-The Hindu ₹3,976 crore spent during 2020-21; ₹100 cr promised for vaccine development not allotted The PM CARES Fund collected ₹10,990 crore since its inception in March 2020 until March 2021. It spent ₹3,976 crore during the 2020-21 financial year, according to the audited financial statement posted on its website. As on March 31, 2021, the Fund had an unspent balance of ₹7,044 crore. The Fund was set up to deal with “any...
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Forced migration: Lack of global political will poses challenge for proper response, says report -Madhumita Paul
-Down to Earth By the end of 2020, 86 per cent people displaced across borders lived in countries with developing economies. Forced displacements need more equitable and predictable responses, for which the global community needs to show more political will, a new report has flagged. Three years after the launch of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), the international community has yet to deliver on its promise to better share responsibility for...
More »Needed: full disclosure on electoral bonds -Rakesh Dubbudu and Inayat Sabhikhi
-The Hindu The Supreme Court’s suggestion to ‘match the following’ on political donations is impractical and incorrect In 2014, the Delhi High Court held that both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were guilty of illegally accepting donations from two companies registered in India but whose controlling shareholder was Vedanta, a foreign company. The court held that this was in contravention of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 1976, as...
More »FCRA rules hit overseas COVID aid to hospitals, NGOs -Vikas Dhoot
-The Hindu FCRA approvals take a lot of time, the government needs to urgently grant an exemption for all such donations, tax and legal experts said. Indian entities, including hospitals and charitable trusts, hoping to receive COVID-19 relief material from overseas individual Donors or donor agencies, could be in trouble, unless they are registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) with a stated objective involving provision of medical care. On May 3,...
More »Ensuring trust in the electoral process -Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri
-The Hindu It is critical that the Supreme Court immediately adjudicates on the electoral bonds scheme The Election Commission of India has announced dates for elections to five Legislative Assemblies. It is a matter of grave concern that the petition challenging the electoral bonds scheme, which deals with the vexed issue of election funding, continues to languish in the Supreme Court. The delay in adjudicating on the case filed in September 2017...
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