March 12, 2021

Severe fund crunch may delay expansion of midday meal scheme: Education ministry

Education: The Ministry of Education said that a severe fund crunch in the Department of School Education is likely to delay the expansion of the midday meal scheme to include provisions for breakfast in schools envisaged by the National Education Policy (NEP). The statement was made in response to a recommendation by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education asking government schools to start providing free breakfast in the coming academic year.

Free breakfasts would involve an additional budget of INR 4,000 crore, but the Department of School Education has seen a budget cut of almost INR 5,000 crore this year. “We were hoping to start providing breakfast from April when the new session starts, but we estimate it will cost us another INR 4,000 crore. There have been major budget cuts, so the plan has been delayed by several months now,” said a senior official.

The Department of School Education has seen an eight percent cut in allocation from the FY 2020-21 budget estimate of INR 59,845 crore to INR 54,873 crore for the coming year. While the department’s revised estimates for last year were lower as schools were shut due to COVID-19 for more than nine months, the midday meal scheme was one of the few to see a rise in expenditure during the pandemic.

“Students were given dry ration or direct benefit transfer (cash allowance) in lieu of midday meals. Plus, the scheme remained open through the summer holidays as well. So our expenditure was higher than usual,” said the official.

The central government’s allocation for the meals had a budget estimate of INR 11,000 crore in FY 2020-21, and a revised estimate of INR 12,900 crore. However, the FY 2020-21 budget estimate was slashed back down to INR 11,500 crore, which is insufficient to provide breakfast, let alone expand coverage to include pre-primary students.

In its submission to the parliamentary panel, the department said it had proposed two new components to the midday meal scheme during FY 2021-22, including an expansion of coverage from the current Grade 1-8 students to include pre-primary students and provision of breakfast. Depending on the economic situation and the Centre’s revenue position, department officials said that these proposals could be re-examined later in the year. The states’ finances may also come into play, as the Centre bears the entire cost of foodgrains, but shares the cost of food preparation and distribution with states.

Read this article on the co-relation between midday meals and learning outcomes.

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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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