Ford Foundation conveyed ahead of Modi visit to US: Foreign funding restrictions removed

By Rajiv Shah
Knowledgeable sources in the Gujarat government, citing information they had received from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), have said that the US-based philanthropic organization, Ford Foundation, has been formally conveyed that all restrictions placed on it under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) by the Government of India have been “removed”, and it could freely operate as a registered NGO in India.
“This happened just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US”, the sources said, adding, “Under intense pressure from powerful lobbies in the US, Modi, apparently, wanted to convey it to President Barack Obama that he is not against foreign funding of NGOs, as it is being interpreted by some in India.”
This happened because, said the sources, strong lobbies were operating in the US, putting pressure on the White House to raise human rights issues with Modi, who landed in the US on June 7. “Had this happened, it would have meant a major embarrassment to Modi”, the sources said, adding, “Sensing trouble, the Centre acted quickly to formally tell Ford Foundation about the good news.
Sources also said, apart from Ford Foundation NGOs, lobbies at work in the US were in “direct touch” with some of the senior administrators and academics of educational institutions which received Ford Foundation funds – IIT Bombay, IIM Ahmedabad, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Millia Islamia, GB Pant Social Science Institute and National Academy of Legal Studies and Research.
These insitutes wanted the Ford Foundation to “lift” all FCRA restrictions at the earliest, as, according to them, these were “affecting projects”, including those related with capacity building and technical assistance, feasibility for wireless broadband services to the rural poor, fellowships for international studies, and general research work.
The relations between the Ford Foundation and the Modi government began showing signs of thawing early this year, when it was taken off the 'prior permission' list. The 'prior approval' list comprises a group of organisations under government scanner for alleged 'anti-India' activities.
Soon thereafter, the Government of India “unblocked” foreign funds amounting to $150,000 to the Ford Foundation's Indian bank accounts, helping it to pay salaries to its staff.
Gujarat govt role: A little more than a year ago, the Gujarat government’s home department has asked the Government of India to seek an inquiry into the Ford Foundation’s grants to NGOs run by human rights activist Teesta Setalvad, fighting tens of 2002 communal riots cases.
In a letter addressed to the Union Home Ministry, the Gujarat government officially said action should be taken against the Ford Foundation, alleging that the it was "interfering in internal affairs" of the country and "abetting communal disharmony" through the NGO Sabrang Trust, run by well-known social activist Teesta Setalvad.
The complaint reportedly said, Setalvad’s NGO received $250,000 with allegations that she “embezzled” these funds given to her NGOs -- Citizens for Justice and Peace and Sabrang Trust. A CBI inquiry was instituted, her house was raided and an attempt to arrest her was made, but a Supreme Court order came in the way.
The Union home ministry placed Ford Foundation on its watch list and said that its funds would be routed with proper clearances.
Meanwhile, the Ford Foundation moved quickly to remove one of the technical glitches – it had been operating in India since 1952 as the only NGO which did not operate under the then Foreign Exchange Management Act, which required registration under the Indian Societies Act.
On registering as Indian NGO, in March this year, the Ford Foundation was taken off the "prior permission" list – a move that came just a few days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US for the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.

Comments

Anonymous said…

Enjoyed your comprehensive reporting. Great talent, nourished by years of hard work.

June 11, 2016

pemmaraju said…

what is that talent you have seen for writing just 3 paragraph biased content?

June 15, 2016

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

UP tribal woman human rights defender Sokalo released on bail

By A Representative After almost five months in jail, Adivasi human rights defender and forest worker Sokalo Gond has been finally released on bail.Despite being granted bail on October 4, technical and procedural issues kept Sokalo behind bars until November 1. The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), which are backing Sokalo, called it a "major victory." Sokalo's release follows the earlier releases of Kismatiya and Sukhdev Gond in September. "All three forest workers and human rights defenders were illegally incarcerated under false charges, in what is the State's way of punishing those who are active in their fight for the proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act (2006)", said a CJP statement.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah* A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards .

Search This Blog