Top Story May 4, 2021 NEW DELHI: At a time when thousands of Indians are struggling to pay hospital bills, buy medicines, and even afford cremations for their family members who have lost their lives to COVID-19, most of the country’s much-celebrated billionaires are either missing in action or contributing in a way that can be called symbolic, at best, foreign media reported on Monday. On May 2, India registered over 392,488 new cases of Covid-19, a 29th consecutive day of more than 100,000 daily new cases. In April alone, the country has seen around 50,000 deaths due to the disease. Yet, most of the ultrarich have so far not stepped up to help out the needy—not publicly, at least. The few who have contributed to the cause have done so through the corporate social responsibility (CSR) pools of their companies, and not their own pockets. Indian laws mandate large companies to spend 2% of their average net profits for the preceding three years on CSR activities. For context, with over 140 super-rich persons, India is home to the world’s third-highest number of billionaires.