NEW DELHI: Amid growing speculation that the contentious Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, could be taken up in Parliament next week, the proposed legislation does not figure in the government’s agenda for Monday’s Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting.
The agenda also makes no mention of the proposed Constitution Amendment Bill linked to delimitation and women’s reservation, amid speculation that the government could consider bringing it during the Monsoon Session, which concludes on August 13.
Instead, the government has listed four Bills for introduction and subsequent consideration, with the BAC expected to decide the allocation of time for their discussion.
These are the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026; the Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2026; the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026; and the National Co-operative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The absence of the FCRA Bill from the listed agenda assumes significance as it was anticipated that the government could push the legislation for discussion and passage in the final week of the session.
Adding to the speculation, the Congress on Friday issued a whip asking its MPs in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to remain present on August 10, 11 and 12 as “very important” issues are expected to be taken up. The party has also asked its INDIA bloc allies to ensure the presence of their MPs on these days, sources said.
Opposition parties have strongly objected to several provisions of the proposed FCRA amendments, though they are yet to take a final call on whether to participate in the debate if the government brings the Bill next week.
The proposed legislation has also drawn opposition from Christian organisations. A delegation of Christian leaders led by DMK Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday and urged him to withdraw the Bill, describing its provisions as “confiscatory”.
The delegation argued that the proposed amendments could adversely affect institutions running schools, colleges, hospitals, orphanages, old age homes and other charitable facilities across the country.
It said that if the government was unwilling to withdraw the Bill, it should refer the legislation, along with a comprehensive review of the FCRA, 2010, to a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
In a memorandum submitted to Shah, the delegation said it supported legitimate regulation of foreign contributions but argued that the proposed amendments went “far beyond regulation” and could cause irreversible hardship to charitable institutions.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma, who met Amit Shah on Thursday, said that the FCRA Bill will be taken up for discussion and passage in Parliament on August 12, but it will not come into effect retrospectively.
Lalduhoma and a delegation of church leaders from Mizoram conveyed their concerns to Shah over the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to tighten the oversight of foreign funded organisations significantly and proposes the creation of a powerful new authority to seize and manage the assets of non-profits that lose their licence, he said.
