NGO founded by Gujarat CM faces MHA scrutiny?

The second round of crackdown on NGOs in the month of June saw licences of 4,470 such entities cancelled for allegedly violating the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. Anandiben Patel In April this year when the ministry of home affairs (MHA) cancelled registration of nearly 9,000 NGOs for not submitting annual returns from 2009 to 2012,…

Don’t pay taxes till amenities are given, NGO asks residents

To protest against the lack of basic amenities, a local non-government organisation (NGO) has given a call to the residents to start a 'new non-cooperation movement' against the municipal corporation and the administration by refusing to pay several levies and taxes like the property tax, the value-added tax and other sundry charges levied in the…

Magic Bus builds on Indian model to become a global NGO

Indian not-for-profit organizations are finding takers for their development model in other countries Mumbai: When Cleartrip co-founder Matthew Spacie founded Magic Bus in 1999, it was an idea that sprung out of Mumbai’s slums. Magic Bus, a not-for-profit organisation, is today on course to reaching out to 4,50,000 children in 22 states in India this…

India has 31 lakh NGOs, more than double the number of schools

The first-ever exercise by the CBI to map registered NGOs has disclosed that India has at least 31 lakh NGOs — more than double the number of schools in the country, 250 times the number of government hospitals, one NGO for 400 people as against one policeman for 709 people. These statistics, indicating the relative…

NGOs asked to adopt wards in hospital, improve cleanliness

New Delhi: Terming NGOs as "active partners" in spreading awareness on health issues, the Union Health Ministry Thursday invited them to adopt a ward or a section in the three government-run hospitals in the city to help improve cleanliness and amenities in the institutions. Health Minister J P Nadda met representatives from various NGOs to…

NGOs will have to give details of social media accounts to govt

NGOs in India will have to provide the Home Ministry with details of their social media accounts. The amendment to the Foreign Contribution Rules of 2011 states that the government will have to be told about the social media accounts being run by the NGOs. Further the government would expect the NGOs to give out…

Make public every foreign donation within a week, Government tells NGOs

NEW DELHI: Every NGO will now have to put out details within one week on its website about each foreign contribution received by it while banks will have to report the same to the government within 48 hours of such a receipt, the Centre has proposed as part of a PMO-initiated exercise to tighten monitoring…

Greenpeace sexual harassment scandal: NGOs will pay high price, and rightly so

Stories about sexual harassment and murky shenanigans are not that unusual in the NGO world. And why should they be? These are human failings. TERI is dealing with allegations against its high-profile head RK Pachauri as well. But they come at a particularly inopportune time for Greenpeace India whose plate is already full and whose…

Maha better in enforcing gender test law: NGO

MUMBAI: Maharashtra has a better record than other Indian states as far as implementation of the rules of the PCPNDT Act is concerned, said a survey done by the civil society and NGOs. "Maharashtra has seen 74 convictions under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act. This is about 30% of the total cases…

Govt cancels licences of 8,975 NGOs for failing to file annual returns

NEW DELHI: After suspending the FCRA registration of Greenpeace India and putting foreign donor Ford Foundation on the watchlist, the government has now cancelled the licences of 8,975 NGOs for failing to file annual returns for the years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. In a cancellation order issued on Sunday, the Union home ministry recalled that…