₹8,452 crore in PM CARES corpus, reveal public documents, most funds in fixed deposits
The audited accounts show that for the financial year ended 31 March 2025, the major portion of the fund, ₹6,641 crore, was parked in fixed deposits. This is a departure from the earlier practice of keeping a substantial portion of the money in savings accounts.
The PM CARES Fund corpus rose to a record ₹8,452 crore in 2024-25 from ₹7,173 crore in 2023-24, according to its latest audited statements made public.
The latest audited statements of the fund for the year 2024-2025 and the previous financial years have been made public on the website of the PM CARES Fund.
The audited accounts show that for the financial year ended 31 March 2025, the major portion of the fund, ₹6,641 crore, was parked in fixed deposits. This is a departure from the earlier practice of keeping a substantial portion of the money in savings accounts.
An email seeking a response from the government has not elicited a response yet. The story will be updated as and when a response is received.
Around ₹475 crore was earned as interest from fixed deposits, adding to the fund without requiring any fresh contribution.
The PM CARES Fund (Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund) is a public charitable trust set up to handle severe emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. It is managed by the Prime Minister and key cabinet ministers, and relies on voluntary public and corporate donations.
PM CARES donations
The Prime Minister is the ex officio chairman of the PM CARES Fund, and the Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance, Government of India, are ex officio trustees of the fund.
The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals and organisations and does not get any budgetary support. The fund will be utilised to meet the objectives as stated above.
Donations to the PM CARES Fund qualify for 80G benefits with 100 per cent exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961. Donations also qualify to be counted as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013, as per the website.
2024-25 numbers
The savings bank account balance with scheduled banks for FY-2024-25 was ₹531 crore, while it was ₹6,283 crore in 2023-24, according to the document. The fixed deposit amount with scheduled banks was ₹7,846 crore for 2024-25 and ₹6,641 crore for 2023-24.
The fund had an opening balance of ₹7,173 crore in 2024-25 and received ₹1,279 crore during the year through domestic and foreign donations, interest income and refunds. The 2024-25 expenditure, however, was only ₹87.85 lakh, including ₹87 lakh on the PM CARES for Children Scheme.
The closing balance for 2024-25 rose to ₹8,452 crore. This included ₹605 crore in savings bank accounts and ₹7,846 crore in fixed deposits with scheduled banks.
Domestic donations
Among other details, domestic donations during the 2024-25 fiscal stood at ₹479.04 crore, while foreign donations were ₹92.83 lakh. The fund also received ₹324.66 crore in refunds from implementing agencies and ₹13.49 lakh as TDS refund on interest on fixed deposits.
In the first financial year, ending 31 March 2020, the fund recorded ₹3,075 crore in voluntary contributions and ₹39.68 crore in foreign contributions.
In the 2020-21 financial year, the fund received ₹7,183.78 crore in voluntary contributions and ₹494.92 crore in foreign contributions. It also earned ₹224.33 crore as interest on its regular account. Including the opening balance and other receipts, total funds available during the year were ₹10,990.17 crore.
In 2022- 23, the closing balance in savings bank accounts with scheduled banks was ₹6,283 crore, while it was ₹5,314 crore in 2021-22.
About the Author
Gulam Jeelani is Political Desk Editor at LiveMint with over 16 years of experience covering national and international politics. Based in New Delhi, Jeelani delivers impactful political narratives through breaking stories, in-depth interviews, and analytical pieces at LiveMint since February 2024. The expertise in video production fuels his current responsibilities, which include curating content and conducting video interviews for an expanding digital audience.<br><br> Jeelani also travels during elections and key political events and has covered assembly elections in key states apart from national elections. He has previously worked with The Pioneer, Network18, India Today, News9Plus and Hindustan Times.<br><br> Jeelani’s tenure at LiveMint and previous experience at print and digital newsrooms have honed his skills in creating compelling text and video stories, explainers, and analysis that resonate with a diverse viewership.<br><br> Before moving to New Delhi in 2015, Jeelani was based in Uttar Pradesh, where he worked for five years as a reporter. In 2018, Jeelani was one of the two Indian journalists selected for the Alfred Friendly Fellowship in the US. There, he attended training workshops on reporting and data journalism, and he was attached to the Minneapolis Star Tribune in Minnesota, where he worked as a reporter.<br><br> Jeelani is a Bachelor's in Chemistry and holds a Masters Degree in journalism and mass communication from Aligarh Muslim University. Outside work, he enjoys poetry, cricket and movies.
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