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.”