New FCRA Rule Brings Censorship to NGO Publications

A New Kind of Prior Restraint on Civil Society?

May 28, 2025

The central government now requires NGOs that receive foreign funding and engage in any form of publication to declare that they do not circulate “news content” — and to obtain a certificate from the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) confirming this. This could amount to the use of financial regulation to curb the speech and advocacy roles of civil society groups.

A notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), issued late on May 26, has introduced an additional layer of control under the amended Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) rules, targeting NGOs involved in publication-related work, according to The Indian Express.

The amended rule says that if an NGO is receiving foreign funds and is either engaged in publication activities or mentions such activities in its charter documents, it must now produce a certificate from the RNI declaring that it does not publish any news content. If the NGO cannot furnish this certificate, it risks having its registration denied or revoked.

The FCRA regulates the acceptance and use of foreign contributions or donations by individuals, associations or companies in India. Its stated objective is to ensure that foreign funds are not used in ways that could threaten national interest, public order or political stability. Organisations receiving such funds, therefore, must register under the Act and follow stringent compliance norms, including declaring the purpose for which the funds are being used and submitting audited financial returns.

As part of their work, NGOs publish newsletters, field reports, awareness materials and documentation of their activities. In sectors like education, health, the environment, or human rights, these often include analysis or case summaries that could easily be interpreted — or deliberately treated — as “news.”

This means NGOs will be forced into a narrow corner — either avoid publishing anything the state might classify as “news,” or risk losing access to foreign funding.

The government now appears to be effectively barring NGOs from publishing any newsletter unless they obtain an RNI certificate, placing the burden on them to prove in advance that their publication does not qualify as “news content.” Only then can they continue publishing.

This amounts to a form of prior restraint – preventing speech or publication from occurring by requiring approval before the content is released – because the state is blocking publication not because of something unlawful or harmful in the content, but because the possibility exists that the content might be news. And “news content” is left undefined — which means the government holds the discretion to decide what qualifies.

The rule may also create operational confusion.

For example, what about an NGO working on environmental justice that publishes an annual report documenting pollution in specific regions and citing government inaction? Or an organisation working on gender rights that reports on trends in violence against women, backed by police data? Under the amended rules, these could plausibly be treated as “news content,” particularly if the analysis appears critical of state institutions.

The ambiguity will force NGOs to either self-censor or seek legal consultation before publishing anything, raising costs and deterring routine communication.

Further, the rule lacks any proportionality.

There is no evidence offered to suggest that NGO publications are being misused to threaten national interest or security. Nor is there any case made that existing legal provisions — under FCRA, the penal code or the Information Technology Act — are insufficient to deal with actual wrongdoing. Instead, the rule treats all NGOs as potentially untrustworthy, especially if they receive foreign funds, and introduces an obligation that most are ill-equipped to understand, let alone meet.

Furthermore, the change was issued via executive notification without a call for public comments, expert consultation or legislative review.

It affects a vast number of organisations — including those working in rural and marginalised areas — yet gives them no forum to question the criteria, raise concerns or seek clarity.

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