NGO Count Halves in 10 Years but Foreign Inflows Surge to ₹22,974 Crore
Even as regulatory tightening has reduced the total count of operational non-governmental organizations (NGOs) holding foreign funding permits across India by nearly half over the past decade, overall overseas financial inflows have expanded substantially. During the inaugural session of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) convened to evaluate comprehensive amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) presented detailed demographic and balance-sheet disclosures. Senior ministry officials, led by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, briefed the parliamentary panel headed by BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal, revealing that while active FCRA registrations dropped from 29,022 in 2015 down to 14,466 in the 2024–25 fiscal year, inbound international funding grew from ₹17,832 crore to a record ₹22,974 crore across the same evaluation period.
US Leads Foreign Donations with ₹12,113 Crore: Faith-Based Trends and State-Wise Receipts
International funding patterns show the United States standing as India's largest overseas benefactor, channeling ₹12,113 crore in 2024–25, followed by the United Kingdom with ₹2,414 crore, Germany with ₹1,782 crore, Switzerland with ₹733 crore, and Singapore contributing ₹669 crore. Faith-based non-profit entities secured a cumulative ₹5,150 crore of foreign capital during the fiscal year, with Christian organizations receiving ₹1,841 crore, followed by Hindu NGOs securing ₹328 crore, Buddhist foundations taking ₹51 crore, Muslim organizations receiving ₹19 crore, and non-religious social trusts accounting for ₹60 crore. Geographically, Tamil Nadu hosts the highest number of active FCRA entities at 2,102, followed by Maharashtra with 1,578, Karnataka with 1,355, Delhi with 1,218, Andhra Pradesh with 1,022, and Kerala with 1,013; however, when calculated by capital volume absorbed, entities in Delhi topped receipts with ₹5,834 crore, ahead of Karnataka at ₹3,164 crore, Maharashtra at ₹2,385 crore, and Tamil Nadu securing ₹2,313 crore.
₹35,968 Crore Lies Unutilised in Fixed Deposits as 21,983 Non-Compliant Licenses Face Revocation
The statutory briefing brought substantial scrutiny to the sheer volume of dormant capital held across domestic trust accounts, noting that unutilised foreign donations totaling ₹35,968 crore remained parked at the close of 2024–25. This idle capital portfolio includes ₹21,140 crore locked in fixed deposit instruments, alongside ₹8,394 crore in active operational bank balances and ₹6,377 crore stored inside designated FCRA banking reserves. Emphasizing why statutory oversight is being strengthened via legislative amendments, the Home Ministry confirmed that the central government has cancelled the FCRA registrations of 21,983 non-compliant organizations to date, with 91.3 percent of revocations triggered by chronic failures to file mandatory annual returns, 7.9 percent driven by organizational inactivity, and 0.4 percent resulting from direct violations of statutory legal mandates.