Top 10 foreign-funded NGOs in India

Nongovernmental organizations in India have faced greater government scrutiny since an Intelligence Bureau report was leaked to media last June, accusing foreign-funded NGOs of anti-national activities aimed at stalling development. Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju told parliament in early March that 69 NGOs had been banned from receiving foreign money. Under India’s 2010 Foreign Contributions Regulations Act, NGOs need to register to receive money from international partners and donors and hold it in a separate account — the government has blocked NGOs from receiving money in past years for violating FCRA rules. Greenpeace in particular has been under tight watch. While not in the list of banned NGOs, it was put “under watch list.” Further, last June, the government froze its account holding funding from its Netherlands-based parent NGO, after it was singled out as trying to “take down India’s coal-fired power plants and coal mining.” But while the Delhi High Court ordered the government to unblock the money in January, in the same month, Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai was stopped from boarding a flight to London, where she was going to address British parliamentarians. Greenpeace said many of its U.K. employees had also been stopped for questioning in Indian airports, with one deported despite having a visa, in the past year. It’s in this climate of uncertainty that India’s government has revealed the NGOs that received the most foreign funding in its FCRA Annual Report for fiscal 2012. Based on the report, Devex gives a rundown of India’s top 10 foreign-funded NGOs. Because the report included a significant number of faith-based organizations, including Believers Church India and Missionaries of Asia, this rundown also includes some NGOs from the previous year’s list. The total foreign funding indicated for each NGO in this rundown is the amount received for 2013-14. A notable organization that made it into the report is the Public Health Foundation of India, a public-private foundation the government launched in 2006 to tackle the country’s growing public health challenges. The foundation works on strengthening research, practice and public policy, and currently runs four training institutes. 1. World Vision India Year established: 1958 Headquarters: Tamil Nadu Staff size: 2,025 Total foreign funding: 3.4 billion rupees ($54.6 million) Largest donors: World Vision International, the Coca Cola Foundation, Save the Children World Vision India launched in 1958 and today works across 174 districts focusing on community development and emergency relief. It responded to most major disasters that struck India last year, including record flooding in Kashmir. With rapid urbanization one of India’s most pressing challenges, the regional partner of World Vision International recently began scaling up its 31 urban programs as part of its My City Initiative. 2. Rural Development Trust Year established: 1969 Headquarters: Andhra Pradesh Staff: 2,169 Total foreign funding: 2.3 billion rupees ($37.3 million) Biggest donors: Fundacion Vicente Ferrer, Fundacion Larsan for a Better World, Eine Chance Fur Kinder EV Founded by the late Spanish aid worker Vincent Ferrer and his wife Anne in 1969, Rural Development Trust works to improve the lives of the rural poor in the state of Andhra Pradesh. With programs across health, education, women and ecology, it has set up 1,539 schools, runs two general hospitals and partners with the state government to support tuberculosis control programs. It also distributed emergency supplies after Cyclone Hudhud struck the coast last October. 3. Plan India Year established: 1979 Headquarters: New Delhi Staff: 177 Total foreign funding: 1.17 billion rupees ($18.7 million) Biggest donors: Plan International and regional affiliates, Coca-Cola, Toms Shoes Plan India implemented child rights programs in 13 states last year — in line with Plan International’s mandate to ensure the rights of children — and provided humanitarian relief after several disasters. It has partnered with the government many times since launching in India in 1979, most recently training sanitary inspectors for the Department of Drinking Water Supply and implementing a scheme to extend HIV and AIDS services to high-risk groups in Punjab and Jharkhand. 4. Bal Raksha Bharat Year established: 2008 Headquarters: New Delhi Staff: 350 Total foreign funding: 1.15 billion rupees ($18.4 million) Biggest donors: Save the Children International and regional affiliates, IKEA Foundation, European Commission Save the Children India became an independent organization in 2008, and now helps marginalized children in 15 states, where it runs health, educations, disaster risk reduction and advocacy programs. In September, it launched its India Newborn Action Plan to reduce the number of newborn deaths from 29 per 1,000 births to fewer than 10 by 2030. 5. Caruna Bal Vikas Year established: 1968 Headquarters: Tamil Nadu Total foreign funding: 1.12 billion rupees ($17.9 million) Donor: Compassion International Christian aid organization Compassion International launched operations in India in 1968 under the name Caruna Bal Vikas, setting up its flagship child sponsorship program. Today it runs some 570 child development centers in partnership with churches across the country, providing meals, English language classes and vocational training. 6. ActionAid India Year established: 1972 Headquarters: New Delhi Staff: 162 Total foreign funding: 808 million rupees ($12.9 million) Biggest donors: ActionAid International and affiliates, U.K. Department of International Development, British High Commission in Delhi ActionAid India was named as one of the NGOs “serving as tools for foreign policy interests of western governments” by India’s Intelligence Bureau, but chose not to comment publicly on the leaked report. Instead, it continued running activities across 24 states and one territory, aiming to end poverty and injustice by partnering with civil society. It also continued engaging with the government, as it has since launching in India in 1972, including working with the state of Bihar to rescue bonded laborers from Saudi Arabia last year. 7. SOS Children’s Villages India Year established: 1963 Headquarters: New Delhi Staff: 1,816 Total foreign funding: 796 million rupees ($12.7 million) Biggest donors: SOS Children’s Villages International and affiliates, Hermann Gmeiner Fonds Deutschland, Caterpillar India SOS Children’s Villages established its first village for orphaned children in India in 1963 on the outskirts of Delhi after its founder, Austrian philanthropist Hermann Gmeiner, visited the country. The Indian NGO now runs 33 villages in 21 states, with programs to prevent the abandonment of children. 8. Aga Khan Foundation Year established: 1978 Headquarters: New Delhi Staff: 676 Total foreign funding: 688 million rupees ($11 million) Biggest donors: Aga Khan Development Network, Switzerland, U.S. Embassy in Delhi, German Embassy New Delhi The Aga Khan Foundation set up operations in India in 1978 and works in seven states, across education, health, financial inclusion and rural development — running an acute care hospital in Mumbai and supporting 180 schools. As an affiliate of the Aga Khan Development Network, it has also helped restore many of India’s historic sites, including a 16th century tomb for the Mughal Emperor Humayun in the capital Delhi. 9. Oxfam India Year established: 2008 Headquarters: New Delhi Staff: 179 Total foreign funding: 552 million rupees ($8.8 million) Biggest donors: Oxfam International and affiliates, DfID, Christian Aid Oxfam India was formed in 2008 after several regional operations in the country, including Oxfam GB, joined forces and registered as an independent organization. Today, it works in seven states, with programs in gender and economic justice, essential services, youth, and humanitarian response. Oxfam India recently moved to engage India’s growing middle class in the debate over inequality through its Close the Gap Campaign, and runs its high-profile Trailwalker in Mumbai and Bengaluru. 10. Population Services International, India Year established: 1988 Headquarters: New Delhi Total foreign funding: 452 million rupees ($7.2 million) Biggest donors: Population Services International, Clinton Foundation Population Services International started operating in India in 1988, expanding to 22 states and territories with programs across HIV and AIDS, sanitation, child survival, malaria prevention, and gender violence. The NGO is currently running its largest-ever sanitation program, and its first using business solutions to increase access, in Bihar. The $8.7 million program aims to deliver 450,000 toilets over five years. Check out more funding trends analyses online, and subscribe to Money Matters to receive the latest contract award and shortlist announcements, and procurement and fundraising news.