Now Reading: PM CARES fund holds Rs 8,452 crore, spends under Rs 1 crore
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PM CARES fund holds Rs 8,452 crore, spends under Rs 1 crore
The PM CARES Fund released its audited accounts for 2023-24 and 2024-25 together in August 2026, showing a closing balance of Rs 8,452 crore and almost no spending. In 2024-25, the fund spent just Rs 87.85 lakh, nearly all on the PM CARES for Children scheme, while earning about Rs 475 crore in interest. The 2023-24 accounts were signed 28 months after the financial year ended, a sharp delay from the three months the fund took for its first accounts in 2020.
Times Now reports the fund stopped spending almost entirely, with Rs 324.66 crore returned by implementing agencies without explanation. BusinessLine notes total receipts including interest and refunds rose from Rs 3,076.62 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 8,452.95 crore. RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj criticised the lack of detail in the one-page financial statement and the fund's refusal to come under the RTI Act. The fund is chaired by the Prime Minister, and the question of its RTI status is pending before the Delhi High Court.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The coverage splits between factual accounting and accountability critique. Times Now leads with the fund's delayed books and minimal spending, framing the Rs 8,452 crore corpus as largely idle and questioning why implementing agencies returned Rs 324 crore with no breakdown. BusinessLine leads with the fund's growth trajectory and includes government context that low spending reflects the end of the COVID emergency. The RTI activist's criticism appears only in BusinessLine. Both sources report the same numbers, but Times Now emphasises governance gaps while BusinessLine gives equal weight to the fund's stated purpose. The measured read: the fund has grown through interest and donations, but with no new crisis, it is accumulating while donors and the public receive minimal transparency on past allocations. The next concrete date is the Delhi High Court hearing on the fund's RTI exemption.
Indian Opinion Analysis: The coverage splits between factual accounting and accountability critique. Times Now leads with the fund's delayed books and minimal spending, framing the Rs 8,452 crore corpus as largely idle and questioning why implementing agencies returned Rs 324 crore with no breakdown. BusinessLine leads with the fund's growth trajectory and includes government context that low spending reflects the end of the COVID emergency. The RTI activist's criticism appears only in BusinessLine. Both sources report the same numbers, but Times Now emphasises governance gaps while BusinessLine gives equal weight to the fund's stated purpose. The measured read: the fund has grown through interest and donations, but with no new crisis, it is accumulating while donors and the public receive minimal transparency on past allocations. The next concrete date is the Delhi High Court hearing on the fund's RTI exemption.
Coverage: 2 sources, 1 government-critical, 1 neutral
Sources (2): timesnownews.com (government critical), thehindubusinessline.com (neutral report)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
