The registration process for non-government organizations (NGOs) in South China's Guangdong province will be streamlined according to a new regulation, the Beijing News reported on Thursday.

According to a provincial rule on further fostering, developing and managing social organizations, which will take effect on July 1, 2012, social organizations would no longer be required to get examination and approval from the administrative departments in charge of the relevant fields, before registering at the local department of civil affairs.

The core of the reform on social organization management lies in lowering the registration threshold of these organizations and simplifying the process, said Liu Hong, head of Guangdong's civil affairs department.

Meanwhile, the rule also allows establishing more than one association or organization in any given industry. Individuals will be allowed to set up social organizations on public welfare, charity and social service.

The current national rule requires all social organizations to ask for approval from supervisory departments before registering with the civil affairs department, making it not so easy or smooth to register successfully.

Many service organizations for autistic children have to run as economic units, which are much easier to register at the industry and commerce departments, according to Wang Zhenyao, dean of Beijing Normal University's One Foundation Philanthropy Research Institute.

There are millions of grassroots organizations running in China without being legally registered, according to some media reports.