February 16, 2021

Farmers’ protest toolkit case: After Disha, police moves against two Mumbai activists

Rights: A day after arresting Bangalore based activist Disha Ravi over a social media toolkit on the farmers’ protest originally tweeted by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, the Delhi Police has issued non-bailable warrants against advocate Nikita Jacob and engineer Shantanu Muluk, accusing them of creating the Google document.

The police said that both Jacob and Muluk work for a UK-based nonprofit Extinction Rebellion (XR) and that neither were at their respective residences in Mumbai and Beed, reported The Indian Express.

Ravi, whose arrest has sparked international outrage, has been accused by the Delhi Police of being the editor of the ‘toolkit Google doc’ and ‘key conspirator’ in the document’s formulation and dissemination. Police alleged that Ravi and others “collaborated with pro-Khalistan Poetic Justice Foundation to spread disaffection against the Indian State,” according to India Today.

Disha Ravi was arrested on Saturday afternoon from her home in Bengaluru. She, reportedly, did not have access to her lawyer—Delhi-based Abhinav Sekhri—when she was produced in court with charges of sedition and conspiracy, and was sent to five days in police custody.

The young graduate of Mount Carmel College is the first to be arrested in the case involving a toolkit designed to support farmer protests against the three farm laws passed by the Centre in September 2020.

Read this article containing curated write-ups and videos that explain the impact of the new farm laws on farmers.

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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.

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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.

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