India’s envoy to Washington says a proposed new law would apply to all organizations regardless of religion, community, or ideology
A proposed amendment to India’s foreign funding rules for charities and religious organizations has raised the temperature in India-US relations, with New Delhi’s ambassador to Washington posting a myth-buster on X to counter criticism from a US lawmaker.
In a series of posts on Monday, Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra posted a point-by-point rebuttal of the allegations made last week by Republican Congressman Riley Moore. The US lawmaker had claimed that the provisions of India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill, 2026 (FCRA) could allow the government to take over churches and religious charities.
“This is a clear attack against Christians,” Moore said, warning the bill could affect India-US ties.
Kwatra, in his ‘Myth vs. Reality’ posts, directly addressed Moore’s criticism, saying “the Act applies uniformly to all organizations regardless of religion, community or ideology.”
There are many misunderstandings in the media and in civil society about the proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill(FCRA), 2026. Here is the Myth vs. Reality check.
A provision in the proposed amendments to the law seeks to establish a “designated authority” that would take over the management of foreign contributions, and assets created using those contributions, if an organization loses its FCRA registration.
“If the organization restores its registration, all assets and unused funds are returned in full,” Kwatra said, adding “where a cancelled association has created property connected to a place of worship, that property goes to another FCRA-registered association of the same faith to ensure continuity of worship.”
The ambassador noted that only about 14,450 non-profits among the total 3 million operating in India have FCRA registration.
India’s regulation of foreign funds is “a sovereign step” that is driven by “national security concerns,” he said.
“FCRA does not stop anyone from accepting foreign charity, research grants or humanitarian aid. It asks three things – register, receive the money through laid down process, report what you did with it,” he posted.
Moore’s allegations have added another element of tension to the India-US relationship, with the US Senate recently passing a bill that gives the administration the authority to slap 100% tariffs on Russia’s top oil customers. India is Russia’s second-largest oil buyer.
Also, India has been holding back on finalizing a trade deal with the US, concerned about the unpredictable Trump administration imposing additional tariffs that may blunt any competitive advantage stemming from a deal.
The Indian foreign ministry had hit back at Moore on Friday, with spokesman Randhir Jaiswal saying even the US regulates the flow of foreign funds. “Legislative matters concerning India are our internal affairs on which decisions are taken by the Parliament of the country,” he said.
The Indian government has maintained that the law’s aim is to stop the misuse of foreign funds while allowing legitimate organizations to continue their work.
