Now Reading: PM CARES reserves swell to Rs 8,452 crore as spending drops sharply
-
01
PM CARES reserves swell to Rs 8,452 crore as spending drops sharply
Companies continue to deposit corporate social responsibility (CSR) money into the PM CARES Fund even as its spending has fallen to nearly zero, a review of company disclosures has found. The fund…
Companies continue to deposit corporate social responsibility (CSR) money into the PM CARES Fund even as its spending has fallen to nearly zero, a review of company disclosures has found. The fund made payments of only Rs 87.85 lakh in 2024-25, down from Rs 3,976 crore in 2020-21, while its closing balance rose to Rs 8,452.07 crore, most of it in fixed deposits.
At least 19 companies contributed Rs 80.54 crore to PM CARES in 2024-25, according to annual reports and stock exchange filings. The three largest contributors are state-owned or state-promoted firms: REC Ltd (Rs 50 crore), Indian Railway Finance Corporation (Rs 15.13 crore), and Petronet LNG (Rs 6.78 crore). Smaller contributions, including Rs 3 crore from Maruti Suzuki for flood relief and Rs 25 lakh from Hindustan Composites for future emergencies, show varied reasons for the donations.
The legal framework allows CSR money to be sent to PM CARES under Schedule VII of the Companies Act. But the sharp decline in the fund's spending has raised questions about why companies continue to contribute when reserves are already high. The government has not publicly explained the utilisation plan for the accumulated corpus.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The PM CARES Fund was created as a trust in March 2020, outside the ambit of the Parliament-approved Consolidated Fund of India, which means its spending is not subject to normal legislative oversight. The fund's investment pattern, with Rs 7,846.65 crore in fixed deposits, suggests it is now functioning more as a savings vehicle than an emergency disbursement mechanism. Under Section 135 of the Companies Act, unspent CSR money from ongoing projects must be transferred to a specified fund if it remains unspent for three years, but that requirement does not compel a company to choose PM CARES over other eligible options. The next test will be the release of the fund's utilisation details for 2025-26, which will show whether the spending trend remains flat or picks up in response to a new emergency.
Under Section 135 of the Companies Act, unspent CSR money from ongoing projects must be transferred to a specified fund if it remains unspent for three years, but that requirement does not compel a company to choose PM CARES over other eligible options.
Source: frontline.thehindu.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
