New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a revamped online portal for regulating foreign contributions and the e-OCI Card, initiatives which would simplify compliance, improve public services and strengthen national security through greater use of technology.

In his address, the Home Minister said that prior to 2014, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) system was entangled in files and procedures and was beyond proper oversight.

Shah said that after the government led by Prime Minister Modi was formed in 2014, the system was strengthened.

"The renewal of the FCRA portal today will greatly enhance ease of operations for organisations," he said.

The minister said that in the past years, there has been a significant increase in the number of applications and the flow of donations.

Keeping this in view, reducing paperwork and ensuring effective, real-time monitoring of foreign contributions are very important for the country's security.

He said that due to the FCRA law, monitoring of foreign contributions coming with wrong intentions will increase.

The initiatives reflected the government's commitment to improving governance through technology while making services more accessible to citizens and organisations, he said.

The FCRA 2.0 Portal digitises all major processes related to foreign contribution regulation, including registration, renewal, annual returns and other services under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.

The key provisions of the new FCRA Amendment rules, 2026, have also been incorporated into it.

According to the Ministry, the platform has been developed to simplify compliance while strengthening the monitoring and enforcement of foreign funding received by organisations.

"At present, around 14,500 active FCRA organisations are working across the country. Every year, approximately 15,000 to 20,000 applications and about 17,000 annual returns are received," a government statement said.

Hosted on the government's MeghRaj cloud platform, the portal includes Aadhaar-based authentication, e-Sign verification, Optical Character Recognition technology for document analysis and integration with NGO Darpan.

It is also linked with several government databases, including PAN, Aadhaar, OCI records and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's Unique Document Identification Number system.

"For organisations, this portal reduces paperwork, saves time, and provides a simple and more convenient experience. It includes faster application processing and an integrated, login-based dashboard.

"For the government, API-based integration with major databases enables faster, more accurate verification, improved compliance monitoring, and effective oversight of the receipt and utilisation of foreign contributions, thereby strengthening both national security and good governance," the Ministry said in a statement.

The platform has also been designed to accommodate future features such as an AI-powered chatbot and mobile-based access, it said.

Shah said organisations would no longer need to submit physical documents, making the application process faster and more convenient.

The Home Minister also launched the e-OCI Card, a fully digital version of the Overseas Citizen of India document issued to eligible foreign nationals of Indian origin.

The Home Minister said that the initiative would benefit more than 50 lakh OCI cardholders by reducing paperwork and eliminating the risk of losing or damaging physical documents.

He said the digital card would also enable real-time verification and help facilitate faster immigration processing.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said applicants will now be able to complete the entire OCI process online, from submitting applications and uploading supporting documents to downloading the approved digital card.

The system provides a convenient and fully digital experience and removes the risk of losing or damaging physical documents, he said.

The Home Minister said the new card removes the requirement for OCI cardholders older than 20 to obtain a new OCI booklet each time a new passport is issued.

Instead, cardholders will only need to update their passport details online, he said. PTI ABS ABS RT RT