Government to invest more than INR 1 lakh crore this year to ensure tap water supply to rural homes

Water & Sanitation: The government’s Jal Jeevan Mission which plans to provide a household tap connection to every rural home by 2024, has received a central grant of INR 50,011 crore for FY 2021-22. There is also an additional INR 26,940 crore assured fund available under the 15th Finance Commission. These are ‘tied-grants’ to rural local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions that match the state’s share of funding to water and sanitation. As a result, more than INR 1 lakh crore is available for this key mission.

Prior to disbursing funds, a committee chaired by Secretary, Department of Drinking Water Supply (DDWS) and comprising members from different central ministries, and NITI Aayog, scrutinises the proposed annual action plans submitted by the various states and union territories.  Once this is done, funds are released throughout the year and regular field visits and review meetings are held with the states to ensure implementation of plans.

During implementation, states have been asked to prioritise water quality-affected areas, villages in drought prone and desert areas, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe majority villages, the 117 Aspirational Districts, and the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana villages.

Read this article on why we need to rethink equitable access to water and sanitation to build resilient communities.

Fundraising & Communications: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a circular extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates to September 30th, 2021. This applies to all FCRA licences that have expired or will expire between September 29th, 2020 and May 31st, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline has been driven by the exigencies arising from the COVID-19 situation.

FCRA refers to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, which permits charitable organisations based in India to raise funds from foreign sources.

The order also clarified that nonprofits that have already opened an account and have the requisite permission to receive foreign aid, can henceforth receive it only in these newly-opened accounts.

The FCRA law was amended in September 2020 to include a clause that mandated that all nonprofits receiving foreign aid must necessarily open an account in State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch. The government had initially set the deadline for this account opening as March 31st, 2021; it later extended it to June 30th, 2021 after several nonprofits argued in court that there had been delays because necessary approvals from MHA had not been received.

Several organisations have not been able to receive foreign funds during the crisis caused by the second wave, and this has impacted their COVID-19 relief efforts. Relaxing the foreign funding rules could significantly help organisations ramp up their operations to help individuals, supply critical healthcare equipment, and respond to communities in rural areas.

Read this article to know how amending the FCRA can have unforeseen implications.

Philanthropy & CSR: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a circular that allows corporate spending on health infrastructure for COVID-19 care to qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.

This includes setting up medical oxygen generation and storage plants, manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders, and other medical equipment to counter COVID-19.  

The announcement comes at a time when all efforts are being directed towards expediting efforts to support the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the circular, companies can now undertake projects and activities in collaboration with other companies using CSR funds. Additionally, they can contribute to specified research and development projects, as well as publicly funded universities and certain organisations that conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

The government had earlier clarified that setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID-19 care facilities would also be considered a CSR activity. Rajesh Verma, the Corporate Affairs Secretary, has requested businesses to consider converting vacant office buildings into COVID-19 facilities to cater to the rapidly increasing caseload.

Read this article to understand why media attention on COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in big cities has skewed donor priorities.