The Ministry of Home Affairs has intimated the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) that its registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulatory Act has been suspended for a period of 180 days, the Delhi-based think tank said on Wednesday.
“We are in complete compliance with the law and are routinely scrutinised and audited by government authorities, including the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. We have annual statutory audits, and all our annual audited balance sheets are in the public domain. There is no question of having undertaken any activity that is beyond our objects of association and compliance mandated by law,” read a statement by CPR.
The development came after the Centre for Policy Research, along with the non-governmental organization Oxfam India and the Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation in Bengaluru, were raided by the Income Tax department in September last year.
“As part of the survey follow-up process, CPR received several notices from the department. Following due process, detailed and exhaustive responses have been submitted to the department. CPR has and continues to cooperate fully with the authorities,” it said.
“In light of the current MHA order, we will explore all avenues of recourse available to us. Our work and institutional purpose is to advance our constitutional goals and protect constitutional guarantees. We are absolutely confident that the matter will be resolved speedily, in fairness and in the spirit of our constitutional values,” it added.
Founded in 1973, the Centre for Policy Research has been one of India’s leading policy research institutions, home to several eminent thinkers and policy practitioners whose contribution to policy in India is well recognized.
The statement read: “Through its five-decade long history, CPR has worked in partnership with governments and grassroots organisations – these include partnerships with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Government of Odisha, Government of Punjab, Government of Tamil Nadu, Government of Meghalaya, Government of Rajasthan amongst others. Through their research and writing, CPR scholars have made pioneering contributions to public policy in India.”
Recently, non-profit organizations have alleged that the Narendra Modi government was using the FCRA law to target them.
 that its registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulatory Act has been suspended for a period of 180 days, the Delhi-based think tank said on Wednesday.){kind=link}