I-T ‘surveys’ Oxfam, CPR, media trust

NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department on Wednesday began surveys on around half-a-dozen entities, including think tank Centre for Policy Research, non-profit organisation Oxfam and Bengaluru-based trust Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF).
With the surveys under way, details of the operation were not available immediately. Sources said the I-T department was looking at the source and use of funds of the three entities and others, including three trusts, for possible violations of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). The names of the other entities were not known immediately. The surveys began around noon on Wednesday and continued till late evening, an official said, without disclosing further details of an operation.
Late last year, Oxfam India had been denied registration under FCRA, an issue which had been flagged by the UK government.
Over the last few years, the government has increased scrutiny over foreign funding received by Indian NGOs and trusts as the law requires them to register with Indian authorities to receive overseas support. Over the last five years, close to 1,900 registrations had been cancelled with close to 23,000 registered entities at the end of 2021.
CPR, a public policy think tank, currently has former LSR principal Meenakshi Gopinath as its chairperson of the governing board with former foreign secretary Shyam Sharan and Bharti Enterprises vice-chairman Rakesh Mittal, among others, as its governing board members.
IPSMF counts Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Piramal Enterprises among its more than a dozen donors. It has granted funds to entities such as Swarajya, Print, Economic & Political Weekly and Caravan, among others.