The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund saw the donations it received grow by 592% in 2024-25 to nearly ₹480 crore, as per the audited financial statements for 2023-24 and 2024-25, which it made available on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) after having failed to upload the annual disclosure documents since 2022-23.
Activists had previously questioned the absence of publicly available audit statements after FY 2022-23, saying this raised concerns about the transparency of the PM CARES Fund, which had been announced three days before the close of the 2019-20 financial year through a Central government communication.
They maintained that several thousand crore rupees were contributed under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provisions by public sector undertakings, which is public money. The fund was presented as having been set up by the Central Government, making it appear to be a public authority. Government employees also contributed from their salaries. The Prime Minister chairs the fund in his ex-officio capacity and Union Cabinet Ministers are its trustees.
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, as per information released by the Central government.
“Also, why have accompanying notes to the audit report not been uploaded? Reacting to the belated disclosure, Anjali Bhardwaj, co-convenor of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), said in her social media post: “Finally the audit statement of PM CARES Fund for 2024-25 has been made public! Key highlights — utilised only 0.01% of available ₹8,452 crore!
“Were refunds done to evade accountability for faulty equipment?” she said. “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.”
