Latest News | SBI's New Delhi Main Branch Opens over 13,000 FCRA Accounts

New Delhi, May 17 (PTI) State Bank of India on Monday said its New Delhi Main Branch has opened 13,729 Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) accounts till date for transfer of foreign contribution to be spent by NGOs and charitable organisations for social cause.

This branch was designated to open FCRA accounts by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in October 2020, SBI said in a statement.

Out of the total 22,598 active FCRA associations, 17,611 entities (NGOs and associations) approached SBI for opening of FCRA accounts and the bank has already opened accounts of 78 per cent of the applicants, it said.

The rest of the accounts shall also be initiated once their pending documentation formalities are completed, it said.

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 20, 2020. The Act regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution by individuals, associations and companies.

Also a new provision - that makes it mandatory for all non-government organisations (NGOs) and associations to receive foreign funds in a designated bank account (SBI's New Delhi Main Branch) - was inserted.

SBI in coordination with MHA and Department of Financial Services (DFS) also devised a Standard Operating Procedure to open and operate the FCRA account, which is available on bank's website and FCRAONLINE - an e-governance initiative by MHA, it said.

Further, it said, the New Delhi Main Branch (NDMB) of SBI conducted as many as 28 webinars to prepare and guide FCRA Associations about opening of FCRA accounts.

With SBI's robust network of branches, functionaries of FCRA associations can process their account opening formalities from their nearest SBI branch without having to visit the NDMB.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)