Rules violated, CPR’s FCRA licence goes

New Delhi, March 1

The Ministry of Home Affairs has suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of prominent public think-tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR) over violation of laws, officials said.

Gates Foundation among donors

Donors of CPR include Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, University of Pennsylvania, World Resources Institute and Duke University. It also receives grants from ICSSR

The CPR was under scrutiny after it faced income tax surveys in September last year. With the suspension of its FCRA licence, the think-tank will not be able to receive any funds from abroad.

The donors of CPR included Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, University of Pennsylvania, World Resources Institute and Duke University, sources said. CPR, a non-profit organisation and a recognised institution of the Department of Science and Technology, also receives grants from the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR).

The think-tank has been asked to give a clarification and provide documents regarding the FCRA funds received by it. The FCRA licence of CPR was last renewed in 2016 and was due for renewal in 2021.

According to the CPR website, it has been one of India’s leading public policy think-tanks since 1973. The CPR, the website claims, is a non-profit, non-partisan, independent institution dedicated to conducting research that contributes to high-quality scholarship, better policies, and a more robust public discourse about the issues that impact life in India.

It brings together India’s best thinkers and policy practitioners who are at the forefront of both research and engagement in the policy space, drawing from various disciplines and professional backgrounds, the website says.

Meanwhile, the CPR in a statement on its website said its FCRA licence had been suspended for six months, and it would “explore all avenues of recourse” available to it.