said is that the somersault of this Bench in this case will be debated for quite some time.
Read “The Republic’s Apex Court commits one more faux pas” by Jay Bhattacharjee here
The above mentioned example shows that the power of Church for converting religion has been made in to a major fundamental right and it is supported by Global funds. We would like to point out that the right to convert does not include the right to convert using foreign money.
We also find that from the point of funding as well as conversion activities the so called “New Age or Evangelical” or “born again Christians” are much more active compared to the traditional Catholic or Protestant churches of India. Of course this needs another article.
Political activities
As is seen from the appendix FCRA recipients are not expected to use it for political purposes or affecting the security, strategic, scientific or economic interest of the State. But in the case of protest by opponents of Kudankulam nuclear reactor it was observed that the recipients have used it for opposing the plant. Not only that, they have also misused Church premises and priests have actively participated in the protest. Actually they used to ring the Church bells to mobilize the protesters at short notice
Economic Times reports here that
Quote
Narayanswamy, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, said the home ministry had probed the background and funding of the NGOs and that the government had received reports that these organizations were being funded by outfits in both the US and Scandinavian nations. “We have received certain reports about the NGOs in Tirunelveli and Thuthukudi around the Kudankulam project, who are being funded by organizations from the US and Scandinavian countries,” Narayanasamy said.
Twelve NGOs in Tamil Nadu had received funds and it was probed whether these were used for the purpose for which they were meant, he said. The ministry found that some of them violated the norms and the home ministry cancelled the license of three NGOs. “The ministry is initiating action against one of the NGOs, which did not follow the guidelines. Now the process is going on,” Narayanswamy said.
The minister said he was told that the people, who are agitating against the Russian-aided project, were brought from various areas on vehicles and trucks and given “good treatment” by the organizers.
“The protesters have sat on a hunger strike near Kudankulam project site and have not allowed workers to get inside. They have incited violence there and, therefore, we found how the money was coming to them,” he said.
Unquote
Further HT reports that
Quote
“Sources said foreign contribution to 12 NGOs in two districts — Tirunelveli, where the plant is based, and neighbouring Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu — has increased sharply over the last four years, ever since agitations against the plant started. “These NGOs received over Rs. 31 crore in 2010-11, with the foreign contribution to some doubling during the agitation period,” a senior government functionary said, adding that the money given is mostly for social causes such as education, health and sanitation.
The Tamil Nadu government was asked by the Centre to register cases against two of the 112 NGOs for diverting foreign funds under the provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulatory Act.
The role of 10 other NGOs in the Kudankulam agitation is also being probed
The home ministry’s website shows that there has been an overall increase in foreign funding to NGOs in Tamil Nadu, mostly Christian organisations. While the Tuticorin Diocesan Association witnessed a 50% jump in foreign funding, the People’s Education for Action and Community Empowerment (an NGO headed by chief agitator Uday Kumar) received foreign aid of Rs. 2.64 crore.
NGOs in Tamil Nadu received over Rs. 2,500 crore in foreign funds between 06-07 and 10-11.
Unquote
Quote
In what is perhaps the first international reaction to the Indian government’s heightened scrutiny of NGOs receiving foreign funds, the United Nations Special Rapporteur Margaret Sekaggya has in a report presented at the ongoing session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva expressed concern about the new regime introduced by Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010.The more stringent FCRA, 2010, which replaced the FCRA of 1976, came into force on 1 May 2011.
In her report (presented on 5 March) on the situation of human rights defenders in India, Sekaggya has observed that some of the provisions of the new Act “may lead to abuse by the authorities when reviewing applications of organizations which were critical of authorities”.
Incidentally, among those who spoke at the session after the Special Rapporteur presented her report, was Henri Tiphagne, executive director of People’s Watch, a Madurai-based human rights organisation, which was sent a notice by the FCRA wing of the Home Ministry in early February. In his oral statement at the UN, Tiphagne raised the issue of government action on NGOs in Tamil Nadu.
“In recent weeks, NGOs in Tamil Nadu have been targeted on allegations of opposing the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, presenting an example of abuse of this law with any due process adhered to.”
Tiphagne, just back from Geneva and on a short visit to Delhi, spoke to Firstpost about the significance of the UN Special Rapporteur’s statement.
Unquote
http://www.firstpost.com/india/indian-law-on-foreign-funds-to-ngos-worries-un-body-242888.html
| In another report of PTI from Madurai it is mentioned that Amnesty international is complaining to Government of India about treatment of agitators to the nuclear plant.QuoteMadurai, Apr 28 (PTI)The Amnesty International has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take steps for immediate release of all protesters arrested in connection with the anti-Koodankulam Nuclear plant agitation and drop “false” charges against them. In a letter to the Prime Minister, a copy of which has been sent to the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy which has been spearheading the stir, they also appealed to Singh to put an immediate end to the “harassment of those resorting to peaceful protests and respect protestors’ rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in accordance with international law.” Amnesty International members also referred to S.P.Udhayakumar, PMANE convenor’s charge that the Indian authorities had “failed” to respond satisfactorily to several site and safety concerns raised by an independent group of experts. They expressed “dismay” that officials belonging to the Home Ministry searched Udhayakumar’s home and that police |
| Unquote http://m.moneycontrol.com/news/mcnews/kudankulam-n-plant-issue-amnesty-international-plea-to-pm_698229.html?type=nc_top&category |
The above mentioned examples suggest about the reach of these NGO’s at highest global decision making bodies and the pressure they can exert on Government of India regarding any action contemplated against their activities
Illegal activities and NGO’s
Also hawala transactions/drug trafficking /etc anti-national activities are also undertaken by some of these NON-Government Organizations – as elaborated by the Report of The
United States Department of State; Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Quote
Additionally, the lack of severe penalties imposed by regulators against banks and financial institutions, coupled with the low statistics, may indicate a lack of appropriate due diligence procedures and/or weaknesses in the transaction monitoring systems. The Government of India (GOI) should ensure reporting entities fully implement appropriate due diligence procedures, to include both computerized tracking systems and active engagement by trained frontline personnel
The GOI should press for presidential approval to implement the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 1976, which would extend foreign contribution reporting requirements to any non-profit organization that has a political, cultural, economic, educational or social focus and automate notification of suspicious transactions to the FIU.
Unquote
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report Volume II
Money Laundering and Financial Crimes March 2011 [pages 107/109]
This report actually cautions Government of India about the activities of NGO’s which receive funds from abroad since the end use monitoring mechanism is very weak in our context
Conclusions
First and foremost issue is pertaining to the fundamental question whether we are still white man’s burden. If the answer is negative then the Act need to be scrapped. We feel the whole idea of FCRA Act for foreign contribution is redundant since we are not any more white man’s burden and hence no need for foreign contribution to “ improve the lot” of Indians.
Some Hindu organizations may be impacted—but we are not distinguishing between any religious denominations. All of them can conduct their activities with local donations.
As Prime Minister correctly pointed out that many of these foreign sponsors do not understand about our developmental challenges and so it is very much possible that they could be misguided or even agenda driven to serve some global vested interests.
Actually India is providing substantial Aid to countries in Africa and other Asia.
So it is time to scrap the Act and stop all foreign funding for any charity including “ religious “ activities since propagation and conversion activities cause substantial social tension etc as observed by the Supreme Court in the Dara singh case.
Also as clearly pointed out in the path breaking book “Breaking up India” by Rajeev Malhotra and Arvind Neelakandan– the activities of these Church organizations is purely “political” and meant to facilitate internal turmoil. This book covers a vast gamut about the dangers to the republic from these organizations
[Breaking India by Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelakandan Amaryills New Delhi-2011]
An earlier book—NGO Activists and Foreign Funds edited by Radha Rajan and Krishen Kak emphasizes this point and provide details regarding many NGO organizations.
[NGOs Activists and Foreign Funds: Edited by Radha Rajan and Krishen Kak Vigil Public opinion forum Chennai 2nd edition 2007]
Recently Russia has approved a bill that introduces stringent control over the activities of foreign funded non-government and non-commercial organizations in a move designed to pre-empt any “coloured revolution” in the country. It says, and to quote “The Kremlin has learnt its lessons from a string of “coloured revolutions” in the former Soviet Republics— the “rose revolution in Georgia, the “orange revolution” in Ukraine and the “tulip revolution” in Kyrgyzstan— all inspired and orchestered by western-funded Civil Society groups”.
Incidentally, there is an act in the USA called Foreign Agents Registration Act [FARA] and it provides for penalties up to ten years in jail for acting as a foreign agent or getting foreign funds without notification to the Attorney General. FARA was originally passed in 1938 to prevent the spread of Nazi ideas and propaganda.
It is important that the Government of India bans foreign funding of civil society groups and
NGOs who want to reform India or use it for conversion. We are no more the “white man’s burden”. Scrap the FCRA and save the republic should be the call of our times by policy makers and other concerned patriots
_________________
The author is Professor of Finance and Control, Indian Institute of Management-
Bangalore, and can be contacted at vaidya@iimb.ernet.in. The views are personal and do not reflect that of his organization. Wish to acknowledge Ms. Sangeetha Raman of Chennai for research assistance.
Table-1
[Source: http://www.mha.nic.in/fcra.htm]
Table-2
[Source: http://www.mha.nic.in/fcra.htm]
Table-3
TOP FIVE DONOR AGENCIES
[Source: http://www.mha.nic.in/fcra.htm]
Table 4
TOP FIVE RECIPIENT ASSOCIATIONS
[Source: http://www.mha.nic.in/fcra.htm]
Table-5
RECEIPT/UTILIZATION OF FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS MAJOR FIVE PURPOSES DURING THE YEAR 2009-10
[Source: http://www.mha.nic.in/fcra.htm]
Appendix -1
The acceptance of foreign contribution by the association/ person is not likely to affect prejudicially –
(i) the sovereignty and integrity of India; or
(ii) the security, strategic, scientific or economic interest of the State; or
(iii) the public interest; or
(iv) freedom or fairness of election to any Legislature; or
(v) friendly relation with any foreign State; or
(vi) harmony between religious, racial, social, linguistic, regional groups, castes or communities.
And the acceptance of foreign contribution-
(i) shall not lead to incitement of an offence;
(ii) shall not endanger the life or physical safety of any person.
Appendix-2
Who cannot receive foreign contribution?
Ans. As defined in Section 3(1) of FCRA, 2010, foreign contribution cannot be accepted by any :
(a) a candidate for election;
(b) correspondent, columnist, cartoonist, editor, owner, printer or publisher of a registered newspaper;
(c) Judge, government servant or employee of any Corporation or any other body controlled on owned by the Government;
(d) member of any legislature;
(e) political party or office bearer thereof;
(f) organization of a political nature as may be specified under subsection
(1) of Section 5 by the Central Government.
(g) association or company engaged in the production or broadcast of audio news or audio visual news or current affairs programmes through any electronic mode, or any other electronic form as defined in clause (r) of sub-section (i) of Section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 or any other mode of mass communication;
(h) correspondent or columnist, cartoonist, editor, owner of the association or company referred to in clause (g).
Explanation – In clause (c) and section 6, the expression “corporation’ means a corporation owned or controlled by the Government and includes a Government company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956.
(i) individuals or associations who have been prohibited from receiving foreign contribution.
Appendix -3
Are there any banned organizations from whom foreign contribution should not be accepted?
Ans. Yes. FCRA is meant to ensure that foreign contribution is received from legitimate sources and utilised for legitimate purposes by any person. A list of banned organizations is available in MHA’s website
In particular, the list of foreign entities/individuals can be seen in this link
Appendix-4
Section 35: Punishment for contravention of any provision of the Act:
Whoever accepts, or assists any person, political party or organisation in accepting, any foreign contribution or any currency or security from a foreign source, in contravention of any provision of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.
R Vaidyanathan 