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Nonprofit Policy and Regulation in India Reconsidered: New Pressures, New Developments

Fri, July 19, 2:00 to 3:30pm, TBA

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Discussion

Abstract

This Roundtable on Nonprofit Policy and Regulation in India Reconsidered: New Pressures, New Developments explores a conundrum and dilemma in the study of civil society and nonprofits in India. On the one hand, India has one of the most vibrant and active civil society and nonprofit sectors in the world. On the other, there is intense and growing government pressure on that civil society and nonprofit arena.

In this Roundtable we will explore that double life of civil society in India by focusing first on the intensifying government pressure on civil society and nonprofits, and then asking how those growing constraints are affecting the vibrancy and activism of this extraordinary sector in India, and what can be done about this worsening situation.

We will discuss and analyze the hardening environment toward civil society and the nonprofit sector; how the sector is opposing, coping, and adapting to this increased government pressure; the role of the Indian diaspora and other forces within and outside India; and responses from civil society, along with some comparisons to similar restrictions in China.

We will have five speakers.

Ingrid Srinath will begin our discussion by addressing the threats to democracy and civil society in India. India’s democracy is increasingly recognised as being under serious threat from majoritarian forces that act with impunity to erode democratic freedom and the institutions that are its custodians. What strategies can civil society organisations consider to ensure they can play the full complement of roles required to stem the anti-democratic tide? What might the consequences be of failing to do so?

Linda van der Wijk will discuss the wide range of challenges to India’s civil society sector, and in particular the more recent political, fiscal, and legal changes that impose unprecedented challenges. While the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) is one such prohibitive act, it does not stand alone and changes to it cannot be seen in isolation. She will explore further laws that have implications.

Erica Bornstein will discuss the crucially important concept of charitable purpose in India, and how it has helped to frame government regulation and pressure on the Indian nonprofit and charitable sector going back over a century, including through the current FCRA, the Companies Act, and tax regulation.

Susan Appe will discuss how the growing constraints on Indian civil society organizations and nonprofits, particularly through the strengthened FCRA, affect the important flows of diaspora giving from American-based diasporic Indian organizations and individuals back to India.

Mark Sidel will discuss the key political and regulatory tool for constraining and channeling the Indian nonprofit sector – the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) – through controlling overseas contributions to Indian civil society, and how the design and administration of that regulatory instrument compares to the Chinese structure for controlling overseas contributions to Chinese civil society.

References

Selected references
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Bornstein, E. (2012). Disquieting Gifts: Humanitarianism in New Delhi. Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press.
Brass, J. N. (2022). Do service provision NGOs perform civil society functions? Evidence of NGOs’ relationship with democratic participation. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 51(1), 148-169.
Bush, S. S. (2019). Democracy and NGOs. In Routledge Handbook of NGOs and International Relations (pp. 543-556). Routledge.
Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy (2020). A Study on the Legal, Regulatory, and Grants-in-Aid Systems for India’s Voluntary Sector. https://csip.ashoka.edu.in/executive-summary-a-study-on-the-legal-regulatory-and-grants-in-aid-systems-for-indias-voluntary-sector/
Chaudhry, S. (2022). The Assault on Civil Society: Explaining State Crackdown on NGOs. International Organization, 1-42.
Dadrawala, N. (2022, March). The Regulatory Regime Debilitating India’s Nonprofit Sector: Death by a Thousand Cuts. https://www.icnl.org/post/analysis/the-regulatory-regime-debilitating-indias-nonprofit-sector
https://www.icnl.org/post/report/creating-a-truly-social-stock-exchange-in-india
ICNL (2022). FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND INDIA’S FCRA: A summary analysis of India’s FCRA April 2022 Supreme Court Judgment and it’s impact on the freedom of association. https://www.icnl.org/wp-content/uploads/SC-FCRA-Judgment-Summary-Analysis_FINAL.pdf
ICNL (n.d. a) India’s Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. Retrieved from, https://www.icnl.org/post/assessment-and-monitoring/indias-foreign-contribution-regulation-act-fcra
ICNL (n.d. b). Infographic: Foreign Funding Barriers Hinder COVID Relief Efforts in India. Retrieved from, https://www.icnl.org/wp-content/uploads/FCRA-in-India-Overview.pdf?_ga=2.236991618.305015179.1674017335-921800497.1674017335
INCL. (2021, March). Creating a Truly Social Stock Exchange in India: A Framework Study of Seven Global Exchanges and India’s Proposed Social Stock Exchange.
Macmillan, R. (2010). The third sector delivering public services: an evidence review.
Plantan, E. (2022). Not All NGOs are Treated Equally: Selectivity in Civil Society Management in China and Russia. Comparative Politics, 54(3), 501-524.
Sen, S. (1999). Some aspects of State–NGO relationships in India in the post‐independence era. Development and change, 30(2), 327-355.
Srinath, I. (2022). COVID-19, corporatisation and closing space: The triple threat to civil society in India.
Van der Borgh, C., & Terwindt, C. (2014). NGOs under pressure in partial democracies. Springer.

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