The PM CARES Fund is back in focus after its latest financial figures showed a closing balance of Rs. 8,452.06 crore as of 31 March 2025.
The fund recorded Rs. 87.85 lakh in payments during FY 2024-25, according to its audited accounts. Almost the entire amount went towards the PM CARES for Children Scheme.
So, what exactly is PM CARES, how is its money held, and what do the latest accounts show?
What Is PM CARES Fund?
The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, commonly known as PM CARES, was established in March 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the fund's official website, its objectives include providing assistance during public health emergencies and other emergencies, calamities or distress situations.
PM CARES is structured as a public charitable trust and relies on voluntary contributions. The fund says it does not receive budgetary support from the government.
How Much Money Does PM CARES Have?
As of 31 March 2025, PM CARES had a closing balance of Rs. 8,452.06 crore.
A substantial portion of that amount was held in fixed deposits.
The accounts show Rs. 7,846.65 crore in fixed deposits with scheduled banks. Another Rs. 605.41 crore was held in savings-bank accounts.
In other words, nearly 93% of the fund's closing balance was in fixed deposits.
There is an important distinction when looking at the fixed-deposit figures.
At the start of FY 2024-25, PM CARES already had Rs. 6,641.56 crore in fixed deposits. By 31 March 2025, the amount had risen to Rs. 7,846.65 crore.
So, it would be inaccurate to describe Rs. 6,641 crore as money that was moved into fixed deposits during FY25.
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How Much Did PM CARES Spend?
PM CARES recorded Rs. 87.85 lakh in total payments during FY 2024-25.
Of this, Rs. 87.84 lakh went towards the PM CARES for Children Scheme.
The remaining Rs. 451 was listed as bank and SMS charges.
Compared with the fund's Rs. 8,452.06 crore closing balance, the Rs. 87.85 lakh in payments works out to approximately 0.01%.
But that figure needs some context.
It compares payments recorded during FY 2024-25 with the closing balance on 31 March 2025. It does not mean that PM CARES has spent only 0.01% of all the money it has received since the fund was created.
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Where Was The Money Held?
The latest accounts show that most of the fund's money was held in fixed deposits.
PM CARES earned around Rs. 475 crore in interest during FY 2024-25.
The accounts record approximately Rs. 469.37 crore in interest from fixed deposits and Rs. 5.77 crore in savings-bank interest.
The fund also received around Rs. 480 crore in donations during the financial year.
After accounting for its receipts, interest, payments and other entries, the fund ended FY25 with a balance of Rs. 8,452.06 crore.
The accounts also record Rs. 324.66 crore in refunds from implementing agencies.
The financial statement, by itself, does not provide a detailed breakdown of the individual agencies or projects associated with that refund figure.
Why Is PM CARES In Focus?
The latest figures have renewed questions about the size of the fund, the amount held in fixed deposits and the relatively small amount recorded as payments during FY25.
Transparency activist Anjali Bhardwaj has also raised questions about the amount retained in the fund and sought greater clarity around its use.
The audited figures, however, do not by themselves establish that the money was misused or improperly held.
They show the fund's financial position at the end of the financial year, the way its money was held and the payments recorded during that period.
What Has The Supreme Court Said About PM CARES?
PM CARES has faced legal scrutiny since its creation.
In August 2020, the Supreme Court rejected a plea seeking the transfer of PM CARES funds to the National Disaster Response Fund, or NDRF.
The court treated PM CARES and the NDRF as separate funds with different legal and operational structures.
The judgment did not direct PM CARES to transfer its money to the NDRF.
That distinction is important because PM CARES is not the same fund as the government's NDRF.
What About The RTI Act?
The legal status of PM CARES has also been questioned in relation to the Right to Information Act.
In proceedings before the Delhi High Court, the Centre has maintained that PM CARES is a public charitable trust and does not qualify as a "State" under Article 12 of the Constitution or as a "public authority" under the RTI Act.
The question of whether the trust falls within the scope of the RTI Act has therefore been part of the legal dispute surrounding the fund.
What Happened In Parliament?
There was another development in January 2026.
The Prime Minister's Office told the Lok Sabha Secretariat that questions and other matters concerning PM CARES were not admissible under specified parliamentary rules.
The PMO cited the fund's voluntary-contribution structure and the fact that it does not receive allocations from the Consolidated Fund of India.
That was the government's position on the admissibility of parliamentary questions. It was not a Supreme Court ruling declaring PM CARES beyond scrutiny.
So, Where Is The Rs. 8,452 Crore?
The latest accounts provide a snapshot of where the money was as of 31 March 2025.
Rs. 7,846.65 crore was held in fixed deposits.
Rs. 605.41 crore was held in savings-bank accounts.
Together, those amounts made up the fund's Rs. 8,452.06 crore closing balance.
During FY25, PM CARES recorded Rs. 87.85 lakh in payments and earned around Rs. 475 crore in interest.
The accounts do not, on their own, answer every question about when and how the fund's remaining balance will be deployed in future emergencies.
What they do provide is a clearer picture of the fund's financial position at the end of FY25.
And that is why the latest numbers have brought PM CARES back into focus.
TL;DR | News At A Glance
PM CARES was established in March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is structured as a public charitable trust and relies on voluntary contributions.
Its closing balance on 31 March 2025 was Rs. 8,452.06 crore.
Rs. 7,846.65 crore was held in fixed deposits.
Rs. 605.41 crore was held in savings-bank accounts.
The fund recorded Rs. 87.85 lakh in payments during FY25.
Almost all of that went towards the PM CARES for Children Scheme.
The fund earned around Rs. 475 crore in interest during FY25.
The latest figures have renewed questions about the size of the fund and how its money is held and deployed.
The figures themselves do not establish misuse or wrongdoing.
