Adoption issues in COVID

• The Supreme Court has directed the States and the Union Territories to take stringent action against private individuals and NGOs who invite people to illegally adopt children orphaned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Ministry asked the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to add a column in hospital admission forms asking patients to specify in whose custody their children could be left in case of any eventuality. Only the district-level child welfare committee can decide the future of children who have lost both parents to the infection
• A Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose, in an 18-page order published, directed the government to step in and prevent private entities from revealing the identities of affected children, usually on social media, and inviting people to adopt them.
• The State Governments/Union Territories are directed to prevent any NGO from collecting funds in the names of the affected children by disclosing their identity and inviting interested persons to adopt them. No adoption of affected children should be permitted contrary to the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
• It was illegal to invite strangers to adopt children, already traumatised by their personal losses, without the involvement of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), a statutory body under the Women and Child Development Ministry.
• Invitation to persons for adoption of orphans is contrary to law as no adoption of a child can be permitted without the involvement of CARA.

• The order came after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), on Monday, raised the alarm on a spate of complaints about illegal adoption of COVID-19 orphans through private individual and organisations.
• NCPCR statistics show that 3,621 children were orphaned, 26,176 children lost either parent and 274 abandoned between April 1, 2021 to June 5, 2021. The court is hearing a suo motu case on the plight of children impacted by the pandemic.

Child trafficking

• Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, amicus curiae, said cases of child trafficking have been going up.
• The government should intervene to care and protect children orphaned, abandoned or whose families have lost their earning members.
• The court said lack of knowledge about the rights of children under the Juvenile Justice Act had led to many falling victim to efforts at illegal adoption.
• It directed the Centre, States and the Union Territories to give wide publicity to the provisions of the 2015 Act at regular intervals so as to make the general public, children and their parents or guardians aware of such provisions.
• It ordered the States and the Union Territories to continue with their efforts to identify children in need of care and protection after March 2020 and upload their details on the NCPCR database in order to provide them welfare schemes.

Tele Counselling through SAMVEDNA for Children impacted by COVID-19

• With the objective of providing psychological first-aid and emotional support to children affected during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is providing Tele-Counselling to children through SAMVEDNA(Sensitizing Action on Mental Health Vulnerability through Emotional Development and Necessary Acceptance) - a Toll-Free Helpline launched to provide psycho-social mental support for Children affected during COVID 19 Pandemic.
• Tele-counselling is being provided through a network of qualified Experts/Counselors/Psychologists trained under the guidance of Dr. Shekhar Seshadri, Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and his team from NIMHANS, on various psychosocial issues in reference to COVID-19, using different Tele counselling strategies.
• SAMVEDNA tele counselling service is for psychological support to children to address their stress, anxiety, fear and other issues during the Pandemic.
• This service is available on a toll-free No: 1800-121-2830 from Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• This service is exclusively for children who are willing to talk and arein need of counseling.
• When a child/ caretaker/Parent dials SAMVEDNA1800-121-2830,they get to speak to a professional counselor in a safe environment. Tele counselling is provided to the children under three categories:

1. Children who are in Quarantine/isolation/COVID Care centers.
2. Children who have COVID positive parents or family members and near ones.
3. Children who have lost their parents due to Covid-19 Pandemic.

National Commission for protection of Child Rights, 2005

1. It is a Statutory Body. NCPCR has given the definition of child to be less than 18 years.
2. NCPCR can take up suo-motu cases.
3. Mandate: To ensure that all Laws, Policies, Programmes, and Administrative Mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights given in Constitution and UN Convention on Rights of Child.
4. NCPCR had asked to form special cells in schools to solve problems of children. The cell will examine the mental & physical torture against children. Complainsts regarding sexual harassment, mental harassment, favouritism etc. should be informed to the Taluk/District Legal Services Authority within 48 hours.
5. It is the nodal body for Right to Education and Child abuse.

Main Recommendations of NCPCR:

1. Seminars should be conducted for teachers to improve their teaching styles.
2. The dignity of a student should be accepted by everyone.
3. Drug addiction, copying, violence etc. should be curtailed.

State Commissions of Protection of Child Rights should be established.

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010

• The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 and rules framed under it (the “FCRA” or “Act”) regulate the receipt and usage of foreign contribution by non-governmental organisations (“NGOs”) in India.
• Since the Act is internal security legislation, despite being a law related to financial legislation, it falls into the purview of Home Ministry and not the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It is implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

Objectives of FCRA

• The intent of the Act is to prevent use of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activity detrimental to the national interest.
• It has a very wide scope and is applicable to a natural person, body corporate, all other types of Indian entities (whether incorporated or not) as well as NRIs and overseas branches/subsidiaries of Indian companies and other entities formed or registered in India.

Provisions of FCRA

• The Act prohibits acceptance and use of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by a certain specified category of persons such as a candidate for election, judge, journalist, columnist, newspaper publication, cartoonist and others.
• Regulates the inflow to and usage of foreign contribution by NGOs by prescribing a mechanism to accept, use and report usage of the same.
• It defines the term ‘foreign contribution’ to include currency, article other than gift for personal use and securities received from foreign source. While foreign hospitality refers to any offer from a foreign source to provide foreign travel, boarding, lodging, transportation or medical treatment cost.
• The Act permits only NGOs having a definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programme to accept foreign contribution, that too after such NGOs either obtain a certificate of registration or prior permission under the Act.

Registration and prior approval under FCRA:

• In order to be registered under the FCRA, an NGO must be in existence for at least three years and must have undertaken reasonable activity in its field for which the foreign contribution is proposed to be utilised.
• Further, it must have spent at least INR 1,000,000 over three years preceding the date of its application on its activities.
• The registration certificate is valid for a period of five years and must be thereafter renewed in the prescribed manner.
• NGOs not eligible for registration can seek prior approval from FCRA for receiving foreign funding.
• This permission is granted only for a specific amount of foreign funding from a specified foreign source for a specific purpose. It remains valid till receipt and full utilisation of such amount.

Conditions on the use of foreign funds:

• All funds received by an NGO must be used only for the purpose for which they were received.
• Such funds must not be used in speculative activities identified under the Act.
• Except with the prior approval of the Authority, such funds must not be given or transferred to any entity not registered under the Act or having prior approval under the Act.
• Every asset purchased with such fund must be in the name of the NGO and not its office bearers or members.
• Every NGO registered or having prior approval under the Act must file an annual report with the Authority in the prescribed form. This report must be accompanied by an income and expenditure statement, receipt and payment account, and balance sheet for the relevant financial year. For financial years where no foreign contribution is received, a ‘NIL’ report must be furnished with the Authority.

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020

• The Bill bars public servants from receiving foreign contributions. Public servant includes any person who is in service or pay of the government, or remunerated by the government for the performance of any public duty.
• The Bill prohibits the transfer of foreign contribution to any other person. The term ‘person’ under the Bill includes an individual, an association, or a registered company. The FCRA 2010 allows transfer of foreign contributions to persons registered to accept foreign contributions.
• The Bill makes Aadhaar number mandatory for all office bearers, directors or key functionaries of a person receiving foreign contribution, as an identification document. In case of a foreigner, a copy of the passport or the Overseas Citizen of India card for identification is required.
• The Bill states that foreign contribution must be received only in an account designated by the bank as FCRA account in such branches of the State Bank of India, New Delhi. No funds other than the foreign contribution should be received or deposited in this account. The person may open another FCRA account in any scheduled bank of their choice for keeping or utilising the received contribution.
• The Bill allows the government to restrict usage of unutilised foreign contribution. This may be done if, based on an inquiry the government believes that such person has contravened provisions of the FCRA.
• The Bill proposes that not more than 20% of the total foreign funds received could be defrayed for administrative expenses. In FCRA 2010 the limit was 50%.
• The Bill allows the central government to permit a person to surrender their registration certificate.