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PM CARES Fund Faces Questions Over Spending and Opacity
PM CARES is a fund created in March 2020 to help people during emergencies.
It was supposed to collect voluntary donations and quickly provide money when needed.
The fund’s total savings grew between 2022-23 and 2024-25.
However, donations became smaller, and much of the growth came from interest earned on the money already held.
The fund also spent far less in 2024-25 than it did in 2022-23.
The editorial says this is surprising because the fund was created to provide help during crises.
It also says the fund does not share enough information publicly.
Its financial statements were released two years late.
Critics argue that more openness could help ensure the money reaches people who need it.
The PM CARES corpus rose 25.8%, from Rs 6,722 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 8,453 crore in 2024-25.
Interest earnings became a principal source of growth, while donations declined and nearly matched interest income in 2024-25.
Fund utilisation fell from Rs 437.9 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 87.5 crore in 2024-25.
Refunds from implementing agencies exceeded the amount spent, according to the editorial.
The fund’s delayed disclosures and exclusion from several scrutiny mechanisms have fueled demands for greater transparency.
- Who
- The PM CARES Fund, a public charitable trust created during the pandemic.
- What
- Its audited statements show a growing corpus but sharply reduced spending, declining donations and delayed disclosures.
- Where
- India.
- When
- The comparison covers 2022-23 to 2024-25; the fund was conceived in March 2020.
- Why
- It was created to facilitate rapid financial assistance during emergencies.
Fund’s Intended Purpose
Transparency and Spending Critics
Reason for creating the fund
Fund’s Intended Purpose
PM CARES was conceived in March 2020 as a public charitable trust that could quickly distribute voluntary contributions during a crisis.
Transparency and Spending Critics
The editorial argues that the fund’s very low spending raises questions about whether it is providing sufficient assistance despite holding a large corpus.
Public scrutiny
Fund’s Intended Purpose
The fund is described as being supported by voluntary donations, and it is excluded from Right to Information queries, parliamentary queries and scrutiny by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Transparency and Spending Critics
The editorial says these exclusions and the delayed release of financial statements create unnecessary opacity and fuel speculation about the fund’s intentions and sources of money.
Use of available funds
Fund’s Intended Purpose
The fund retained a corpus of Rs 8,453 crore in 2024-25, with interest earnings contributing substantially to its growth.
Transparency and Spending Critics
The editorial criticizes utilisation of only Rs 87.5 crore in 2024-25 and notes that refunds from implementing agencies exceeded spending.
Key facts
- Fund name
- Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations fund
- Corpus in 2022-23
- Rs 6,722 crore
- Corpus in 2024-25
- Rs 8,453 crore
- Corpus growth
- 25.8% between 2022-23 and 2024-25
- Utilisation in 2022-23
- Rs 437.9 crore
- Utilisation in 2024-25
- Rs 87.5 crore
- Disclosure delay
- The recent financial statements were made public after a two-year delay
Sources
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