PM CARES controversy - What is the government trying to hide?

Описание: The PM CARES Fund was set up in 2020 to deal with emergency and disaster. It amassed Rs. 13,000 crore in the first three years. At the time of collecting money, the government said the PMCARES fund could receive CSR money as it was set up by the central government. Ministers issued “appeals” for donation of salaries by public officials. But when people started asking for information, the government claimed the trust is not a public authority and hence is not answerable under the RTI Act. More recently the PMO told the Lok Sabha Secretariat that questions and other parliamentary interventions about the PM CARES Fund are not admissible in the Lok Sabha under its Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business. Questions have also been raised about missing audit reports of the fund.
In this video, Anjali Bhardwaj explains:
-What the PM CARES Fund is
-How it is structured and governed
-Why transparency concerns have been raised
-The government’s position on disclosure

The structure of the PM CARES Fund allows donations without public disclosure of donors, creating significant opacity in financial flows. This lack of transparency resembles concerns raised around the Electoral Bonds Scheme, where donor anonymity limited public accountability. When large contributions are shielded from scrutiny, it opens the possibility of corruption through quid-pro-quo arrangements. Such opacity can make the system vulnerable to the same kinds of misuse which came to light in electoral bond controversies- quid pro quo arrangements, regularity inaction & extortion.

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