India’s environment ministry underutlised its budget by nearly 50 percent

Environment: India’s environment ministry has said it has not been able to use nearly half the money allocated for its various schemes and programmes. This is particularly significant because in the year of the pandemic, the impact of climate change and rising pollution have been in focus more than ever.

The budget estimate for the ministry in 2020-21 was INR 3,100 crore, of which only INR 1,673.71 crore was used till January 31st this year.

The ministry had been allocated INR 460 crore for control of pollution in the Union Budget 2020-21. This scheme largely funds the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), the most prominent central initiative to tackle air pollution. NCAP targets included achieving a 20-30 percent reduction in particulate matter concentrations by 2024. Till January end, the ministry had utilised only about INR 190 crore, or 41 percent, out of the INR 460 crore allocated.

Moreover, between 2018-19 and 2020-21, just a fourth of the budget for research on ecological and environmental topics has been utilised.

A parliamentary panel has suggested that the ministry come up with innovative ideas and use the idle funds for a range of activities including building the infrastructure needed for electric vehicles, and establishing biodegraders to address the annual problem of stubble burning—which causes significant pollution in Delhi-NCR and other north Indian cities.

Read this article to know what it will take to prioritise climate change.

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.