-The Telegraph New Delhi: A leading cancer specialist has called on the government to investigate whether a "tobacco lobby" has influenced arms of the government to initiate action against public health organisations engaged in India's tobacco control efforts. Kailash Sharma, director of academics at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, has cited leaked government and tobacco industry documents to seek a probe into whether a Union home ministry note allegedly depicting tobacco control...

-PTI NEW DELHI: Centre has asked the ruling BJP, the Congress, AAP and a few other political parties to furnish details about the source of their overseas funding. The Ministry of Home Affairs, in separate communications, has asked the political parties to give details of their sources of funding, including those from abroad or foreign business enterprises, official sources said. The sources, however, said this was part of the routine communication sent to...

-TheWeek.in In a major decision that is likely to have wide-ranging repercussions, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), barring it from receiving foreign funds. PHFI is a public-private initiative that aims to strengthen training, research and policy development in public health. The NGO was launched by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2006. The...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Draft guidelines outlining stringent regulations intended to enhance accountability of lakhs of NGOs and voluntary organisations receiving nearly Rs 1,000 crore of government grants every year were submitted by the Centre to the Supreme Court on Wednesday . The guidelines may seem exhaustive for most NGOs and VOs as they said organisations wanting to get government funds must register afresh online with Niti Aayog's `NGO-Darpan' portal...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: In a reprieve for Lawyers Collective, the NGO run by noted lawyer Indira Jaising, the Bombay high court on Monday by an interim order defreezed the non-FCRA/ domestic bank accounts of the organisation. Justice Mahesh Sonak, while admitting the petition filed by Lawyers Collective challenging the cancellation of its registration, also halted the Union government's directive to the charity commissioner to dispose off its assets. "The allegations...