New Delhi:
Home Minister Amit Shah launched the FCRA 2.0 portal and a fully digital Overseas Citizen of India (e-OCI) Card, saying the upgraded systems will improve citizen services while strengthening oversight of foreign funding flowing into the country.
Addressing officials after the launch, Shah said technology-driven governance makes life easier for honest stakeholders while enabling authorities to keep a closer watch on violations. He asserted that stricter monitoring of foreign contributions was necessary in view of the rising number of applications and the growing volume of overseas donations received by organisations in India.
The home minister said the revamped FCRA platform would eliminate physical paperwork and bring the entire process online, from applications and renewals to annual compliance filings. The system has been integrated with databases such as Aadhaar, PAN, OCI and NGO Darpan, allowing faster verification and real time monitoring of foreign contributions.
Government officials said nearly 14,500 active FCRA registered organisations currently operate in the country and thousands of applications and annual returns are processed every year. The new portal has been developed to handle this volume more efficiently while strengthening compliance and enforcement mechanisms.
Shah said the government had inherited a cumbersome FCRA framework that relied heavily on files and manual procedures. The new system, he said, would improve transparency, reduce delays and help authorities track foreign funding more effectively from a national security standpoint.
The Home Minister also launched the electronic OCI card, a move expected to benefit more than 50 lakh OCI cardholders across the world. Under the new arrangement, OCI services will become fully digital, allowing applicants to submit documents online and download approved cards electronically.
One of the key changes is the removal of the requirement for OCI holders above the age of 20 to obtain a fresh OCI booklet every time a new passport is issued. Instead, passport details can now be updated digitally. The government said the move will reduce paperwork and make the system more convenient for overseas Indians.
Officials said the digital OCI ecosystem will also support faster verification and smoother immigration processing while reducing the risk associated with lost or damaged physical documents.
The launch comes as the government pushes a wider digital governance agenda across ministries, with Shah describing the two platforms as examples of using technology to improve service delivery while strengthening security oversight.
