COVID Economics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfiLksYzC6o
Terming the act of the central government as ‘criminal negligence’, Former Union Minister and Congress leader Kapil Sibal says that pharma companies like Moderna and Pfizer expect the commitment of the central government for the payment against their supply.“They expect a protection of the Centre. Moreover, states have no money, how are they going to negotiate?”
“One can imagine the long way we have to go when only 3 percent of the 900 million people have received two doses of vaccine. The loquacious are silent.” Making a U-turn on its vaccine policy on 13 April, the government finally woke to the reality of vaccine shortage in the country and said that jabs like Pfizer and Moderna that had been cleared by the US, the EU, the UK, and Japan were now welcome in India. While Moderna has conveyed that it does not have a surplus vaccine to share in 2021, some Pfizer doses could come in July as against the American pharma giant’s request for indemnity.
The Law Minister on 18th Aug,2020 held a press conf. that the Supreme Court has cleared the PM Cares Fund https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/covid-19-sc-refuses-to-direct-transfer-of-contributions-made-to-pm-cares-to-ndrf/articleshow/77606765.cms . The Fund, law minister said, is a registered public Trust based on "voluntary contributions", and is Transparent, and registered. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/nda-govt-has-not-faced-even-a-single-accusation-of-corruption-ravi-shankar-prasad-on-sc-order-related-to-pm-cares-fund/videoshow/77612532.cms
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pmo-denies-rti-plea-seeking-info-on-pm-cares/article32369180.ece however tell us .. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has denied a Right to Information request related to the PM-CARES Fund on the grounds that providing it would “disproportionately divert the resources of the office.
The list of do-s the opposition leaders have suggested :
Central procurement of vaccines from all available sources - global and domestic.
Immediate free, universal mass vaccination campaign
Compulsory licensing to expand domestic vaccine production
Spending the ₹35,000 crore budgetary allocation for vaccines
Stopping the Central Vista construction and using the money for oxygen and vaccines
Releasing all money held in the "unaccounted private trust fund", PMCares to buy vaccines, oxygen and medical equipment
₹6,000 per month for the unemployed
Free distribution of foodgrain to the needy
Repeal of farm laws to protect farmers falling victim to Covid