The “Charitable” Sovereign: PM CARES, Philanthrocapitalism, and the Erosion of Democratic Accountability by DebaprasadBandyopadhyay
Via Flickr:
onceinabluemoon2021.in/2025/08/01/the-charitable-sovereig... The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund, established in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, was designed as a citizen-driven mechanism for emergency relief. However, its formation and functioning reveal profound contradictions between its stated ideals and actual governance. This article critically examines PM CARES as an emblem of philanthrocapitalism, executive populism, and corporate-state entanglement. Drawing on theoretical frameworks such as Foucault’s governmentality, Agamben’s state of exception, Fraser’s critique of progressive neoliberalism, and Chatterjee’s political society, the analysis illustrates how PM CARES reconfigures welfare into a spectacle of personalized legitimacy, evading democratic accountability. The case of Mr. Ajay Piramal’s reported donations—alongside alleged regulatory favors and the questionable DHFL acquisition—demonstrates how philanthropy can become a strategic substitute for justice and a vehicle for crony capitalism. Ultimately, PM CARES signifies a broader ideological reconfiguration in India’s political economy: the transformation of crisis governance into a post-democratic regime characterized by moralized coercion, symbolic aid, and technocratic opacity.
