The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 is a legislative proposal, or a Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, 2026, that seeks to amend the existing Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA). The original FCRA, which regulates the receipt and utilisation of foreign funds by Indian entities, traces its origins back to the 1976 Act. The Bill's stated objective is to enhance the transparency and accountability of foreign contributions.
The Bill's central mechanism is the introduction of a framework for the supervision, management, and disposal of foreign contributions and assets when an organisation's FCRA certificate ceases to be valid. A certificate ceases to be valid if it is cancelled by the government, surrendered by the organisation, or if an application for renewal is not made or is denied. The Bill proposes to create a Designated Authority to take over, manage, and dispose of these assets. Specifically, it proposes inserting Section 14B to define when a certificate ceases and replacing the existing Section 15 with a new Chapter IIIA to deal with the vesting of assets in the Designated Authority.
This Bill connects directly to the FCRA, 2010, which replaced the 1976 Act and introduced a mandatory five-year renewal for registration. The 2010 Act was previously amended in 2020 to introduce restrictions like banning sub-granting and capping administrative spending. The 2026 Bill continues this trend of strengthening the regulatory framework. While the Bill is under consideration by Parliament, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2026, were already notified on June 22, 2026, introducing changes like a statutory definition of 'Key Functionary' and linking registration to specified purposes and geographical areas. The Bill itself was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for further scrutiny on August 12, 2026.