February 19, 2021

MGNREGA demand at an all-time high, 7.17 crore households avail scheme in FY21

Livelihoods: Demand for the national rural employment guarantee programme, MGNREGA continues to remain high, months after the COVID-19 lockdown was eased. Nearly two crore rural households have been accessing employment through MGNREGA every month since August 2020.

The number of households that availed the scheme in December 2020 and January 2021 is at the same level as it was in August and September 2020, when the employment crisis caused by the pandemic was at its peak. The highest spike in demand comes from the following states: Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.

As on February 17th, 2021, 7.17 crore households had availed MGNREGA in FY 2020-21. This is the highest number of households that have ever availed of the scheme in any single year since its inception in 2006. In August, September, and October 2020, the number of families that availed MGNREGA was 62-82 percent higher than the same months in the previous fiscal year.

As part of the economic package announced in response to COVID-19, the central government declared additional funding of INR 40,000 crore to MGNREGA, in addition to the INR 61,500 crore allocated to the scheme in FY 2020-21. With this hike, the annual MGNREGA budget crossed the INR one lakh crore figure for the first time ever. Budget 2021 allocated INR 73,000 crore to MGNREGA, which is 34 percent lower than the amount allocated in the previous fiscal year.

Read this article to understand why India needs an urban employment guarantee scheme.


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.