FAQs for VOs/NGOs

FAQs for VOs/NGOs

What is a Voluntary Organization (VO) / Non Governmental Organization (NGO)?

Voluntary organizations (VOs) / Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) include organizations engaged in public service, based on ethical, cultural, social, economic, political, religious, spiritual, philanthropic or scientific & technological considerations. VOs include formal as well as informal groups, such as: community-based organizations (CBOs); non-governmental development organizations (NGDOs); charitable organizations; support organizations; networks or federations of such organizations; as well as professional membership associations.

VOs / NGOs should broadly have the following characteristics:

• They are private, i.e., separate from Government
• They do not return profits generated to their owners or directors
• They are self-governing, i.e., not controlled by Government
• They are registered organizations or informal groups, with defined aims and objectives

In India a Voluntary Organization / Non Governmental Organization can be registered as Trusts, Societies, or a private limited nonprofit company, under section-25 Company of the Indian Companies Act, 1956.

2. What is NGO Partnership System?

The NGO Partnership System (NGO-PS) is a platform of interface between Voluntary Organization (VO) / Non Governmental Organization (NGO) and key Ministries / Departments / Government Bodies. Later it is proposed to cover all Central Ministries / Departments / Government Bodies.

The key Ministries/Departments/ Government Bodies in the first phase are M/o Culture, M/o Health & Family Welfare, M/o Social Justice & Empowerment, M/o Tribal Affairs, M/o Women & Child Development, D/o Higher Education, D/o School Education & Literacy, Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB).

This is a free facility offered by the Planning Commission in association with National Informatics Centre to bring about greater partnership between government & voluntary sector and foster better transparency, efficiency and accountability. The NGO Partnership System (NGO-PS) started out as an initiative of the Prime Minister's Office, to create and promote a healthy partnership between VOs/NGOs and the Government of India. The Planning Commission is coordinating and managing the portal, since July 2009.

3. Who can Sign Up on the NGO Partnership System?

Any VO / NGO which is registered as a trust/ society/ a private limited nonprofit company, under section-25 Company of the Indian Companies Act, 1956 can Sign Up on the NGO Partnership System.

4. Is individual registration allowed?

As of now no Individual (person) Registration is allowed.

5. What are the facilities provided by NGO Partnership System?

The NGO-PS helps VOs/NGOs to:

• Get details of existing VOs / NGOs across India
• Get details of the schemes of the participating Ministries/Departments/Government Bodies (mentioned at home page) offering grants to VOs / NGOs
• Apply on - line for NGO grants
• Track status of your applications for grants

6. Does the NGO-PS or the Planning Commission provide grants to VOs/NGOs?

The NGO-PS does not sanction/provide grants to VOs/NGOs. Various ministries/departments/government bodies provide and sanction grants to VOs/NGOs under different schemes listed in the NGO-PS. A list of Nodal Officers for different schemes has been displayed on the website. Any query regarding schemes can be clarified with the concerned Nodal Officer.

7. How does one use the NGO Partnership System?

• All VOs/NGOs which are already registered as trusts/ societies/ private limited nonprofit companies are invited to Sign Up on the NGO Partnership System (NGO-PS) Portal/Website.
• Inside the box with "New Users" Heading, a "Sign Up" button is available.
• On clicking that button, an online form will appear which you are required to fill in and click on 'Submit' button for getting enlisted with the Website/Portal.
• While filling in the form, you are required to make a UserID (can be any word or name which you can remember and use in the future for Logging in to your account) and a password.
• Once you click on the submit button after entering all your details, you will get a message on the screen, saying "You are Successfully Registered."
• Then you can use your UserID and the password to Login into the website and avail the facilities.

8. How does one fill the Online Form and Sign Up with the NGO Partnership System?

There are certain blocked characters which are not allowed in the fields/boxes due to cyber security reasons.

You are advised to refer to the tool tips (icon named "?") given against each of the entry field (box), and at Right Hand Side top corner, "Tips to Fill in the Form", about the allowed characters in the fields. Fields entered with blocked characters are not permitted due to cyber security reasons.

For eg .(dot)s are not allowed in any of the "Name" fields under "Ngo Details" , in password field one capital letter (A, B, C...Z) and one number(0,2,3..9) is mandatory and the length should be more than 6 letters.

Other blocked characters include the following:

' (apostrophe comma)

\ (backward or reverse slash)

= (equals)

In addition, words like 'select, drop, insert' mentioned in the list of the tool tips have also been blocked. Even words with the sequence of 'select', 'drop', 'insert', 'delete' like 'selection' , 'selected', 'selects' or 'dropped' 'drop-out', 'inserted', 'deletes' etc will be rejected.

The website URL field accepts only addresses starting from "http://" so if you don't have any address to give there just leave it blank.

While filling up the "Date of Registration" field, kindly use the calendar given beside the field and you can use the arrows given there to change the months and years.

You are also advised to take care of the file size you are uploading in the Certificate field. it should be less than 2MB - it would be easier to upload a .jpg file .

9. What Documents are to be uploaded at the time of Signing Up?

• Registration Certificate should be scanned in pdf or jpg (preferably) format, and uploaded. The size of the file should be less than 2MB.
• Incase of Trust deeds, only the first page and the page with the signature on it should be scanned and uploaded. Instructions for uploading are the same as (i) above.

10. How does one edit/modify one's profile?

To edit your profile, you need to log into the website using your UserID and Password form the Login box on the first page of the website under the heading VO/NGO Signing In for Signed Up users.

Once you are Logged In, on the Right Hand Side on the top there is a link Edit Profile, on clicking this, you can do the required editing of your profile.

11. I am having difficulty in Logging In. What could be the problem?

If Error Message is 'Invalid Character Found. Invalid UserID / Password.'- The problem is either with your User Id or Password. If Error Message is 'Invalid Code.'- The problem is with the Verification Code, which is shown in the image and is not matching with the one you are entering in the box/field. Be careful while entering the verification code from the image. If the image is sowing a letter 'in capitals', please enter it in capitals only. Similarly if the image is sowing a letter 'in small case', please enter it in small case only. In case the image is showing a number, enter the number, without any spaces in between.

You may be using the wrong User ID and Password. Try with the correct UserID and Password. In case you have forgotten your password, you can use the 'Forgot Your Password' link. Please check the Caps Lock and Num Lock on your keyboard while entering the Login info as the password field is case sensitive.

12. I have forgotten my password. Can you help?

You can use the 'Forgot Your Password' link which you can find just below the Login area.

Or

If you still fail and if your UserID/Username is with you, you can mail us at ngo@india.gov.in mentioning your UserID/Username and requesting us to reset your password.

13. What if I have forgotten both my User ID and Password. Can you still help?

If you have forgotten both your User ID and Password, you can write to us tell us at ngo@india.gov.in , requesting us to delete all your details. You will then have to Sign Up afresh with the Website/Portal.

14. What is the difference between your Unique ID and UserID/SignUp ID ?

Unique Id is just to recognize you and you may be asked to fill it in at the time of applying for grants. It will be used, just for your identification.

The Sign Up ID is the ID, which is to be used for logging in along with your Password.

15. How does one apply for NGO grants?

To apply for grants the first step is to create your account / sign up with your own UserID and Password.

Once you login into your account, there are various links available, for viewing the department-wise schemes, providing NGO grants. Select the scheme under which you want to apply for a grant. The link to your selected scheme will provide you with all the details of the scheme - format in which you have to apply, documents you need to attach etc.

You can get the details of the Nodal Officers for the concerned scheme, from the website. Any queries regarding schemes or about how to proceed for schemes and grants will be clarified by the respective Nodal Officers.