Audit ordered on India’s 3 million charities

NEW DELHI: India's Supreme Court has directed the government to audit over three million charities in the country, many of which have received millions of dollars of state funds, but have failed to show how the money was spent.
The court on Tuesday criticised the government for not having a regulatory mechanism in place to monitor grants to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and directed authorities to recover misused funds and take criminal action against any fraudulent charities.
The court, which was hearing a petition by lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma seeking proper monitoring of funds to charities, ordered the audit reports to be submitted by March 31.
Less than 10% of the 3.3 million charities have submitted their financial accounts as per government requirements, according to data by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
More than 10,000 charities have had their licences to receive overseas donations cancelled or suspended since 2014.
Home Ministry officials say these groups violated the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act (FCRA) by not disclosing donation details or using foreign funds to engage in "anti-national" activities.
But many charities say the FCRA is an opaque law to stifle criticism of the government. – Reuters