MHA Restores Foreign Funds Licence For Mother Teresa's Charity

The government restored the foreign funds licence for the Mother Teresa charity congregation Missionaries of Charity days after refusing to renew its registration, reports said Saturday. The Ministry of Home Affairs had cited "adverse inputs" while making the rejection for the West Bengal-based charity on December 25.

This licence is mandatory for associations to receive foreign contributions in India. An update on the restoration of the Missionaries of Charity's Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration comes following the submission of "certain documents" by the Catholic congregation, as quoted in reports.

The revocation of the charity's licence caused a massive global stir last month. The charity of Mother Teresa, a missionary nun known for her years of social service in India until her death in 1997, oversees orphanages that look after the most destitute members of society, including the impoverished, refugees, ailing and abandoned.

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As per reports, the charity has foreign funds in 250 accounts, which they said they wouldn't operate until the matter of licence renewal was resolved. The home affairs ministry's latest decision on Friday coincided with events in the upper house of the British Parliament, where some members urged their government to discuss the charity issue with the Indian government.

"In India, we have been sustaining all these years with the love and support of people in this country. So we will continue to serve the poor, destitute, ailing, aged with the same gusto in the same way," the charity said in a statement, as quoted by PTI, recently after the fundings froze.

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In the wake of the controversy, prior to the licence renewal, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sanctioned Rs 78.76 lakhs from the CM relief fund for assistance to 13 Missionaries of Charity-run institutions to ensure they wouldn't suffer during the funds cutoff. The same was confirmed in a press release.

Reports suggest the foreign funding licences of 178 other organisations, besides the Mother Teresa charity, were rejected by the government. Funds received from overseas have notably been scrutinised in India by central authorities suspicious of their functions, citing negative impact on the country's economy.