Govt suspends FCRA licence of think-tank Centre for Policy Research
New Delhi, Mar 1: The Ministry of Home Affairs has suspended the FCRA licence of prominent public think-tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR) for six months over alleged violation of laws, officials said on Thursday.
CPR, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), in a statement, said it continues to cooperate fully with authorities, is in complete compliance with the law and is routinely scrutinised and audited by government authorities, including the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
CPR was under scrutiny after Income Tax surveys on it and Oxfam India in September last year.
The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of CPR has been suspended over alleged violation of laws, the officials said.
Oxfam's FCRA licence was suspended in January last year, after which the NGO had filed a revision petition with the home ministry.
With the suspension of its licence, given under the FCRA, the Centre for Policy Research will not be able to receive any funds from abroad.
The donors of CPR included the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania, the World Resources Institute and the Duke University, the officials said.
According to CPR's website, its founder is Pai Panindiker and former members of the governing board include former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former Chief Justice of India, the late, Y V Chandrachud.
The think-tank has been asked to give clarification and documents regarding FCRA funds received by it, the officials said. The FCRA licence of CPR was last renewed in 2016 and was due for renewal in 2021.
In its statement, CPR said the Ministry of Home Affairs has intimated it that its registration under the FCRA has been suspended for a period of 180 days.
In September 2022, the Income Tax Department conducted a survey at CPR's premises, and as part of the survey follow-up process, CPR received several notices from the department, it said.
Following due process, detailed and exhaustive responses have been submitted to the department, the NGO said.
"CPR has and continues to cooperate fully with the authorities. We are in complete compliance with the law and are routinely scrutinised and audited by government authorities, including the Comptroller and Auditor General of India," the statement said.
CPR said it has annual statutory audits, and all its annual audited balance sheets are in the public domain and "there is no question of having undertaken any activity that is beyond our objects of association and compliance mandated by law".
"In light of the current MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) order, we will explore all avenues of recourse available to us," it said.
The NGO said its work and institutional purpose is to advance its constitutional goals and protect constitutional guarantees.
"We are absolutely confident that the matter will be resolved speedily, in fairness and in the spirit of our constitutional values," it said.
The CPR said it was founded in 1973 and it has been one of India's leading policy research institutions, home to several eminent thinkers and policy practitioners whose contribution to policy in India is well recognised.
It is an independent, non-partisan institution that conducts its work with complete academic and financial integrity, CPR said.
CPR works with government departments, autonomous institutions, charitable organisations and universities in India and across the globe, the statement said.
The institution's work is globally recognised for its academic and policy excellence and full-time and visiting scholars at CPR include members of NITI Aayog, former diplomats, civil servants, members of the Indian Army, journalists and leading researchers, it said.
Through its five-decade long history, CPR has worked in partnership with governments and grassroots organisations which include partnerships with the , ministries of environment, forest and climate change, rural development and jal shakti, and governments of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya and Rajasthan amongst others.
The CPR's website said through its research and policymaking engagements, CPR works closely with policymakers in its aim to place India firmly on the path of building a twenty-first century policy ecosystem, the NGO's website said.
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T'gana RTC strike: Talks between govt, employees successful
Hyderabad (PTI): Talks between employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (RTC) who were on strike and the state government concluded successfully on Friday as the government agreed to the key demands of the workmen.
Following a day-long marathon of talks between the leaders of the employees' Joint Action Committee (JAC) and the cabinet sub-committee, the government announced after midnight that it acceded to the demands, including a merger of RTC with the government, 11 per cent pay revision and elections to the employees' unions.
A committee comprising officials and employee leaders would be appointed over the merger of RTC with the government, it said.
The RTC management has also agreed to address the remaining issues as well, an official release said.
The employees would call off their strike and the RTC buses would hit the roads shortly, it said.
The employees had been on an indefinite strike since April 22 over a series of demands, including the merger of RTC with the government.
Earlier in the day, a driver of the RTC, who attempted suicide on April 23 during the strike, died at a hospital here in the early hours of Friday.
Shankar Goud, a 55-year-old driver, set himself ablaze by pouring petrol at Narsampet in Warangal district when the employees were staging a protest on Thursday in support of their demands.
Goud suffered serious burns, was initially admitted to a state-run hospital in Warangal, and later shifted to a super-speciality hospital in Hyderabad for advanced treatment.
"He succumbed (to injuries) at about 1.30 am on Friday," a senior official said.
The driver’s body was taken to his relative’s village, Muttojipet in Warangal district, for funeral rites.
Tension prevailed in Muttojipet as his family members and RTC employees attempted to take the body to the Narsampet bus station, where he worked, to enable his colleagues to pay their last respects. However, police did not permit this, citing law-and-order concerns.
This led to a deadlock before the funeral could proceed.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticised the Telangana government for not allowing the body to be taken to the Narsampet bus station.
Kumar, Minister of State (Home), visited Muttojipet village in Warangal district, where the funeral was held, and paid homage to Goud.
“They (family members) want to take the body to the bus depot for five minutes. Is the RTC bus depot in Pakistan or Bangladesh? They are emotionally attached to taking the body there. The government is hurting sentiments and creating fear among RTC employees,” Kumar told reporters.
He also expressed anger at the police for not allowing the body to be taken to the bus station and staged a protest, according to a release from his office.
RTC employees and BJP workers attempted to take the mortal remains in an ambulance to Narsampet, but were stopped by the police.
Later, after discussions with the police, the family members and RTC employees agreed to conduct the funeral in the village.
Sanjay Kumar, stating he would abide by the family’s decision, left the village after the funeral was conducted there.
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh, a house, and a government job would be provided to the kin of Goud.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed shock over the employee’s death and conveyed deep condolences to the grieving family, according to the release.
The RTC employees’ JAC had earlier announced an agitation programme from April 24 to 29, including silent marches and submission of memorandums to MLAs and other leaders.
