Overview
- The 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee, chaired by BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal, will hold its first meeting on September 18 and hear officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- The panel includes 21 Lok Sabha members and 10 Rajya Sabha members and has been asked to submit a report by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session of Parliament.
- A central clause in the Bill would create a government-appointed 'designated authority' that could vest foreign contributions and assets in itself if an organisation’s FCRA certificate is cancelled, surrendered, or lapses without a prior judicial determination.
- The government says the changes aim to strengthen regulation of foreign funding, while Opposition parties and many NGOs and Christian groups warn the measures could let authorities seize or permanently bar institutions from reclaiming assets.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah has agreed to further talks with Christian stakeholders after the JPC process, and Opposition leaders plan to make the Bill a campaign issue in contests such as the Shillong bypoll.