PM-CARES fund had Rs 8,452.07 crore in balance in March-end last year
New Delhi, Aug 19: The amount in Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund rose 18 per cent to Rs 8,452.07 crore in 2024-25 from Rs 7,173.03 crore a year earlier, according to the audited statement of accounts for the financial year 2025.
The fund, established during the Covid pandemic in 2020, received Rs 479.05 crore in domestic donations and Rs 92.83 lakh in foreign contributions.
These were lower than Rs 681.81 crore and Rs 1.13 crore, respectively, received during the previous financial year.
The fund held Rs 7,846.65 crore in fixed deposits and Rs 605.41 crore in savings bank accounts during FY25. Total receipts, including refunds and interest, stood at Rs 8,452.95 crore during the year.
Voluntary domestic contributions stood at Rs 7,184 crore in 2020-21 before falling to Rs 1,896 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 909 crore in 2022-23.
Foreign contributions recorded an even steeper decline, falling from Rs 495 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 40 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 2.57 crore in 2022-23.
The Rs 92.83 lakh received in FY25 was the second-lowest foreign contribution since the fund was established.
Despite lower fresh donations, the fund’s corpus has continued to increase, with accumulated funds, refunds and interest contributing to the overall balance.
Total receipts, including refund and interest, rose from Rs 3,076.62 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 8,452.95 crore in FY25.
Expenditure under the PM CARES for Children Scheme declined sharply to Rs 87.85 lakh in FY25 from Rs 15.38 crore in 2023-24.
The fund had recorded significantly higher spending during the pandemic.
In 2021-22, it spent Rs 1,703.14 crore on pressure-swing adsorption medical oxygen plants and Rs 835.28 crore on ventilators supplied to government-run hospitals.
Total expenditure during the year stood at Rs 3,716.29 crore.
The government established the PM CARES Fund in March 2020 as a public charitable trust to provide assistance during emergencies and distress situations, including the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Prime Minister is its ex-officio chairman, while the fund is financed entirely through voluntary contributions and receives no budgetary support. (BVI)
