April 8, 2021

Civil society groups write to Maharashtra CM, seek provisions for migrant workers

Social Justice: As many as 39 civil society organisations from Mumbai have written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray requesting that the well-being of migrant workers be kept in mind while imposing restrictions to contain the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the state.

In the letter, the civil society bodies say that a state-wide lockdown would once again result in loss of livelihood, income, and access to basic amenities among the underprivileged sections of society, who are yet to recover from the impact of the national lockdown announced last year.

The 21-day nationwide lockdown that began on March 24th, 2020 put millions of Indians out of work. With few transport options available, several migrant workers resorted to commuting on foot to reach home. Many died during these arduous journeys.

In order to prevent a similar crisis again, the organisations have suggested several measures including offering adequate notice periods to migrant workers before announcing lockdowns, a proper system to ensure safe travel to their home towns and villages, shelters for those without housing, cash transfers, and medical centres in urban slums and other populated areas.

They also added that food grains and rations must be made available to all, whether or not people have documents. “Oil, fuel, cereals, other grains, and vegetables need to be included. Area-wise food centres should be set up to provide cooked meals to the poor.”

With parts of Maharashtra once again witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases, Thackeray, on April 4th, 2021, announced a weekend lockdown in the state. In addition to the weekend lockdown, night curfew under Section 144 will also be in force during the day through the week.

Amid fears of suffering from another lockdown, several migrant workers have left cities over the past few days while many others are mulling returning home.

Read this article on how to support informal workers during the COVID-19 crisis


May 20, 2021

Home Ministry extends validity period of FCRA registration certificates

Fundraising & Communications: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a circular extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates to September 30th, 2021. This applies to all FCRA licences that have expired or will expire between September 29th, 2020 and May 31st, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline has been driven by the exigencies arising from the COVID-19 situation.

FCRA refers to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, which permits charitable organisations based in India to raise funds from foreign sources.

The order also clarified that nonprofits that have already opened an account and have the requisite permission to receive foreign aid, can henceforth receive it only in these newly-opened accounts.

The FCRA law was amended in September 2020 to include a clause that mandated that all nonprofits receiving foreign aid must necessarily open an account in State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch. The government had initially set the deadline for this account opening as March 31st, 2021; it later extended it to June 30th, 2021 after several nonprofits argued in court that there had been delays because necessary approvals from MHA had not been received.

Several organisations have not been able to receive foreign funds during the crisis caused by the second wave, and this has impacted their COVID-19 relief efforts. Relaxing the foreign funding rules could significantly help organisations ramp up their operations to help individuals, supply critical healthcare equipment, and respond to communities in rural areas.

Read this article to know how amending the FCRA can have unforeseen implications.


May 20, 2021

Corporate spending on oxygen support and medical equipment now counts as CSR

Philanthropy & CSR: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a circular that allows corporate spending on health infrastructure for COVID-19 care to qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.

This includes setting up medical oxygen generation and storage plants, manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders, and other medical equipment to counter COVID-19.  

The announcement comes at a time when all efforts are being directed towards expediting efforts to support the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the circular, companies can now undertake projects and activities in collaboration with other companies using CSR funds. Additionally, they can contribute to specified research and development projects, as well as publicly funded universities and certain organisations that conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

The government had earlier clarified that setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID-19 care facilities would also be considered a CSR activity. Rajesh Verma, the Corporate Affairs Secretary, has requested businesses to consider converting vacant office buildings into COVID-19 facilities to cater to the rapidly increasing caseload.

Read this article to understand why media attention on COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in big cities has skewed donor priorities.