India’s Covid calamity

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( As India battles a Covid-19 firestorm, the U.S. and European nations are coming to its aid with [pledges]( of medical equipment and raw materials for more vaccines. But it’s taken time to mobilize that support and it could yet cost the U.S. in particular some goodwill with the Indian public — a potential lost opportunity for President Joe Biden to gain geopolitical kudos. Social media feeds have been [crammed]( with cries for help on oxygen and medicine in a country averaging more than 300,000 new virus cases a day. While most of the public [anger]( has centered on officials in India, the international response has also drawn scrutiny. That could perpetuate a narrative that big powers are too busy looking after themselves — keeping a tight grip on Covid shots and equipment — to help poorer countries where the virus is running rampant. And it could undercut a key message from the U.S.-led grouping known as the [Quad](, which Biden is seeking to mobilize as a counter point to China. Biden pitches the Quad — the U.S., Japan, Australia and India — as an outfit that can act collectively on the pandemic, delivering shots to other nations in Asia. Beijing says the Quad is about one thing – [stymieing]( China, and that it has no road map for collaboration on vaccines and issues like climate change beyond rhetoric. China is also now offering its Indian neighbor, with whom it has [tensions]( over territory and trade, support on the virus. The risk is India’s terrible moment gets caught up in the broader game for pandemic soft power. And that it detracts from helping those desperately in need. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( Funeral pyres burn at the Nigambodh Ghat crematorium in New Delhi. Photographer: T. Narayan/Bloomberg Check out all our biggest stories on the Bloomberg Politics web page [here]( and tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines Sleaze spat | U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a fresh [barrage]( of claims over his conduct and that of his government amid pandemic-related lobbying and cronyism scandals. Local and regional elections on May 6 make it an awkward time for such accusations to surface. Tax and spend | Biden is poised to unveil a [controversial]( blueprint in a Wednesday speech to Congress that would raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to levels not seen in more than four decades. It’s designed to help pay for his “American Families Plan” that itself features the biggest expansion of federal support for lower-income and middle-class families in decades. - Biden’s [approval]( rating is holding above 50%, according to polls as he nears 100 days in office. Winners, losers | The once-a-decade [battle]( to redraw the U.S. political map promises to be bitter when it kicks off this week. Based on last year’s census, it will determine which states gain and lose seats in the House. While Democrats hold a narrow advantage now, even a small shift could tip power back to Republicans as soon as 2022. Economic revamp | Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi today presents [details]( of his $284 billion proposal to re-engineer the economy that will test the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund. His plan, which earmarks 40% of funding to green and 25% to digital projects, comes as the European epicenter of the initial outbreak starts to ease its lockdown. Draghi removes his face mask during a news conference in Rome on April 16. Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg Zero for three | Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga suffered a [setback]( in his first votes for parliamentary seats since taking office in September, with opposition candidates winning three by-elections Sunday. The premier is already drawing criticism for a slow vaccine rollout and faces a leadership vote in his party in around five months that will determine whether he joins Japan’s long roster of short-lived leaders. Paid Post The power of PayPal online, now in person. Give your small business an easy way to accept touch-free, in-person payments. Create a unique QR code with the PayPal app and display it on your device or as a printout in store. [Download the app.]( Customer must have PayPal account and app to pay. PayPal What to Watch This Week - French energy giant Total [suspended]( its $20 billion liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique indefinitely after an escalation of violence in the area by Islamic State-linked militants. - Germany’s Greens party [overtook]( Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat-led bloc in a poll after it nominated Annalena Baerbock as its lead candidate for the Sept. 26 federal election. - Countries including Germany, Russia and China resume [meetings]( in Vienna today in a bid to forge a way for the U.S. and Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear deal. - China expanded its antitrust crackdown, launching a probe of suspected monopolistic practices by food-delivery behemoth Meituan. - The European Parliament is scheduled tomorrow to vote on ratification of a post-Brexit trade agreement with the U.K. - Peru’s leftist presidential candidate Pedro Castillo has 41.5% support compared with 21.5% for market-friendly contender Keiko Fujimori, a [poll]( shows. - North Korea’s economy will [barely]( grow this year after its worst contraction in decades as it struggles with the pandemic, U.S. sanctions and a lack of trade with China, according to Fitch Solutions. Thanks to the more than 50 people who responded to our quiz question and congratulations to Gaby Sivzattian who was the first to name Chad as the country whose president died last week from injuries he suffered during a battle between his army and rebels. And finally ... Travelers are discovering that their [choice]( of vaccine may determine where they can go. While Europe appears poised to allow Americans vaccinated with inoculations approved by its drug agency to enter, those who have received shots by Chinese makers are likely to be barred for the foreseeable future. That will have grave consequences for international business activity and the tourism industry. Customers dine at outside tables in Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain on April 17. 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