FCRA Bill: NE Christian council to raise concerns before JPC in Shillong

The North East India Christian Council (NEICC) will present its objections to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 before a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) in Shillong on November 2, the council's secretariat said on Friday.

The NEICC is one of 23 stakeholders included in the committee's study-visit programme. It plans to explain how the proposed changes could affect churches, Christian organisations, schools and colleges, and ministries across the Northeast.

"Risks paralysing" charity work

In a representation to JPC chairperson Sanjay Jaiswal, NEICC general secretary Rev Dr Meyu Changkiri said the council fully supports the goal of transparency and accountability in the use of foreign funds. But he argued that the Bill, taken together with the newly notified FCRA Amendment Rules, 2026, risks paralysing bona fide charitable work.

The council said denied renewals under the current law have already made it hard to keep humanitarian, educational, health and community programmes running, leaving projects unfinished and beneficiaries affected.

What it wants changed

The NEICC is seeking statutory changes to guard against what it calls a "Pending FIR Trap", where institutions could collapse because of accusations that have not been proved, and "Suspension Paralysis", referring to rigid freezing of assets during inquiries.

It has also offered alternatives to the proposed asset-vesting framework and to the financial and governance thresholds in the new rules, saying its proposals would keep judicial oversight in place, protect minority rights guaranteed by the Constitution and keep essential services going.

A member's case

To illustrate the problem, the council cited one member organisation that sponsors orphans, underprivileged children and children of pastors in remote villages of Manipur, paying college, tuition and hostel fees directly to institutions. It said the FCRA department raised no objection to its use of funds in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Maharashtra from 2018 to June 2026.

After the organisation applied to update its area of operation to Meghalaya under the new requirements, the application has shown "under process" for nearly two months, the council said, leaving many students unable to pay fees at a time when they are already under stress from the conflict in their area.

Road to the JPC

NEICC and other Christian bodies of the region met the Union Home Minister on July 5 and submitted a memorandum on the FCRA. On August 6, the Joint Action Forum on Minorities, of which the NEICC is a member, urged the Centre to withdraw the Bill or send it to a JPC. It was referred to the committee on August 12, and the council emailed its representation on September 29.

The NEICC, an ecumenical fellowship of Protestant churches, has 58 units: 39 member churches and 19 associate units. It has asked member churches to hold special prayers during Sunday services on November 1, ahead of the Shillong meeting.