The Complex State of Nonprofit Self-Regulation in India

• In Event: Nonprofit Self-Regulation in Comparative Perspective: New Developments and New Research

Abstract

Attempts to evolve standards for self-regulation by the non-profit sector in India date back to at least the 1980s. Despite multiple efforts by numerous bodies, with and without state support, none has achieved critical mass in terms of adoption, or sustainability. In parallel, the sector has seen levels of trust and credibility decline sharply, over the past decade in particular.

There are several hypotheses explaining the lack of success in establishing self-regulatory mechanisms in India including the size, diversity and complexity of the sector, its fragmented nature and lack of adequate convening bodies, and the lack of sustained investment in promoting adoption of standards.

The Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy (CSIP) at Ashoka University, together with Lumen Consulting, researched the issue in 2019 in collaboration with the Voluntary Action Network of India (VANI) and the NITI Aayog, a government policy think tank.

The study surveyed literature on the topic extensively, sought expert input on self-regulation practices across Australia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and from the advertising, journalism, micro-finance and non-profit sectors in India to arrive at recommendations for India’s non-profit sector.

The paper presents the outcomes of the review as well as concrete recommendations for multiple sector-led, self-regulatory initiatives to cater to the size and diversity of the sector in India, which, with minimal state support could reduce the regulatory burden on government agencies, and raise both, sector standards and credibility.

Regulatory Waves: Comparative Perspectives on Regulation and Self-Regulation in the Nonprofit Sector. Oonagh Breen, Alison Dunn and Mark Sidel, editors. Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Gugerty, Mary Kay and Aseem Prakash, editors. 2010. Voluntary Regulation of Nonprofit and Nongovernmental Organizations: An Accountability Club Framework. Cambridge University Press.

Breen, O., Dunn, A. & Sidel, M. (2019). Riding the Regulatory Wave: Reflections on Recent Explorations of the Statutory and Nonstatutory Nonprofit Regulatory Cycles in 16 Jurisdictions. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 2019.

Authors

• Ingrid Srinath, Ashoka University

• Priyadarshini Singh, Ashoka University

• Sindhura Chakravarty, Ashoka University