The PM CARES Fund ended the financial year 2024-25 with a balance of around Rs 8,452 crore, according to audited financial statements made available on the fund's website. The figures have renewed public interest in the fund's receipts, expenditure, audit process and transparency framework.
Set up in March 2020 to support emergency relief and response measures, the PM CARES Fund receives voluntary contributions from individuals, organisations and other sources. During FY 2024-25, the fund recorded receipts of more than Rs 1,200 crore through domestic donations, foreign contributions, interest earned from bank deposits and refunds.
Despite the continued inflow of funds and earnings on its accumulated balance, expenditure during the year remained comparatively low. The audited statements show total outflows of only about Rs 87.85 lakh, a figure that has drawn attention because of the substantial balance maintained by the fund.
PM CARES Fund Balance Crosses Rs 8,400 Crore
The fund's financial position reflects the impact of accumulated contributions and interest income over the years. As of March 31, 2025, the closing balance stood at approximately Rs 8,452 crore.
The latest disclosures indicate that bank interest has become an important contributor to the fund's financial resources. With a large corpus remaining invested, interest earnings continue to add to the fund's balance even when expenditure is relatively limited.
The statements also include receipts classified under refunds and other categories. However, questions have been raised in the public domain regarding the level of detail available about some of these transactions.
Spending of Just Rs 87.85 Lakh Raises Questions
One of the key points attracting attention is the fund's expenditure during FY 2024-25. Against a corpus running into thousands of crores, the reported outflow was only around Rs 87.85 lakh.
The relatively small expenditure has prompted questions from journalists, tax professionals and transparency activists about why such a large corpus remained largely unutilised during the year.
Journalist Arvind Gunasekar, CA Ruchita Vaghani and activist Anjali Bhardwaj are among those who have raised concerns surrounding the latest disclosures, including the low level of spending, details of refunds and the time taken for the audit to become publicly available.
Concerns Over Audit Delay and Transparency
Another issue highlighted by observers is the gap between the end of the financial year and the release of the audited statements. The FY 2024-25 accounts became a subject of discussion amid concerns over the approximately 1.5-year delay in the audit and public disclosure process.
Questions have also been raised about the extent of information available to the public regarding individual donors, utilisation of funds and specific refund transactions.
The transparency debate is particularly relevant because the PM CARES Fund operates outside the conventional framework of parliamentary budgetary oversight. The fund also does not publicly disclose the identities of its donors.
Why RTI Applicability Remains a Key Issue
The applicability of the Right to Information Act to the PM CARES Fund has been a longstanding point of public debate. The fund has maintained that it is not a "public authority" under the RTI Act, while transparency advocates have continued to question the extent to which information concerning its functioning should be accessible to citizens.
This has created a broader debate over how privately contributed public-purpose funds should balance donor confidentiality with public accountability, particularly when the fund manages a substantial financial corpus for emergency and relief-related purposes.
Large Corpus, Limited Utilisation
The latest financial statements highlight a notable contrast: the PM CARES Fund continues to maintain a very substantial balance, while reported expenditure for FY 2024-25 was comparatively modest.
The growing interest income means that the corpus can continue to generate additional resources even without significant fresh spending. At the same time, the limited utilisation of funds has increased public interest in understanding the fund's planned deployment and the criteria governing disbursements.
For taxpayers, professionals and transparency advocates, the issue is therefore not simply the size of the fund but also how its financial resources are accumulated, invested, utilised and disclosed.
What the FY 2024-25 Figures Show
The latest disclosures broadly underline four important aspects of the PM CARES Fund:
- The fund retained a balance of approximately Rs 8,452 crore as of March 31, 2025.
- Receipts during FY 2024-25 exceeded Rs 1,200 crore from donations, foreign contributions, interest and refunds.
- Reported expenditure remained extremely low at around Rs 87.85 lakh.
- The disclosures have renewed questions around audit timelines, refund details, donor confidentiality and RTI applicability.
Transparency Debate Likely to Continue
The FY 2024-25 financial statements provide a clearer picture of the fund's overall financial position, but they have also brought transparency and utilisation questions back into focus.
As the PM CARES Fund continues to hold a sizeable corpus and earn interest on its deposits, public attention is likely to remain centred on how and when these resources are deployed for their stated objectives. The debate also highlights a wider question: how should emergency relief funds that receive voluntary public contributions balance operational flexibility with timely disclosure and accountability?
For now, the latest figures show a fund with a substantial financial cushion but very limited reported spending during FY 2024-25, a contrast that is likely to remain at the centre of public discussion.
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