POLITICAL SCIENCE

ON THE TOPIC

ROLE OF NGOs IN INDIAN DEMOCRACY

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED

BY:

PROF. SUVRASHREE PANDA SAYED ABDUL

JAMAY

[20BA086]
 Acknowledgement

As a matter of first importance, I express my sincere thanks to my subject teacher Dr

Suvrashree Panda Ma'am for enlightening me with her wisdom for the completion of project
work. It was because of her direction and consistent guidance that I was able to finish my
project work. Her teachings and knowledge were the things that helped me in completing this

project.

Introduction

NGO as the name suggest NGO stands for the abbreviation of Nongovernmental
organisation. These organisations are not for profit type organisation which is made by
voluntary participation of the citizens. NGOs are non-state, non-profit oriented groups which
pursues purposes of public interest, primary objective of NGOs is to provide social justice,
development and human rights. It has a welfarist approach. Such organisation may work in
different level such as on local levels, national levels and international levels. NGOs are task-
oriented groups or to say NGOs work towards achieving a specific common goal as NGOs
are driven by the people who share common interest. NGOs are well known for performing
humanitarian functions- Government policies aimed towards the upliftment of a particular
section of the society, such people continue to live in dark just cause of lack of awareness and
knowledge. In such scenarios NGOs come into play, such organisation makes people aware
about the government policies made for them and educate them about the procedures to avail
it, help people throughout the paperwork procedures. NGOs advocate certain policies which
are in reality very beneficial for the society and monitor such policies. Such organisation
plays a vital and crucial role in increasing and encouraging political participation by sharing
provisions of information.
 Nature of NGOs

In a country having more per capita NGOs than hospital beds- around 4 NGOs for every 1000
people in urban areas and 2.3 NGOs for every 1000 population in rural areas- NGOs have an
important role to play in India’s democracy and its development. NGO is just a part of Civil
Society Organisation (CSO) there are lots of other organisations working for the welfare of
the people. It is called charitable organisation because most of the time NGOs are formed out
of funds received as charity. There are various kinds of NGOs with different task-oriented
goals, some directly or indirectly receive funds from government but still government is not
let to interfere in the internal matters. NGOs maintains its nongovernmental organisation’s
independent status by disallowing/barring any government official from becoming a working
member or representative of the organisation. Policies made by the government for a targeted
section of the society and the issues to be taken under consideration while making such
policies are shared by NGOs to the government, as an NGO might be working just among the
particular targeted section the society and understands the problems faced by them better than
any other organisational or governmental body. NGOs bring all the philanthropic
stakeholders together in one platform and tries to create a robust plan for upliftment of certain
sections of the society. Indian NGOs mainly comes under 3 segments -:

i. Societies

ii. Trusts

iii. Charitable companies

If an NGO is formed as a society then such NGO requires to register itself under the Societies
Registration Act, 1860. If an NGO is formed as a trust then it has to register itself under the
Central Government Indian Trust Act, 1882. There are two legislation which are regulating
the functioning of these NGOs all over India and these are the most important laws which are
connected with the functioning of the NGOs in our democracy.

The two legislations are -:

i. Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010 – a consolidating act whose

scope is to regulate the acceptance and the utilisation of the foreign contribution
or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies and to
prohibit any acceptance and utilisation of any foreign contribution or foreign
 hospitality for any activities which might be detrimental to the national interest
and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

ii. Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 is an act of the parliament of India to
consolidate and amend the laws relating to the foreign exchange with the objective
to facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly
development and maintenance of exchange market in India.

NGOs work in different areas. There are different spheres where in NGOs plays their crucial
role – Environmental Conservation – to work for the sustainable conservation of the
environment NGOs carry out various kinds of activities and initiatives to create awareness, to
protect, to nourish environment and to preserve the environment.

Domain of the functioning of the NGOs-

“HEALTH - NGOs such as HelpAge India is one of the leading charitable organization in
India which work for the well-being of the elderly people. Established in 1978 and since has
been providing services for 4 decades, providing free healthcare services to the unfortunate
elderly. “

Another example can be of Lepra Society – a nongovernmental organisation that promotes

quality health care. Lepra Society has a systematic approach to dealing with the chronic
disease. This organisation also helps Indian government in the national Anti-Malaria
Programme (NAMP) and have extensive contribution to eye care and prevention of needless”
blindness.

EDUCATION- “NGOs like Oxfam India, Save the Children, World Vision play a very
significant role in ensuring that every child especially the poor receive the opportunity to
build a better future through education. Several NGOs work in the grass root level to
strengthen the education the system, spread awareness about the importance of education and
enrol as many children as possible so they can thrive in life.”

PEACE – “NGOs like Amnesty International, Mercy crops, Doctors without Borders etc.
NGOs have skilled personals who can intervene in conflict situation and can come up with
creative and innovative solutions for the conflict. Big international organisations such as
United Nations and international funding organisation as World Bank rely upon the resources
of NGOs for conflict resolution, particularly in areas which shows early warnings, third party
intervention, reconciliation and peace building. NGOs have become key partners in
development assistance especially to less developed countries with the UN, EU, World Bank
etc.”

HUMAN RIGHTS – “NGOs like Milaan Foundation is an NGO working for an inclusive
and equal world for girls. Their continued efforts are empowering girls from marginalised
section of the society with the skills and knowledge needed to pursue their dreams. Another
organisation named as Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation supports acid attack victims in
getting their treatments, medicines, ration and household needs met. They also provide
educational and employment assistance, rental aids and monthly distribution of funds.”

CONSUMER RIGHTS – NGOs like Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer

Education (VOICE), Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) etc. they work for the
protection of the rights and interest of consumers through redressal, advocacy, research and
media exposure.

NGOs and the role played by NGOs is almost involved in every minute field of social and
democratic change.

Broad Role of NGOs in Indian Democratic Society

NGOs are in general very helpful and beneficial to the marginalised, poor and vulnerable
section of the society for their development and upliftment. NGOs work in the field of relief
and rehabilitation for various destitute people. For those who has suffered atrocities and
injustice. Basically, NGOs work as a setting arm of the government so that the services,
schemes, policies and reliefs can better reach to the needy section of the society where govt
couldn’t reach itself.

NGOs are very active when it comes to encourage education, particularly among that section
of society which has remained un-benefitted from the measures and the policies adopted by
the government. The education of girls and other deprived peplum particularly in the SC/ST
community has been their target objective.
Social Mobilisation- there exist lot of schemes and policies launched by the government but
awareness related to such schemes and policies is very scarce in the needy section, to avail
such benefits obtained through such governmental schemes and policies. NGOs work to
create awareness among such section of the society and help them in paper work and
documentation so that they can avail such benefits.

Disaster Management- During natural calamities NGOs play a very vital and crucial role in
providing relief and rehabilitation efforts, in particular providing psycho-social care support
to disaster affected children, women and men. During the recent pandemic situation of
COVID 19 many NGOs came to the frontline to ensure that the vulnerable and the migrant
class of the society is provided with the basic needs at such an hour of emergency, many
NGOs made travel arrangements for the migrant workers who had no other option than to
walk hundreds of miles to reach their homes.

Apart from all the various roles played by NGOs in different fields- NGOs have significantly
influenced the development of laws and policies on several important social, developmental
and legislative issues such as Right to Information, juvenile justice, ending corporal
punishment in schools, anti-trafficking, laws related with the conservation of the environment
and wildlife species and habitats, for the protection of women and elderly people and many
more.

NGOs in a way forces or influences the government to come up with public policies
according to the need of the people. NGOs push and pressurise the government to introduce
certain laws according to the need of hour. NGOs give suggestion and inputs to the
government so that good legislation could be brought to force in the society. NGOs are never
directly involved in bringing out new legislations but instead gives researched inputs to the
government.

Improving government’s performance – NGOs can broaden up government’s accountability

by questioning the government about the substantial works done by the government.
Encourage the practice of questioning and raising voices against the government by spreading
awareness.

Innovative solutions – NGOs can come up with innovative solutions for particular
governance problems. NGOs have a flexible approach for working on such issues unlike the
government, the government has to answer to the people every five years. Here NGOs are too
accountable to the people but not in the same fashion as the government is. If governments
fail to bring in independent expertise and research groups then NGOs come with their own
expertise and research teams to better understand and analyse problems related to a particular
policy brought in by the government from the very grass root level to grasp a better
understanding.

NGOs enhance the efficiency of delivery of many services at the local level through
involvements made by the denizens.

The main agenda of NGO is to involve people or promote people’s participation in

democratic functionalities and in good governance and that is how NGOs are successful in
efficient delivery of various services.

Benefits of NGOs in a Democratic Society

Advocacy, analysis and awareness raising – acting as a voice for the people both on
representative and self-appointed basis, researching, analysing and informing the public about
issues and how to solve them and schemes which benefits them.

For example – if a locality is suffering with the problem of regular containment of the water
then in such locality if an NGO is present then it will with its research team will try to find
out about the cause of the problem analyse its effects, create awareness among the local
residents about how to tackle the problem with an innovative solution and will give
researched and expertise input to government.

Mobilising citizens – actions through media campaigns and other forms of activism and
lobbying business leaders and policymakers. NGOs reach is not just limited to government
level. NGOs lobby business leaders and policy makers to work for the public interest.

Minimal cost to reach poor and needy – they work by charging minimal cost charged so that
services could so that services to reach to larger mass of the vulnerable and un-benefitted
section of the society.

Conflict resolution – acts as mediator and facilitator, NGOs act as a bridge between the
public and the government.

Capacity building – providing education, training and information to various section of

people to empower the people. Capacity building is a very broad term.
For example – if any area is flood prone or disaster prone then NGOs in such areas will train
and educate the denizens about how to tackle the dire situations arising in such period of
time, NGOs form different committees with different task, one to evacuate people with
safety, one to take people to shelter houses, one to provide rations etc.

Delivery of services – operational delivery of essential humanitarian aids and/or social

services.

For instance, in the recent pandemic caused by Corona virus several NGOs made sure on
their behalf that essential food items reach to the needy section and booked vehicles to
facilitate migrant workers to reach their home in different part of the nation, as they had no
other option available other than to walk.

Drawbacks faced by the NGOs

There are lot of problems and clashes going on in between the NGOs and the government.
Several issues are related with the establishment of the NGOs. NGOs are formed with the
motive of welfare of the people but with the time it has been found that NGOs are involved in
certain activities and campaigns which are not at all beneficial for the people or helpful for
the development of an area or the nation. In the past several NGOs are found to be involved
in anti-national activities.

i. Lack of funds - There are limited sources and among those sources
available, it is difficult for an NGO to garner sufficient funds. Many
donors keep on shifting allegiance and sometimes donors withdraw
their funds.

ii. Poor governance – NGOs perceive government organisations and

institutes as hindering and threatening to their goals. Several incidents
of clashes among the NGOs and the government employees have been
reported over the past years. NGOs perceive that as the government
has come out with several laws and legislation (FCRA, FEMA) by
which the government is not only trying to regulate the NGOs but also
trying to manipulate the organisations. But on the other hand, NGOs
taking funds from government or private sectors are found to be
 involved in the procedures and activities which stalls government’s
schemes introduced for the benefit of a section of the society.

iii. Involvement in illegal activities – involvement of several NGOs has

been found in money laundering matters and in other organised illegal
activities. Lots of NGO act as a shell company for laundering money.

iv. Non-compliance with the government’s instructions – many NGOs

work in a non-accountable, non-transparent and undemocratic fashion.
CBI records filed in the Supreme Court shows that only 10% of the
total registered NGOs file annual financial statement.

v. Limited resources – NGOs lack technical and organisational capacities.

Weak capacity building, poor human resources are big impediments in
fund raising, governance and technical areas.

vi. A front for fundamentalist causes – several NGOs work as a cover for
organized crime in the past and are often seen as fronts for
fundamentalist causes. Foreign funded NGOs have been held
responsible for organising agitations and scuttling developmental
projects in India. {main reason why the Indian government is against
the foreign funded NGOs}

Certain legislations according to which NGOs work –

- According to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) any NGO that
accepts foreign has to register with the home ministry and such contribution can only
be accepted through designated banks. So that no illegal activities or organised crime
could be performed through such NGOs.

- The NGOs has to report to the central government about any foreign contribution
within 30 days of receipt.

- Foreign funded NGOs need to file annual reports to the home ministry. It must also
report the amount of foreign contribution, its sources, how it was received, the
purpose for which it was intended and how and where it was utilized.
 - In a case of non-compliance with the provision of FCRA, the government can
penalize an NGO – if any NGO which receives foreign funds and doesn’t file annual
return, then the government can issue a show cause notice and subsequently suspend
or cancel such NGO’s foreign funding licence.

In last couple of years, licences of around 20,000 NGOs have been cancelled by the central
government after they were found violating various provision of FCRA Act. Hence those
NGOs were barred from receiving any foreign funds in the future.

Future of NGOs in India

For a smooth functioning of both the organisations i.e., the government and the NGOs certain
steps are required to be taken so that the vulnerable and the needy section of the society can
really be benefitted by the work done by them.

A stricter regulatory system should be there to keep a close watch on the financial activities
of NGOs and voluntary organisation. But the mechanism not just needs to become stricter
instead it needs to enlarge its mode of operation so that more NGOs can under its scope,
which act as a shield for the illegal activities can be detected on the very initial stage.

Government should realise that all NGOs are not hindrance in the path of development lot of
such philanthropist organisation work as an active partner in the development process and
plays the role of a facilitator. The government must try to establish a healthy linkage between
the two organisations so that healthy development can be promoted.

The type of approach that NGOs are using in the present duration is “hardware” type of
approach, basically they try to just build infrastructure and services, instead of actually
working on the human capital and developing social capital. NGOs should try to gain the
trust of the people to bridge the gap between the people and the government, so that people
can trust their own government functionaries and institutions. For this to happen NGOs need
to adopt a more flexible and dynamic approach, which will be sustainable to the community
as a whole.
 Conclusion

It is important for NGOs to achieve and maintain a high degree of transparency in not just
their work but also in their financial handlings. NGOs need to keep their income and
expenditure open to public scrutiny. However, credibility of an NGO cannot be decided
against the touchstone of the source of funds i.e., native or foreign.

Also the government must realise the seamless sharing of ideas and resources across national
boundaries is essential to the functioning of a global community, and it should not be
discouraged unless there is reason to believe the funds are being used to aid illegal activities.