SHILLONG: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, has given organisations consulted in Meghalaya 15 days to respond to questions raised by the panel.
The committee held a consultation in Shillong, hearing nearly 40 organisations from Meghalaya and representatives from Nagaland, Manipur and Assam. Participants included religious institutions, NGOs and organisations working for persons with disabilities.
Speaking after the consultation, JPC member and BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal said the panel had sought additional information from participating organisations and would examine their written submissions before further deliberations. He clarified that the committee had not reached a consensus on the proposed amendments and would finalise its recommendations collectively after consultations across the country.
Jaiswal said the proposed changes would not interfere with the functioning of places of worship, including temples, churches and mosques. He cited figures suggesting that religious organisations received around six per cent of foreign contributions, while NGOs and other organisations accounted for the remaining 94 per cent.
The committee also considered concerns raised by organisations working for persons with disabilities over proposed registration and re-registration procedures. Jaiswal said their suggestions would be considered during the drafting process.
On banking arrangements, he said foreign contributions would initially be routed through a designated State Bank of India account in New Delhi for monitoring, after which organisations could transfer the funds to accounts with any bank in the country. He said India received around Rs 22,000 crore in foreign contributions annually.
The JPC plans to consult around 84 organisations nationwide, including more than 40 from the Northeast, and will undertake study visits to Kochi and Chennai.
