'NGOs also instruments of foreign policy': Senior Analyst Carlo Lombardi on FCRA Amendment Bill

Tracing the history of the bill, he noted that the legislation was first passed by the Indian parliament in 1976 under the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. "It was overhauled in 2010 by Manmohan Singh's government, and it was actually harsher in the day," Lombardi said.

In his conversation with ANI, he acknowledged the humanitarian role of NGOs and said, "My basic point is that NGOs are great. They do a lot of good work for humanity, but they are also an instrument of foreign policy. This is not a secret."

He referred to the establishment of the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in 1983 and cited remarks attributed to its co-founder Alan Weinstein, arguing that the organisation illustrated how non-governmental institutions could be involved in advancing broader foreign-policy objectives.

Lombardi told ANI, "NGOs are also an instrument of foreign policy and it's only right that a government knows who's funding what and for what reasons and assures that the money which is coming in from foreign NGOs is actually used for the purposes which are stated and not misused."

Speaking about other countries who also have legislations on the lines similar to the FCRA, Lombardi said that the legislation has existed in Western countries for many decades.

"The whole thing started with the United States, which passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act in 1938. That was done to contrast German covert influence to try to drive US policy towards National Socialist Germany. Then you have Australia, UK..."

Lombardi noted that the scale of India's NGO sector and the flow of foreign contributions makes the issue relevant from a national-security perspective.

"I'm taking official Indian statistics. I'm looking at anywhere between 3.3 to 3.7 million NGOs. That's three and a half million of these bodies and they received, according to official Indian statistics, roughly 23,000 crores a year, that's $2.7 billion. Now that is a national security issue, given that NGOs are part of other countries foreign policy agendas."

He also debunked the notions of the FCRA being labelled 'Anti-Christian' and said the law should be viewed through the prism of the use of foreign funds rather than religious affiliation.

"My understanding is that it's anti-nothing. It's been applied on many bodies, environmentalists, universities, human rights, Hindu groups... India is a secular country and very concerned about protecting all religious confessions and views," he said.

As developments follow, the FCRA Amendment Bill was formally referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Wednesday after the Central Government moved a motion to this effect in the Parliament.

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25 and is currently under consideration of Parliament. The revised FCRA Rules, 2026, were notified on June 22 and are in force. (ANI)