TLI Staff
New Delhi: Non-profit organisations came to the rescue of poor and underprivileged during the peak of pandemic and now they hope some generosity from the government through Union Budget 2021 scheduled on February 1.
The social enterprises and NGOs want the government to simplify and streamline the regulations governing non-profits’ access to philanthropic capital and give tax exemptions. They have pitched for higher allocation for social sectors to protect livelihood of millions of people.
“Throughout the past year, the non-profit sector has been instrumental in helping millions of Indians distressed by COVID-19 and its economic impact. In recognition of this, the government should simplify and streamline the regulations governing nonprofits’ access to philanthropic capital and incentivize through full tax exemptions,” said Sudha Srinivasan, CEO at The Nudge Foundation’s Centre for Social Innovation.
“There should also be provision for a fund that provides seed capital for non-profit startups innovating to serve economically disadvantaged and vulnerable populations,” she added.
Ever since the Modi government came to power in 2014, a section of NGOs have faced the heat for alleged violations related to foreign donations. This has forced many NGOs to shut their offices. Facing fund crunch, a good number of NGOs scaled down their operations.
Tweaking of rules by the government to strictly regulate funds coming from foreign sources have resulted in reduced funds for the NGO sector.
The positive role played by NGOs, however, got amplified during Coronavirus pandemic. The NGOs enthusiastically came forward to support the migrant workers and the needy. They distributed hygiene kids, food packets and helped migrant workers to return to their homes.
But given the deeper impact of economic disruption caused by the deadly virus, the poor and underprivileged need more help. Higher allocation for the social sectors would ensure much-needed support for them. The NGOs could play key role by facilitating implementation of various welfare schemes.
Some of the NGOs have proposed for focussing on job creation and skill development. As India has transitioned into a strong services economy, service sector is not only a key driver for job creation, but also an aspirational destination for our youth seeking jobs.
“The Union Budget 2021-22 should, therefore, lay extra emphasis on employment generation by India’s service sector which has the ability to employ crores of youth, creating livelihood for young people from economically weaker sections of society,” says Saurabh Adeeb, Senior Director, Nudge Centre for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Aakash Sethi, CEO, Quest Alliance noted that disruption from COVID-19 has meant that the development sector is faced with new challenges, particularly on the education front.
“Union Budget 2021-22 arrives in the midst of these realities and therefore it should focus on enabling self-learning by students by allowing universal access to the internet and to devices like mobile phones and tablets through device libraries, to ensure no child is left behind,” he said.
Sethi stated that Budget should provide for extra investment directed specifically at bringing girl children back to school since pandemic has reversed work done to enroll girl pupils.
Photo credit: Wishes and Blessings