Amit Shah launches new FCRA portal, e-OCI card

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah Tuesday launched the refurbished FCRA portal that offers NGOs a fully digitised framework to apply for registration and renewal of licence under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, file compliance details and avail other services. At the same time, by integrating FCRA architecture with other govt databases including Aadhaar, PAN and Darpan, FCRA 2.0 portal enables real-time monitoring of foreign contributions and enforcement actions by govt. The updated FCRA portal was unveiled even as opposition parties are up in arms over recent amendments in FCRA rules. Shah also launched Tuesday the e-OCI card that will allow members of Indian diaspora to avail all OCI services online — covering application, documentation and download of the digitally generated card after approval. This will benefit 50 lakh OCI holders worldwide. Under the new arrangement, the requirement to reissue the OCI booklet upon receiving a new passport after the age of 20 years has been done away with.