Brussels, August 8, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
US Republican Congressman Riley Moore’s criticism of proposed amendments to India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) has intensified debate over the extent to which foreign governments and lawmakers should comment on India’s regulation of overseas funding, according to a report published by the European Times.
Moore had argued that the proposed changes could give the Indian government greater control over churches and Christian organisations and could adversely affect India-US relations. The report described his intervention as reinforcing the concerns that underpin India’s efforts to regulate foreign contributions and external influence over domestic institutions.
The European Times argued that India’s proposed FCRA changes should be viewed against a broader international trend in which governments are introducing measures to improve transparency around foreign funding and influence.
It cited the European Union’s efforts to develop instruments addressing foreign interference and covert influence operations, as well as Australia’s Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme, the United States’ Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and the United Kingdom’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
According to the report, these frameworks share a common principle: foreign funding and influence should be subject to transparency and oversight when they have the potential to affect a country’s political, social or institutional environment.
The Indian government has maintained that the proposed FCRA amendments are intended to align the country’s regulatory framework with international practices and are not designed to create an exceptional regime, the report said.
The report also highlighted the sheer scale of India’s non-governmental sector. It estimated that the country has between 3.3 million and 3.7 million NGOs, accounting for more than half of the NGOs across G20 nations.
For comparison, Italy has about 360,000 third-sector organisations, according to the report.
The European Times argued that regulating foreign contributions in such a large civil-society ecosystem extends beyond routine administration and has implications for national security.
The report’s characterisation of Moore’s comments, as well as its assessment of India’s NGO sector and the proposed FCRA amendments, could not be independently verified by Yes Punjab News.
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