JPC chair Sanjay Jaiswal says FCRA amendment keeps 2010 clauses, moves asset powers to 'designated authority'

Sanjay Jaiswal, the BJP MP who chairs the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) examining the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, told the committee on Tuesday that the proposed bill preserves major clauses from the 2010 FCRA.

Jaiswal said the new measure incorporates provisions that match clauses enacted in 2010, signalling continuity in the legislation's core text even as certain administrative powers are altered.

Jaiswal outlined a specific change in administrative authority: he said the 2010 Act gave state-level officials — the home secretary and the principal secretary — the power to take custody of an NGO's properties if irregularities in foreign funding were found, while the 2026 bill would transfer that custody power to a "designated authority." He presented that shift as a structural alteration in who would exercise the statute's asset-confiscation powers.

The JPC meeting brought in voices from religious and social organisations. According to The Times of India, Jaiswal said representatives of the Syro Malabar Church, Ramakrishna Math and ISKCON, among other Hindu, Christian and other groups, presented their views to the committee.

Jaiswal said the committee "listened to all views" and will deliberate further in committee meetings before making collective decisions. Jaiswal framed the committee's work as consultative: he told attendees that the panel had taken evidence from multiple organisations and that points raised would be discussed in subsequent meetings of the JPC.

The Times of India quoted him saying the committee intended to reach decisions collectively, indicating that no final determinations had been announced at the session it reported.

The bill's legislative history appears in Jaiswal's account: The Times of India reported that the FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, 2026, and that it was referred to the JPC on Aug 12, 2026 after repeated demands from opposition parties.

Jaiswal also acknowledged that the legislation has faced opposition from certain sections and opposition parties, which he said had described some provisions as objectionable. Committee members and those who addressed the JPC were not quoted at length in the report beyond Jaiswal's summary.

The Times of India account confines its reporting to Jaiswal's description of the clauses' similarity to the 2010 law, the proposed shift of asset-custody power to a designated authority, the groups that presented views, and the committee's plan to discuss and decide collectively in further meetings.