The Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), a Hyderabad-based advocacy group, presented its inputs to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, during the committee’s fifth sitting at Parliament House Annexe in New Delhi on Tuesday, October 13.
According to the Lok Sabha Secretariat’s notice dated October 7, the committee scheduled hearings with various stakeholders to obtain their views and suggestions on the proposed legislation. LRPF was among the stakeholders scheduled to appear before the committee.
Speaking to Organiser, AS Santosh, General Secretary of LRPF, said that the forum had called for greater transparency in foreign donations channelled through the FCRA, with the objectives of both donors and donees clearly mapped. He welcomed the JPC’s decision to hear the forum’s inputs and expressed confidence that its suggestions would translate into policy measures addressing present-day demands and challenges.
The JPC, chaired by BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal, has been tasked with examining the provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, and submitting its report to Parliament by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session 2026.
The committee comprises 31 members, including 21 members of the Lok Sabha nominated by the Speaker and 10 members of the Rajya Sabha.
The Bill seeks to amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, with the stated objective of making the use of foreign contributions more transparent and accountable. The committee is examining stakeholder submissions as part of its consideration of the proposed amendments.
Reportedly, the following stakeholders were also present at the JPC hearing and submitted their inputs: Vinay Joshi of the Legal Rights Observatory (LRO), Guwahati; Prof. Shobhit Mathur, Vice-Chancellor of Rishihood University, Sonipat; Vijay Patel of Livix Media Foundation; representatives of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission Headquarters, Belur; Yudhistir Govinda Das, Trustee and Country Director of Communications and Public Affairs at ISKCON India; and Surendranath Chandranath, a columnist associated with Opindia
