Ashish Ranjan
According to officials, the Ministry of Home Affairs has suspended the FCRA licence of the prominent public think tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR) due to violations of the law.
The Centre For Policy Research was scrutinised following Income Tax and Oxfam India investigations in September of last year. According to officials, CPR’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence has been suspended due to violations of the law.
In January of last year, Oxfam’s FCRA licence was suspended, prompting the organisation to file a revision petition with the home ministry. Due to the suspension of its licence under the FCRA, CPR will be unable to receive any foreign funds.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania, the World Resources Institute, and Duke University were among the donors to CPR, according to officials.The Department of Science and Technology recognises CPR, a non-profit institution that also receives funding from the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR).
Officials stated that the think tank has been requested to provide clarification and documentation regarding FCRA funds received.CPR’s FCRA licence was most recently renewed in 2016 and is up for renewal in 2021.
Since 1973, according to CPR’s website, it has been one of India’s foremost public policy think organisations.
It is asserted that CPR is a non-profit, non-partisan, independent institution committed to conducting research that contributes to high-quality scholarship, improved policies, and a more robust public discourse on issues affecting the quality of life in India.
According to the website, it brings together India’s leading thinkers and policy practitioners who are at the forefront of research and engagement in the policy arena, drawing from a variety of disciplines and professions.
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It was stated that CPR conducts advanced and in-depth research on a wide spectrum of policy-relevant issues, with a particular focus on India’s challenges in the 21st century.
According to the organization’s website, through its research and policymaking engagements, CPR works closely with policymakers to position India firmly on the path to constructing a twenty-first century policy ecosystem.
