(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) The Supreme Court verdict on whether the PM CARES fund needs to be audited by the CAG has stymied a political campaign led by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress that had alleged a lack of transparency and accountability on the fund. The court confirmed that the fund's constitution as a public charitable trust driven by voluntary donations, ringfenced it from any need for a public audit. The PIL on which the SC had delivered the verdict had also sought the transfer of the funds to the NDRF, which was refused. The PM CARES fund was set up in March 2020 to collect money towards managing the coronavirus pandemic. It was in the news for several high-profile donations from public sector oil firms, corporates such as Reliance and TATA, and Chinese companies Huawei and the now-banned TikTok. As per information available on its website, it got Rs.3,076 crore up till April.In May, a senior official had told The Hindu that a public announcement on the funds and the donors would be made once a "respectable amount" of money had been collected. However, there has been no information since and the PMO has denied RTI queries for details of funds and donors after April. The SC's verdict on the audit, along with the potent mix of high-profile donations and the political noise around it makes it the big story for the day. Explained: How different is the PM CARES Fund from the PM's National Relief Fund? |
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