New Delhi, September 17: Employees and officials of NGOs, receiving foreign funds, will now have to declare to the government that they were not prosecuted or convicted for religious conversions. Earlier, only the top official of an NGO seeking permission to receive foreign funds was required to make such a declaration. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a notification on Monday announcing crucial changes to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules 2011. Religious Conversion: Modi Government May Bring Anti-Conversion Bill in Next Parliament Session.

Under the modified law, it is now mandatory for "office bearers and key functionaries and members" of an NGO to certify that they have not been "prosecuted or convicted" for "conversion" from one faith to another and for creating "communal tension and disharmony". The notification further makes it mandatory for all employees to pledge that they have never been involved in "diverting" foreign funds or propagating "sedition" or "advocating violent means".

Another change in the funding law is that individuals need not declare personal gifts worth up to Rs 1 lakh anymore. Earlier, gifts valued at more than Rs 25,000 had to be declared. Under the new rules, an NGO member on a foreign trip must inform the government about hospitality in case of any medical emergency within a month. The intimation must carry full details including the source of money, the approximate value in Indian rupees and the purpose for which it was utilised.

Earlier, these details could be given within two months. Over the past five years, the Modi government has tightened rules and procedures for NGOs to receive foreign funds. The government denied permission to receive foreign contribution to nearly 18,000 NGOs for allegedly violating rules.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 17, 2019 12:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).