March 24, 2021

India on track to reduce emissions

Environment: India submitted its third biennial update report (BUR-III) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on February 20th, 2021. In the report, it declared that the nation’s emission intensity (per unit of GDP) had reduced by 24 percent between 2005 and 2016 and that it was “on track to meet its voluntary declaration to reduce the emission intensity by 20-25 percent from 2005 levels by 2020”.

Emission intensity refers to the aggregate emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) measured in carbon dioxide equivalent and divided by the country’s GDP.

India’s BUR-III stated that the nation had emitted 2.8 billion tonnes of GHG, with the energy sector alone accounting for 75 percent of the total emissions. Currently, India is fourth by way of overall GHG emissions with China, USA, and EU+UK being the top three.

An analysis of India’s three BURs throws up some key insights: The share of the agriculture sector in the country’s total emission has been declining since 2010. The energy sector’s share however has been rising, and the contribution of the manufacturing and waste sectors to total emissions has stayed constant.

Emissions in agriculture are largely on account of methane—due to livestock rearing and paddy cultivation, and nitrous oxide through the use of fertilisers. The decline in agricultural emissions since 2010 has been driven primarily by the judicious use of fertiliser, diversification of crops, and better manure management.

In the energy sector, electrical energy manufacturing was the largest supplier of GHGs, accounting for about 40 percent of the nationwide emissions in 2016. Manufacturing and construction collectively emitted over 18 percent of emissions. “Coal will, however, continue to be an integral part of India’s energy requirements, both for electricity generation and non-electricity uses, and remains essential for India’s developmental needs and energy security,” according to the BUR-III.

Read this article to understand how we can strengthen action to mitigate climate change.


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.