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Journalism of Courage
Even as a debate rages over whether the overarching nature of the proposed Lokpal makes it too unwieldy,it has its task cut out on the issue of NGOs alone. The Bill tabled by the government in Parliament proposes to bring NGOs receiving donations above Rs 10 lakh from foreign sources a year under the Lokpal. At present,there are 42,202 NGOs registered as receiving funds from abroad,of which at least 958 got Rs 1 crore or above last financial year.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs,which recently banned 60 NGOs from receiving foreign contributions and froze the accounts of 20,has released details of those organisations that received more than Rs 1 crore annually in the past five years. World Vision of India,based at Egmore,Chennai,tops the list of 958 for 2010-11,with Rs 233.74 crore,followed by Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity (Rs 62.29 crore) and Compassion East India (Rs 59.96 crore).
Also in the list is Team Anna member Kiran Bedis NGO,Navjyoti India Foundation,which received Rs 1.27 crore in donations from abroad.
Of the NGOs receiving Rs 1 crore and above from abroad last year all such organisations are registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) a majority were Christian missionary organisations working in the rural areas of Andhra Pradesh,Orissa,Tamil Nadu,Kerala,Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.
In all,of the 958,at least 515 were Christian missionary organisations,which collectively received Rs 2,003.75 crore as foreign contributions. The remaining 443 received 1,459.96 crore.
World Vision India has been among the top beneficiaries consistently for five years and has received more than Rs 1,102.66 crore as foreign contribution since 2006-07. In 2010-11,its donors included multinational companies and institutions and individuals from 53 countries. Missionaries of Charity,started by Mother Teresa,has received funds from donors in 72 countries.
Most of the foreign contributions to Indian NGOs come from Germany,Australia,Sweden,the United Kingdom,Switzerland and Canada.
Apart from NGOs linked to Christian missionaries,Shankaracharya peeths and organisations related to Brahmakumaris,ISKCON,Chinmay Mission and Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement also figured among the top 100 beneficaries.
