FCRA Renewal Rejected

Dear Friends and Supporters of the Hemalata Förderkreis,

Unfortunately, we received troubling news from India in the second week of September.

We received an email from Hemalata informing us that the application for the renewal of the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) number, submitted in October 2023, has been rejected.

The approval of an FCRA number has been required for several years in order to receive foreign funds for charitable projects in India.

We are deeply disappointed and concerned by this decision.

We have not yet received the exact reasoning for the rejection in writing, but Hemalata has requested it. Currently, an appeal against this decision is underway through a lawyer. However, it is impossible to predict how long it will take for a final decision to be made.

Since November 2023, we have been unable to transfer funds to India due to the ongoing renewal process. Multiple inquiries by Hemalata to the Ministry, asking why the decision has been delayed, were met with the explanation that many employees have been reassigned to organize the parliamentary elections (spring 2024).

There is still hope that, if the decision is overturned as a result of the appeal, our work and the transfer of funds to India can continue as usual.

We deeply regret this development, which we did not anticipate, especially given that a new FCRA number was granted just three years ago.

In Hemalata’s last letter in September, she assured us that the operation of the children’s homes and the ZTI workshops is continuing without interruptions. However, the financial situation is extremely strained, and everyone is anxiously awaiting a positive outcome so that we can resume transferring funds to India as usual.

We sincerely thank all of you for your years of loyal support and remain hopeful that the appeal will be successful. We will keep you informed as soon as we receive new information from India.

Best regards,
Ulrich Castelhun
Alexander Breu
Annette Beck-Schwarz
Racine Thiam

Board of the Förderkreis Hemalata Kinderheime und Ausbildung in Südindien e.V.

Information on the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act):

All charitable organizations in India that wish to receive foreign funds for their projects have been required for several years to have an FCRA number (license), which is issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Delhi and linked to a bank account with the State Bank of India. Without this valid license, the State Bank of India refuses to accept foreign transfers, and the funds are returned to the sender.

Three years ago, several thousand organizations had their permission to receive foreign funds revoked, but our children’s home project was granted an FCRA number again in 2021.