Best of BS opinion: Transparency in PM CARES, coronavirus, and more

The Supreme Court this week rejected the petition “seeking a direction that all the money collected under the PM CARES Fund for the Covid-19 pandemic should be transferred to the NDRF”. While the apex court has made the legal position clear, the government would be well-advised to increase disclosure voluntarily. Business Standard opinion pieces for the day, among other things, talk about PM CARES.

While PM CARES has been set up as a public charitable trust and, therefore, may not be subject to standard government transparency rules, the fact is that many of the individuals contributing to it assume that it is indeed being governed with all the appropriate government protocols in place, notes our editorial

The distinction between culture and politics is one that we have yet to fully understand in India, writes Vir Sanghvi

The China model of creating Township and Village Enterprises to support rural labour who lost their livelihoods from the giant land acquisitions for SEZ seems not to have occurred to any Indian leader, writes Kanika Dutta

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“The current crisis has also brought to the forefront new economic opportunities in the areas of digital technology, retail, health-technology and education-technology services; and global demand in areas such as pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and protective gear. These opportunities can provide new growth levers for India.”

World Bank