Opposition seeks rollback of new FCRA Rules, flags overreach on civil society

📌 Summary:

• Congress leader K.C. Venugopal and CPI(M) Rajya Sabha leader John Brittas wrote to PM Modi and HM Amit Shah seeking withdrawal of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2026
• The new rules, notified on June 22, 2026, require NGOs to register under one of five categories — social, economic, educational, cultural, and religious — each with a separate prescribed activity list
• Organisations must disclose activities, geographical scope, websites, social media accounts and publications
• NGOs must pay separate fees for each category AND each State/UT in which they operate
• The Opposition argues the changes amount to "overreach" and will adversely affect the functioning of civil society organisations

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — regulation of NGOs and civil society, FCRA framework, foreign funding oversight vs. freedom of association; Centre-civil society relations

📝 Prelims Facts:

• FCRA = Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs) regulates foreign donations to individuals and associations
• Amendment Rules notified June 22, 2026; five registration categories introduced
• Separate fees now payable per category and per State/UT

🔑 Key Term: FCRA — law regulating the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions to ensure they do not affect national interest; NGOs must obtain FCRA registration/prior permission