'Dangerous escalation': Shashi Tharoor slams proposed FCRA Bill, says ordinary Indians will suffer

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has criticised the proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, calling it a major expansion of the Centre's powers over civil society organisations. Ahead of the bill's expected introduction in Parliament next week, the Thiruvananthapuram MP argued that the changes could have far-reaching consequences for charities, educational institutions and healthcare organisations that depend on foreign funding.

In a column published in The Indian Express, Tharoor described the proposed legislation as a "dangerous escalation in the centralisation of executive power" and said it "fundamentally rewrites the relationship between the Indian state and civil society".

Tharoor questions government's approach

The Congress leader accused the government of viewing non-profit organisations with suspicion instead of treating them as development partners.

"The current government has increasingly reframed non-profit charities, think tanks and human rights groups not as development partners, but as sources of subversion and foreign manipulation. To neutralise these voices, the state has targeted their primary vulnerability: dependence on international philanthropy," Tharoor has written.

The proposed amendment seeks to create a "Designated Authority" that would take over the management of foreign contributions and assets created through such funds if an organisation's FCRA registration is cancelled, surrendered or not renewed. In the case of places of worship, the Authority would be required to preserve their religious character.

Concerns over charities and public services

Referring to earlier amendments to the FCRA, Tharoor said the government had already tightened compliance norms by banning sub-granting, reducing administrative spending limits and mandating a single bank branch in New Delhi for receiving foreign contributions.

According to him, these measures have "triggered an 87 per cent drop in foreign funding, forcing thousands of secular and community-based organisations to shut down".

Drawing from his experience as an MP from Kerala, Tharoor highlighted the work of Christian-run charitable institutions in healthcare and education.

"As a Kerala MP, I have seen Christian-run charitable trusts, schools, hospitals and diagnostic centres, medical colleges, and welfare NGOs serving marginalised populations, regardless of caste or creed, for well over a century. These facilities rely on a mix of local contributions, domestic fees, and foreign grants to maintain world-class medical equipment, sponsor affordable care, and fund educational scholarships," Tharoor said.

He also warned that the provision allowing the state to take over assets could directly affect public services.

"By linking an administrative decision on an FCRA licence directly to the physical confiscation of land and buildings, the Bill creates an environment of extreme instability. A single administrative delay or an adverse ruling by the Ministry of Home Affairs could instantaneously convert a functioning 500-bed charitable hospital into state property, disrupting essential public services and placing community assets under government control. The victims are the ordinary Indians who are the beneficiaries of these facilities."

Calls for Opposition to resist the bill

Calling the amendment anti-democratic, Tharoor urged Opposition parties to oppose it in Parliament.

"It is a profound injustice to subject institutions that have devoted generations to India's development, education, and healthcare to such punitive statutory mechanisms. The contributions of the Church and affiliated charitable organisations in India are documented in millions of lives uplifted, educated, and healed," Tharoor stated.

According to Ministry of Home Affairs data, 13,520 organisations received Rs 55,741 crore in foreign contributions between 2019 and 2022. As of July 15, 2026, the FCRA portal showed 14,449 active certificates, while 22,498 had been cancelled and 15,212 had expired.