NGOs and civil society

The first principle

Between the State and the market lies a third space where citizens organise themselves to help one another, to deliver what neither the government nor business provides well, and to question those in power. Civil society is the name for this space, and non governmental organisations (NGOs) are its most visible, organised part. A democracy needs this space because no government sees everything and no majority is always right; but because these organisations spend public trust and often public or foreign money, they also have to answer for what they do. The two questions in this note, whether NGOs can deliver services in place of the State and whether they are partners or adversaries of the State, both follow from this balance between freedom and accountability.

The core

Civil society, NGOs and non state actors

• Civil society organisation (CSO). A CSO is any voluntary association of citizens outside the State and the market, which includes NGOs, trade unions, professional bodies, religious and caste associations, cooperatives, resident welfare associations and social movements.
• Non governmental organisation (NGO). An NGO is a formally registered, non profit body that works for a public purpose, usually with paid staff and a funding base. Every NGO is a CSO, but a protest movement or a village association without registration is a CSO and not an NGO.
• Non state actor. This is the widest term, covering every actor that is not the State, including firms, media, NGOs and even armed groups. Calling a CSO a non state actor describes its position; calling it an anti State actor is a judgement about its intent.

Legal forms

• Society. Registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or a state version of it, with a governing body elected by members; this is the most common form.
• Trust. A public charitable trust is created by a trust deed and registered under state laws such as the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950, and is run by trustees rather than members.
• Section 8 company. A not for profit company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, which cannot distribute profit to members and is regulated by the Registrar of Companies, giving it the strictest disclosure rules of the three.
• NGO Darpan. NITI Aayog runs the NGO Darpan portal, which gives each registered NGO a unique identity, and this identity is needed to apply for grants from Union ministries.

Roles in development

• Service delivery. NGOs run schools, clinics, kitchens and relief, often reaching people the State misses.
• Advocacy. Campaigns by civil society shaped the Right to Information Act, 2005, which grew out of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan's (MKSS) public hearings in Rajasthan, and the rural employment guarantee of 2005.
• Watchdog. Social audits, public hearings and litigation hold officials to account.
• Research and evidence. Independent surveys and evaluations tell the government what is working.
• Mobilisation. Organisations help the poor claim entitlements, form groups and participate in local governance.

Dimensions

• Political. Freedom of association under Article 19(1)(c) makes civil society a constitutional space, and cooperatives were added to this Article by the Ninety seventh Amendment (2011). Dissent expressed through CSOs is part of democratic politics, not a threat to it.
• Economic. NGOs mobilise private, corporate and foreign money for public purposes, and they often deliver services at lower cost because of volunteers and local knowledge.
• Social. CSOs give a voice to groups that parties and markets neglect, such as informal workers, Dalits, Adivasis, women and persons with disabilities.
• Security. The State's concern is that foreign money may be used to influence policy or to fund unrest, which is the reason for the special law on foreign contributions.
• Ethical. An NGO claims to act for the public, so it must practise the transparency it demands of the government.

In practice

Civil society as an alternative model of service delivery

• Pratham (1995) runs learning programmes for children and, since 2005, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), a household survey of children's reading and arithmetic in rural districts, which shifted the national debate from enrolment to learning.
• Akshaya Patra (2000) cooks mid day meals in centralised kitchens in partnership with state governments, combining public funding and food grain with private management and philanthropic capital.
• Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA, 1972) organises women in the informal economy as a trade union, and through cooperatives, a bank and insurance it provides services the State rarely reaches.
• Barefoot College (Tilonia, Rajasthan, 1972) trains rural women, many without formal schooling, as solar engineers and health workers, showing that skills can be built locally.
• Goonj (1999) turns urban surplus cloth and material into relief and village works, with the community contributing labour in return.
• Aravind Eye Care (1976) runs a high volume model in which paying patients cross subsidise free cataract surgery for the poor.

Regulation of foreign funding

• Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010. It requires any organisation receiving foreign contribution to register or obtain prior permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs, and it bars political parties, candidates, judges and journalists from receiving it.
• FCRA Amendment, 2020. It prohibits transfer of foreign contribution to any other organisation (sub granting), caps administrative expenses at 20 per cent of the contribution (down from 50 per cent), requires all foreign contribution to be received first in a designated account at the State Bank of India, New Delhi Main Branch, and requires Aadhaar or passport details of office bearers.
• Noel Harris v Union of India (2022). The Supreme Court upheld the 2020 amendments, holding that no one has a fundamental right to receive foreign contribution and that Parliament may regulate it strictly to protect sovereignty and public order.
• Cancellations. Registrations of many organisations have been cancelled or not renewed for violations; Greenpeace India's registration was cancelled in 2015 after it was first suspended.

The "anti State" perception

• Protests against projects. Agitations against the Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu and against mining in tribal areas led the government to allege foreign funded opposition.
• The 2014 report. An Intelligence Bureau report reportedly alleged that foreign funded NGOs were stalling development projects and harming growth.
• The counter view. Courts, commissions and Parliament itself have acted on issues first raised by CSOs, from bonded labour to environmental clearances, which shows that dissent often improves policy rather than obstructs it.

Issues and way forward

• Scale and sustainability. Most NGO successes are local and depend on a founder or a donor, so they rarely reach national scale. The answer is partnership, where government scales a model that NGOs have proven, as happened with mid day meal kitchens and learning programmes.
• Funding. Restrictions on sub granting have hurt small grassroots groups that depended on larger NGOs for money, so a lighter regime for small, audited organisations deserves consideration.
• Accountability. In Manohar Lal Sharma v Union of India (2017) the Supreme Court was told that a large majority of registered NGOs did not file accounts, and it ordered audits and recovery of misused grants. Regular audits, public disclosure on NGO Darpan, self regulation through bodies such as the Credibility Alliance, and a code of conduct can address this.
• Uneven coverage and displacement of the State. NGOs cluster in some states and sectors, and dependence on them can let the State escape its duty. The National Policy on the Voluntary Sector (2007) asks government to treat NGOs as partners and to keep its own responsibility.
• Trust between State and civil society. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission's report on social capital (2008) called for simpler regulation of voluntary organisations, which, with fair checks, would separate genuine organisations from fraudulent ones without treating dissent as disloyalty.

Common confusions

• CSO and NGO. All NGOs are CSOs, but not all CSOs are NGOs; unregistered movements, unions and community groups are part of civil society without being NGOs.
• Anti State and anti government. Criticising a government's policy is lawful dissent protected by Article 19. Acting against the sovereignty or integrity of the State is a different matter and is punishable under law.
• FCRA registration and prior permission. Registration lets an organisation receive foreign money generally for five years. Prior permission allows one specific contribution from one specific donor for a specific purpose.
• Society and trust. A society is run by its members through an elected body; a trust is run by trustees named in the deed and has no members.

For the exam

• Keyword bank: civil society, non state actor, third sector, service delivery, watchdog, advocacy, social audit, NGO Darpan, Section 8 company, FCRA, sub granting, Noel Harris, Article 19(1)(c), Credibility Alliance, National Policy on the Voluntary Sector.
• Practise the previous year questions on this topic →
• Use in an answer:
  • Introduction with data: "Pratham's Annual Status of Education Report, published since 2005, changed India's education debate from how many children are enrolled to how much they learn, showing what an NGO can do that the State had not."
  • Introduction with a judgement: "In Noel Harris v Union of India (2022) the Supreme Court held that there is no fundamental right to receive foreign contribution, upholding the stricter regime of the 2020 FCRA amendments."
  • Conclusion: "Civil society is a non state actor that becomes anti State only when it acts against the Constitution; criticism of policy is part of the democracy that the Constitution protects."
  • Conclusion: "NGOs can show what works but cannot replace the State; the best results come when government scales what civil society has proven, and civil society remains accountable for the trust it holds."