Why is PM CARES Fund keeping large sums idle, asks RTI activist

The PM CARES (Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations) Fund received donations of ₹480 crore in 2024-25, down about 30% over the previous year, according to audited financial statements for 2023-24 and 2024-25 made available on Tuesday (August 18, 2026). Its total income, however, grew to ₹1,279.9 crore, up 41% over the previous year. The documents were released after a failure to upload annual disclosures since FY 2022-23.

The Hindu had highlighted the lapse on August 8. 

The PM CARES Fund, a public charitable trust established in March 2020 to support relief efforts during public health emergencies and other disasters, is chaired by the Prime Minister and funded entirely through voluntary contributions, according to information released by the Union government.

Limited spending

Reacting to the belated disclosure, Anjali Bhardwaj, co-convenor of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), said in a social media post: “Finally the audit statement of PMCARES Fund for 2024-25 has been made public! Key highlights — utilised only 0.01% of available ₹8,452 crore!”.

Ms. Bhardwaj was referring to the fact that, while the fund received a total of ₹1,279.9 crore in FY 2024-25 from net donations, interest on bank and fixed deposits, and refunds from implementing agencies, it spent only ₹87.85 lakh, which is 0.01% of the fund’s closing balance.

From March 2020 to March 31, 2025, the fund has spent less than one-fifth (18.4%) of its total income.

Opaque filings

The closing balance of PM CARES Fund stood at ₹8,452.06 crore in FY 2024-25, 17.8% higher than at the end of the previous year.

“Why is the PM CARES Fund keeping such large sums of money idle,” Ms. Bhardwaj asked. She also noted that while ₹324 crore had been refunded by implementing agencies in 2024-25, no information was provided on the nature of these payments, reasons for the refunds, or the identity of the agencies involved.

“Were refunds done to evade accountability for faulty equipment,” she said. “Also why have accompanying notes to the audit report not been uploaded?” 

Lack of accountability

Ms. Bhardwaj said a fund set up to help citizens during disasters, which has accumulated thousands of crores including from foreign sources, is “shrouded in secrecy”.

“Still no information available on sources of funds,” she said. “The PM CARES Fund continues to evade public scrutiny by refusing to submit itself to the RTI Act”.

The PM CARES Fund, established three days before the close of the FY 2019-20, has faced scrutiny over its transparency, following the absence of public audit statements after FY 2022-23. Critics have questioned why a fund — which accepts public money, including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributions from public sector undertakings and donations from government employees — is made to seem like a public authority.

The Prime Minister chairs the fund in his ex officio capacity and Union Cabinet Ministers are its trustees.

“However, when information regarding the funds collected and spent was sought, the government maintained that the trust is not a public authority under the RTI Act,” Ms. Bhardwaj told The Hindu. “The Ministry of Corporate Affairs also retrospectively amended the relevant rules under the Companies Act. At present, PM CARES remains outside the ambit of the RTI Act, parliamentary scrutiny and audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).”