NGOs in India (1/2) - Impact in Numbers | Summachar

With the FCRA amendments bill being passed recently, NGOs in India have come under the spotlight again. Let's understand more about NGOs and their impact in India.

Some 2015 stats on NGOs outline why NGOs are important from a social as well as political lens. As per these stats there were around 3 million NGOs in India. This was double the number of schools and 250 times the number of govt hospitals in the country at that time! India had 1 NGO per 400 citizens as compared to 1 policeman per 709 citizens.

NGOs or non-governmental organisations work independently without any government intervention. In India, the term NGO is used as an umbrella term for different types of not-for-profit organizations or NPOs.

NPOs are formed as legal entities working for welfare but no working member shares its profit or loss. NGOs generally work towards societal causes, such as human rights, women's welfare, education and so on, whereas NPOs work in specific fields like promoting arts, science, research, etc. Not all NPOs are charitable organizations, and some may also be formed as a part of tax planning.

In the next part we will look at the legal and financial structures of NGOs.