Would Narendra Modi Please Care to Answer Some Questions About PM-CARES?

'India has had a Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) since 1948. In recent years, that fund has emerged as the primary focal point for the mobilisation of public donations in the wake of natural disasters like floods and earthquakes. On March 24, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a national lockdown, the Union home ministry issued a notification declaring the COVID-19 epidemic in India to be a ‘natural disaster’ and invoking the provisions of the National Disaster Management Act to give the government coercive powers.

When heart-rending scenes of migrant workers and their families walking home on foot led to an outpouring of public anger and also public support for these lockdown victims, the PMNRF would have been the logical place to encourage citizens to donate to. Yet, on March 28 evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to announce the creation of a brand new fund...'

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