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Legal A to Z for NGOs: A Guide to Navigating the Non-Profit Sector

The non-profit landscape in India is complex and subject to a large number of rules and regulations. These can seem overwhelming or confusing at times. Individuals and organisations wanting to engage in charitable work often struggle with deciding what is the best way to go about their work and encounter challenges in determining effective strategies for their tasks. Non-Governmental Organisations or NGOs often face difficulties complying with legal requirements, comprehending existing laws and emerging regulations, and optimising their operational strategies.
To address those challenges, iProbono launched the ‘Legal A to Z for NGOs’ series, a capacity building initiative for civil society organisations. As part of this programme, we partner with experts from different fields to conduct webinars covering various laws and regulations that govern the non-profit sector in India. Additionally, we have created accessible resource materials on selected topics. These webinars are conducted online and are open to all NGOs working in India.
The inaugural webinar featured Noshir Dadrawala from Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy and Rajesh Bhattacharjee from Rootbridge. These industry experts shared insights on how to start an NGO, legal aspects of running an NGO, and compliance and fundraising for NGOs. To supplement this session, our team has also created a comprehensive and simple handbook. You can access the resources from this webinar, including video recordings and the handbook, here.
Responding to a continued need for such webinars, iProbono organised two additional sessions under this series.
These included the ‘Legal A to Z for NGOs – Good Governance’ webinar, conducted by Noshir Dadrawala and Anil K. Goyal from Anil. K Goyal and Associates, Chartered Accountants. This session was geared towards NGO board and staff members and focussed on topics such as the responsibilities of non-profit governing bodies, financial compliance required under tax and accounting regulations, and best practices in governance. The full video recording of this seminar can be found here. We will soon also publish a resource on tax compliance and good governance based on this session.
Our last session in September 2023 was a collaboration with leading law firm Touchstone Partners, titled ‘Legal A to Z for NGOs – Data Protection’. The webinar saw Anuj Bhatia, a Partner at Touchstone, and Shruti Bhat, Counsel, Touchstone, give an overview of the applicable laws and policies to safeguard data collected by NGOs, and ensure compliance with the current data protection regime.

The seminar delved into the importance of NGOs adhering to Indian data protection laws. It also included a comparative analysis of the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules 2011 (the SPDI rules) and the new data protection regime which comprises of Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (the DPDP Act). The full recording of the webinar can be found here. Additional material will be added on this topic once the new rules are published.
We encourage you to write to us at trainings@i-probono.com with any suggestions on topics you’d like us to cover or if you have any questions. To stay informed about our upcoming sessions like these, subscribe to our newsletter.