Op-ed: Indian government dilutes federalism in the fight against pandemic

On March 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government was constituting the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund to help the country better combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund and the ministers of Defence, Home Affairs and Finance are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund. Besides, three more persons are to be appointed to the Board of Trustees (though no such appointments have been made yet). The Prime Minister has the power to nominate these three trustees. For all intents and purposes, then, the PM CARES Fund is run by the central government.
Read the full article here: Outlook