Ong. Tempi durissimi. India avvia inchiesta sulla Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2017-09-04.

La società civile dell’India non ne può di più delle ong liberal democratiche occidentali.

Bloomberg Philanthropies.

«Mike Bloomberg began his career in 1966 at Salomon Brothers, after graduating from Harvard Business School and Johns Hopkins University. After being let go from the firm in 1981, he began Bloomberg L.P., an information technology start-up that is now a multi-billion dollar global data and media company that connects influential decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people, and ideas. Bloomberg L.P.’s great strength – quickly and accurately delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology – is at the core of everything the company does. With more than 19,000 employees in nearly 200 offices, it delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world.»

*

«The success of Bloomberg L.P. has provided Mike Bloomberg with the resources and experience to pursue philanthropy in a more meaningful way than he ever could have imagined when he wrote that first $5 check. Mike Bloomberg has often said: “The thing about great wealth is that you can’t take it with you.” That’s why he plans to give his away. He created Bloomberg Philanthropies to encompass all of his charitable giving activities, including his personal giving, corporate giving, and the Bloomberg Family Foundation. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ unique data-driven approach to global change grows out of his experience as an entrepreneur and a champion of innovation.

In addition to Bloomberg Philanthropies’ five areas of focus – public health, arts and culture, the environment, education and government innovation – Mike Bloomberg has continued to support projects of great importance to him, including his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, where he served as the chairman of the board of trustees from 1996-2001. To date, he has contributed more than $1 billion to Johns Hopkins. The university’s School of Hygiene and Public Health – the largest public health facility in the U.S. – is now the Bloomberg School of Public Health in recognition of Mike Bloomberg’s commitment and support. Mike Bloomberg also leads a number of bi-partisan coalitions that are taking action on urgent national and international issues, and in 2014 was appointed to be the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change.»

* * * * * * *

La legge indiana sulle ogn è molto chiara.

«Indian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can be set up under various Indian laws. ….

Societies Registration Act, 1860 is a central act for registering not-for-profit organisations. Almost all the states in India have adopted (with modifications, if any) the central Act for creating state level authorities for registering various types of not-for-profit entities. According to the act any seven persons who subscribe to the Memorandum of Association (MOA) can register a society. The memorandum should include names of the society, its objectives, its names, addresses and occupations of the members subscribing to it as well as the first governing body to be constituted on registration.

Conferring of corporate personality to associations that promote cultural and charitable objectives, but exempting them from the operation of some cumbersome requirements (which are essentially for regulation of business bodies but are difficult for compliance by non-profit companies), are the noteworthy features that are provided under the companies act, 2013. ….

According to section 25(1) (Companies Act, 1956): “Where it is proved to the satisfaction. of the Central Government that an association is about to be formed as a limited company for promoting commerce, art, science, religion, charity or any other useful objectives, intends to apply its profits, if any, or other income in promoting its objectives, and to prohibit the payment of any dividend to its members, the Central Government may, by license, l direct that the association may be registered as a company with limited liability, without addition to its name of the word “Limited” or the words “Private Limited”.

….

Intelligence Bureau, in a report accused “foreign-funded” NGOs of “serving as tools for foreign policy interests of western governments” by sponsoring agitations against nuclear and coal-fired power plants and anti-GMO agitation across the country. The NGOs, are said to be working through a network of local organisations to negatively impact GDP growth by 2–3%. The report says,

A significant number of Indian NGOs funded by donors based in US, UK, Germany and Netherlands have been noticed to be using people-centric issues to create an environment, which lends itself to stalling development projects….

In April 2015, the Government of India shared a list of over 42,000 NGOs with Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to check suspicious foreign funding amid the crackdown on some top international donors for flouting the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2011. These 42,273 NGOs were put under watch after intelligence reports claimed that several charity organisations are diverting funds for purposes other than the permitted use of foreign contribution.

Following the enquiry, permits of about 8,875 NGOs have been revoked for a variety of reasons ranging from non-filing of returns or non-compliance with Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).» [Fonte]

Riassumendo, l’India ha già revocato il permesso a 8,875 ong, in gran parte finanziate da Stati Uniti, Regno Unito ed Olanda. Agivano in contrasto alle direttive del governo.

Una menzione speciale la ong Greenpeace. Ecco la motivazione della proibizione ad agire sul suolo indiano.

«It alleged that Greenpeace was leading a “massive effort to take down India’s coal-fired power plant and coal mining activity” by using foreign funds to “create protest movements under ‘Coal Network’ umbrella at prominent coal block and coal-fired power plant locations in India”. The Intelligence Bureau said the foreign NGOs and their Indian arms were serving as tools to advance Western foreign policy interests. “Greenpeace aims to fundamentally change the dynamics of India’s energy mix by disrupting and weakening the relationship between key players,” the IB report said.» [Fonte]

* * * * * * *

«India has been investigating how Bloomberg Philanthropies, founded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg, funds local non-profit groups for anti-tobacco lobbying, government documents show, making it the latest foreign non-government organization to come under scrutiny»

*

«they were acting against India’s national interests»

*

Soros George. Uno stato negli stati. Ecco i suoi principali voivodati.

Cina. Una nuova legge sulle Ong (Ngo).

Orban contro Soros. Nuova legge sulle Ong.

Cina. Xiamen. Brics Plus alla conquista del mondo.

*

Tranne che nell’Occidente, in quello ancora liberal democratico, nel resto del mondo le ogn sono ritenute essere strumenti politici partigiani e faziosi, e son quindi trattate alla stregua di organizzazioni criminali, cosa che spesso corrisponde al vero, specie poi dal punto di vista fiscale

L’Occidente liberal e le sue ong sta avviandosi mestamente al tramonto così ben preconizzato da Spengler, mentre l’Oriente, i Brics Plus stanno crescendo ogni giorno che passa.

Ancora un po’ di tempo, ed anche l’Occidente dovrà adeguarsi ed adottare le leggi cinesi, indiane, per non dire quelle russe, sulle ong.

---

→ Reuters. 2017-08-29. Exclusive: Bloomberg charity scrutinized by India for anti-tobacco funding, lobbying – documents

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has been investigating how Bloomberg Philanthropies, founded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg, funds local non-profit groups for anti-tobacco lobbying, government documents show, making it the latest foreign non-government organization to come under scrutiny.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has since 2014 tightened surveillance of non-profit groups, saying they were acting against India’s national interests. Thousands of foreign-funded charities’ licenses have been canceled for misreporting donations.

Critics, however, say the government has used the foreign funding law as a tool to silence non-profit groups which have raised concerns about the social costs of India’s rapid economic development.

The intelligence wing of India’s home ministry last year drafted a note on Bloomberg Philanthropies, raising concerns that the foundation was running a campaign to “target” Indian tobacco businesses and “aggressively” lobby against the sector.

Though the three-page note, reviewed by Reuters, said the Bloomberg initiative’s “claimed intention to free India of tobacco cannot be faulted” given the known risks from tobacco, it highlighted the sector’s importance, noting it brings in nearly $5 billion in annual revenue for governments, and provides a livelihood for millions of people.

“Foreign interests making foreign contributions … for purposes of lobbying against an established economic activity raises multiple concerns,” the note said, including, it said, an “adverse economic impact” on 35 million people.

The June 3, 2016 note, marked “SECRET” and circulated to top government officials, including in Modi’s office, has not previously been reported. The probe continued until at least April this year, another government document showed.

Rebecca Carriero, a spokeswoman for Michael Bloomberg and New York-based Bloomberg Philanthropies, declined to comment as they were unaware of any investigation.

A home ministry spokesman said “queries which relate to security agencies cannot be answered.” Modi’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The ministry’s note was one of the factors behind the rejection of a foreign funding license renewal of at least one Bloomberg-funded India charity last October, said a senior government official aware of the investigation.

Michael Bloomberg, one of the world’s richest people and a former New York City Mayor, has committed nearly $1 billion to support global tobacco control efforts. One of his focus countries is India, where tobacco kills 900,000 people a year.

Other than funding Indian NGOs, Bloomberg’s charity has in the past worked on improving road safety and supported federal tobacco-control efforts. In 2015, Modi called Michael Bloomberg a “friend”, and the two agreed on working together on India’s ambitious plan to build so-called smart cities.

BIGGER WARNINGS, DIFFERENT VIEWS

The home ministry note said the Bloomberg charity successfully lobbied for the introduction of bigger health warnings on cigarette packs, “contrary” to the recommendations of a parliamentary panel.

While the panel called for the size of warnings to be more than doubled to 50 percent of a pack’s surface area, the health ministry sought a higher figure of 85 percent. Despite protests from India’s $10 billion cigarette industry, the Supreme Court last year ordered manufacturers to follow the more stringent health ministry rules.

That, the note said, was the first of the three-phase Bloomberg campaign targeting India’s tobacco industry. It did not explain how exactly the Bloomberg charity lobbied.

While the note mirrored some of India’s tobacco lobby’s positions – such as how anti-smoking policies could adversely impact farmers – the government official said the investigation was not done at the behest of the industry.

“Anti-tobacco lobby wants to kill revenue generating activities,” the official said.

A health ministry official, however, said: “We don’t see tobacco as an economic activity.” He added that the health ministry was unaware of the home ministry’s note on Bloomberg Philanthropies.

BROADER CRACKDOWN

India has stepped up scrutiny of NGOs registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

In 2015, the home ministry put the Ford Foundation on a watch list and suspended Greenpeace India’s FCRA license, drawing criticism from the United States.

Earlier this year, the government banned foreign funding for the Public Health Foundation of India, a group backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, saying it used foreign donations to “lobby” for tobacco-control policy issues, “which is prohibited under FCRA.”

In the Bloomberg case, the home ministry note included a chart showing how funds flowed from Bloomberg Philanthropies to its partner, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which was then funding five local FCRA-registered NGOs. These NGOs, the note said, were being used by the Bloomberg charity for “anti-tobacco lobbying activities.”

The FCRA license of at least one of them – the Institute of Public Health (IPH) Bengaluru – was not renewed in October, in part due to the home ministry’s note, the government official said.

The IPH said it was told by the home ministry that its license was not being renewed on the basis of a “field agency report”, but no details were given. It was unaware of the investigation on Bloomberg Philanthropies.

In April, the home ministry wrote to the federal health ministry, citing an “inquiry into foreign funding” for lobbying to change laws in India. The letter, seen by Reuters, mentioned the Bloomberg initiative and directed the health ministry to report on anti-tobacco lobbying by foreign donors in other countries where tobacco is widely used.

The health ministry has not yet sent that report, another government official said. The health ministry did not respond to questions.