Powerful George Soros-Linked Think Tank Stripped of Important License

After allegations that it had violated funding regulations, the Indian government has revoked an important financial license from a significant think tank. There are many international donors to the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), but one donor stands out. It has connections to investor and billionaire George Soros, like a lot of other left-wing activist and advocacy groups.

Since its 1973 founding, the Delhi-based CPR has created policy choices for the Indian government and lobbied for the adoption of its views. Also, it has been active in hiring employees for several government agencies.

The group was accused by Delhi police in 2015 of manipulating exam results in favor of its chosen applicants for positions with the Airports Authority of India (AAI); CPR’s recruiting examination team was subsequently shut down after the AAI forbade it from holding exams.

CPR continued to press the Indian government while being funded by the typical cast of activist millionaires and liberal universities. The William & Melinda Gates Foundation and Duke University were among its key backers. Subsequently, as part of a wider investigation into tax fraud, the Income Tax Department of India conducted a raid on CPR’s headquarters in September. 

Authorities believed the group had broken the “Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act” from 2010. (FCRA). The details of the raid haven’t been made public, but CPR’s FCRA license, which permits political organizations to solicit donations from abroad, has been revoked.

Namati, Inc., which, unlike William Gates or Duke University, is not a household name, is one of CPR’s less well-known supporters. Now, it has come to light that Namati’s funding originates from Soros’ Open Society Foundation, a much more well-known source.