New Delhi: The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) received a total of Rs 535.44 crore in foreign donations during the last three years, according to official records.
The fund, which was set up in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, received Rs 0.40 crore during the financial year 2019-20, Rs 494.92 crore in 2020-21, and Rs 40.12 crore in 2021-22, according to The Indian Express.
The records also show that the fund received Rs 24.85 crore as interest income from its foreign contribution account over the same period. Foreign contributions peaked in 2020-21, the financial year that saw the outbreak of the pandemic, before falling sharply in the following year as the deadly second wave hit India.
Voluntary contributions to the fund also declined, falling to Rs 1,896.76 crore during 2021-22 from Rs 7,183.77 crore during 2020-21. The voluntary contribution stood at Rs 3,075.85 crore during 2019-20. In total, the PM CARES Fund received Rs 12,691.82 crore in voluntary and foreign contributions over the last three years.
The PM CARES Fund was set up as a public charitable trust under the Registration Act 1908, in New Delhi on March 27, 2020, three days after India went into lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its primary objective is to deal with emergency or distress situations, like those posed by the pandemic, and to provide relief to those affected.
The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund, while the Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister are ex-officio trustees. The PM has nominated three trustees — Justice K T Thomas (retd), Kariya Munda and Ratan N Tata — to the Board.
Donations to PM CARES Fund qualify for 80G benefits for 100% exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961, and also count as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013.
The fund has received foreign contributions since 2011 and has a separate account for receiving such donations under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, which allows it to accept donations and contributions from individuals and organisations based in foreign countries.
The PM CARES Fund has disbursed amounts for various purposes, including the purchase of ventilators for government hospitals, the welfare of migrants, the establishment of two 500-bedded makeshift Covid hospitals, the installation and operation of 162 Pressure Swing Absorption (PSA) medical oxygen generation plants, the procurement of Covid-19 vaccine, and other Covid-related supplies.
As of March 31, 2022, a balance of Rs 54,156.65 crore was available in the fund.