PM CARES Fund Spent ₹87.85 Lakh Against ₹1,279.9 Crore Income in FY 2024-25
Audited financial statements for the PM CARES Fund reveal that the trust spent ₹87.85 lakh during the 2024-25 financial year, even as its total income reached ₹1,279.9 crore and its unspent closing balance expanded to ₹8,452.06 crore.
What Happened
Audited accounts for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 were published following public scrutiny over the lack of disclosures since FY 2022-23. The documents show that voluntary donations to the fund dropped by approximately 30 percent in 2024-25 to ₹480 crore. However, total income increased by 41 percent year-on-year to ₹1,279.9 crore, buoyed by interest on deposits and refunds from implementing agencies.
Of this total income, the fund utilised ₹87.85 lakh in FY 2024-25, representing roughly 0.01 percent of its total closing balance. Since its launch in late March 2020 through March 31, 2025, the PM CARES Fund has disbursed 18.4 percent of its cumulative income.
Key Highlights
- Low Expenditure: The fund spent ₹87.85 lakh during FY 2024-25, while its closing balance grew by 17.8 percent to ₹8,452.06 crore.
- Income Breakdown: Total income rose to ₹1,279.9 crore through net donations, fixed deposit and bank interest, and implementing agency refunds, despite direct donations dropping to ₹480 crore.
- Unexplained Agency Refunds: Implementing agencies returned ₹324 crore to the fund during 2024-25 without accompanying details regarding the reasons, the agencies involved, or the nature of the projects.
- Delayed Release: The financial statements were uploaded after public reports highlighted that annual filings had lapsed after FY 2022-23.
Why This Matters
Transparency advocates, including Anjali Bhardwaj of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), raised concerns regarding why substantial sums intended for disaster relief remain unutilised. The fund, which accepts voluntary contributions including corporate social responsibility funds and state employee donations, is chaired ex officio by the Prime Minister alongside Union Cabinet Ministers as trustees.
Despite public contributions and ministerial stewardship, the Central government maintains that the trust does not qualify as a public authority under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. It also remains exempt from audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and direct parliamentary oversight, while accompanying explanatory notes to the latest audit report were not published.
What to Watch Next
Scrutiny continues over whether the administration will make public the accompanying explanatory notes to the audit report, disclose the sources of donations, or clarify why implementing agencies refunded ₹324 crore during the fiscal year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the PM CARES Fund?
The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund is a public charitable trust established in March 2020 to support relief work during public health emergencies and other disasters.
How much did the fund spend in FY 2024-25?
According to its audited statements, the trust disbursed ₹87.85 lakh during FY 2024-25, while its total closing balance stood at ₹8,452.06 crore.
Is the PM CARES Fund subject to the RTI Act or CAG audits?
Under current government determinations and corporate regulatory amendments, the trust maintains that it is not a public authority under the RTI Act, leaving it outside the jurisdiction of RTI disclosures, parliamentary oversight, and CAG audits.
Source: The Hindu