Supreme Court Orders India to Compensate Families of Covid Dead
(Bloomberg) -- India's Supreme Court ruled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is bound by law to compensate the families of those who died in one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks.
The Modi-headed National Disaster Management Authority now has six weeks to frame guidelines for payouts to next of kin. A panel headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan on Wednesday rejected the government's stand that monetary compensation is optional under disaster-management laws and said “the national authority has failed to perform its statutory duty.”
The verdict adds to mounting criticism of Modi's handling of the pandemic, with India's death toll on course to exceed 400,000 this week. The compensation also risks pressuring already worsening public finances, as rising infections forced states to lock down and dented demand.
Read More: World's Biggest Covid Crisis Threatens Modi's Grip on India
The court said the disaster management body will decide on the amount of money after considering the government's priorities, given the fiscal and economic conditions wrought by the pandemic.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
-
India's Troika Of Good Luck | Joining The Dots
A weaker Trump, a cooling AI trade and resilient earnings have put Indian markets back in favour. Rising inflation could spoil the party.
-
Talking Points This Week: Leadership Shock At Nvidia, Earnings Strength, And The Fog Over Hormuz
The Anthropic IPO pricing and first trading day, Nvidia's upcoming earnings, and any fresh signals from Iran will set the tone for the following week.
-
Signature Play: The Classic Cocktail Is Dead. Or Is It?
Classic cocktails are disappearing from India's cocktail menus. But they're still being ordered, taught to bartenders and borrowed from. So, who's really having the last drink?
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
