As FCRA restricts NGOs, Supreme Court had agreed that right to associate is not carte blanche for foreign funds

📌 Summary:

• The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2026, notified by the Home Ministry on June 22, impose tougher limits on NGOs receiving foreign donations
• The amendments draw legality from the Centre's Supreme Court argument that freedom to form associations or do charity does not include a right to unbridled foreign funds or use outside "permissible activities"
• Rule 9(1B) mandates that NGO registration certificates specify the "purpose(s) and the States or Union territories" of activity
• The Rules confine NGOs to specific, stated spheres of activity, explicitly excluding proselytisation and imposing geographical limits

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Governance/Polity — regulation of NGOs and civil society, balancing the fundamental right to associate (Art. 19(1)(c)) against national interest and sovereignty over foreign funding

📝 Prelims Facts:

• FCRA, 2010 regulates acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions; administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs
• The 2020 FCRA amendment barred sub-granting and made Aadhaar mandatory for office-bearers
• Foreign contributions must be received only in a designated SBI New Delhi (Main Branch) account

🔑 Key Term: FCRA — Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, the law governing receipt and use of foreign funds by individuals and associations in India