INDIA’S NGOS: WHAT’S IN STORE
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) or NGOs as they are more commonly referred to are in the news due to the renewed screening process for registration and receiving funds abroad under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), and the withdrawal of permissions to a number of them.
What are now the changes and challenges in the operating ecosystem of the NGOs, which operate in a state-market continuum? Historically the funding ecosystem in India has seen three phases: pre-liberalisation (1991); a decade into post liberalisation, and now the 21st century.
After classifying NGOs into four verticals, the talk will discuss their challenges in the context of an increasing need for NGOs to exist alongside a narrowing of sources of funding. It will examine the changing role of the State, Philanthropic (domestic and foreign) and Corporate funding for the NGOs.