Transparency matters

Govt should voluntarily increase disclosure for PM CARES

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, which argued the PM CARES Fund, set up in March to receive public contributions for Covid-19, should transfer its reserves to the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF). The court pointed out a disaster management plan already existed, and that voluntary contributions could still be made to the NDRF. The Union government’s lawyers had earlier argued that the existence of the NDRF did not necessarily preclude the creation of another relief fund — in this case, PM CARES. While this decision makes the legal position