Misinformed reports about Infosys Foundation’s registration being cancelled by the Home Ministry due to violation of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) norms have hurt us, said Chairperson Sudha Murty.
Murty, who advanced her return to India from London by a couple of days on account of these issues, told Moneycontrol, ''It is really disappointing the way things panned out when there was no violation.''
''I wish people would read, ask us questions and then hang us. But people don’t read,'' said a frustrated Murty.
What happened?
Several media reports on May 13, quoting the Home Ministry stated that the Bengaluru-based foundation’s registration had been cancelled for violation of FCRA. Murty refuted this saying that it was the Foundation which had requested for de-registration and the process was finalised in January 2019.
Infosys Foundation, which was founded in 1996, was registered under FCRA in January 2016 as over 50 percent of Infosys shareholders, which funds the charitable foundation, were foreign sources. However, the amendment to the Act in May 2016 capped the funding to be in line with FDI for that sector and Infosys Foundation no longer came under the purview of FCRA.
The company requested for de-registration of the foundation under FCRA in June 2016 and was accepted a month later. Murty explained, ''It takes long to register, longer to de-register. In January 2019, we sat with home ministry officials and made it official. The same is reflected in the FCRA site that we were de-registered 'on request'.''
In addition, Murty clarified that there was no show cause notice sent to the foundation as mentioned in the reports. “There was no show cause notice. The ministry had requested bank statements and we furnished them,” she added.
The company had submitted the financial reports for FY16, FY17 and FY18. According to Murty, the foundation had submitted the documents even when there were no transactions for the said period as the foundation was not under the purview of FCRA.
Murty said, ''The reports stating that the foundation violated norms have affected us. We are Infosys’ charitable arm and we get a funding of Rs 400 crore every year. We don’t need any other funding.''
Apart from these misinformed reports, it is work as usual for the foundation, which is working on Puri, Odisha cyclone relief efforts in the areas of electricity, water and setting up kitchens to distribute free food.
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