In the last week of December 2016, news trickled in that the government had cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) non-governmental organisations (NGO) in the country.
The FCRA license allows an NGO to receive funds from abroad and the cancelling of the license led to many organisations grinding to a halt.Civil society organisations protested against the decision, questioning the basis of the action. The Union government’s relationship with the organisations working in the development sector has never been without friction.
While the decision to ban so many licenses has far-reaching consequences on people and communities living in the margins of society, the Union budget for the financial year 2017–18 has also brought some relief to the masses.
Steps taken to reform the taxation policy was the talk of town but the Union budget brought a renewed focus on farmers and the rural economy while reflecting the big push toward a Digital India.
A greater focus on rural microcredit but women still left out
The Rs 48,000 crore allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) remains the highest so far. This is commendable but the numbers and easy rhetoric conceal that in reality, there is only a marginal increase in the amount allocated. The government had sanctioned 9,000 crore to individual states by December last year, taking the effective funds allocated to Rs 47,500 crore.
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