April 30, 2021

No takers for ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ in Tamil Nadu

Livelihoods: Tamil Nadu is witnessing a poor response to the One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme as compared to other states. Negligible transactions have been recorded and an insignificant quantity of food grains (rice or wheat) have been distributed through the Public Distribution System (PDS).

The ONORC initiative is aimed at achieving ‘seamless intra-state and inter-state portability’ of ration cards. The key feature of this scheme is that migrant workers can claim their quota of ration from anywhere in the country, without disrupting their families’ entitlements in their home states.

According to a senior official of the State Civil Supplies Department, the reason for the poor response to this scheme in Tamil Nadu is that the migrant workers prefer to obtain fresh ration cards from the state instead of having their original cards transferred. Better benefits provided by the state government compared to the migrants’ home states are a key factor for their preference. People in Tamil Nadu receive edible oil and tur dal (pulses) along with the stipulated rice or wheat, and sugar. Compared to this, under the ONORC scheme, a ration card holder is only entitled to rice or wheat and sugar.

In May 2020, the central government made the implementation of the scheme a necessary condition if states wanted to borrow funds to the tune of an additional 0.25 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) from the Centre.

Read this article to understand why there is a need to reinforce social welfare schemes to withstand 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.