March 10, 2021

Only half of government schools and anganwadis have tap water supply

Water & Sanitation: Only half of government schools and anganwadis have tap water supply, according to information provided to the parliamentary standing committee on water resources. Less than eight percent of schools in rural Uttar Pradesh, 11 percent of schools in West Bengal and a meagre 2-6 percent of anganwadis in Assam, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal have access to tap water.

The standing committee urged the Ministry of Jal Shakti to take up the matter with laggard states especially in light of COVID-19 safety protocols that require repeated hand washing by students and teachers at schools and anganwadis. “Children are more susceptible to water-borne diseases, more so, when there is also a need for repeated washing of hands as a precautionary measure during the pandemic,” noted the panel.

The standing committee also urged the Centre to set up water purification or reverse osmosis (RO) plants on an urgent basis in all educational institutions in rural areas so that children do not have to suffer contamination of drinking water. It also asked the ministry to ensure real-time monitoring of water supply at the district level. “The Committee finds from their collective experience and ground reality that there are instances galore, wherein taps are fitted but water supply is not there,” it said.

On October 2nd 2020, a 100-day campaign under the Jal Jeevan Mission was launched to provide piped water supply to all schools, anganwadis, and ashramshalas (residential tribal schools) in the country. However, as of February 15th 2021, only 48.5 percent of anganwadis and 53.3 percent of schools had tap water supply, the ministry told the parliamentary panel.

Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Punjab have achieved 100 percent coverage. However, some states and union territories indicated that they need more time to achieve complete coverage. The campaign has therefore been extended till March 31st, 2021.

Read this article on why an effective rural sanitation model requires both financial assistance and an integrated water supply.


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.