The latest audit report reveals a 30% decline in domestic donations to the PM CARES Fund for FY25, alongside a significant slump in foreign contributions.

  • Domestic donations fell by 30% to approximately ₹479 crore in FY25.
  • Foreign contributions plummeted to just ₹92.8 lakh.
  • Total fund balance stands at ₹8,452 crore as of March 31, 2025.
  • The majority of the fund (₹7,846 crore) is held in fixed deposits.

According to the latest audit report, domestic donations to the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund witnessed a sharp decline of 30% during the fiscal year 2024-2025. The domestic contributions fell to nearly ₹479 crore, down from ₹681.8 crore in the previous fiscal year.

The decline is even more pronounced in foreign contributions. Foreign donations dropped by 18% to reach a mere ₹92.8 lakh. To put this in perspective, foreign aid peaked at ₹495 crore during the height of the pandemic in 2020-21, before experiencing a precipitous fall over the subsequent years.

Read Also:India's Senior Living Market Projected to Hit ₹1 Trillion by 2030

Why This Matters

BozokMedia analysis shows that this downward trend reflects a shift in donor behavior following the COVID-19 pandemic. As the immediate emergency subsided, the urgency for voluntary contributions to a single emergency relief fund appeared to diminish, even as the fund's total corpus continues to grow through accumulated reserves.

The shrinking influx of new donations highlights a growing gap between emergency response needs and public philanthropic engagement.

Despite the drop in new donations, the fund's total balance has increased to ₹8,452 crore as of March 31, 2025, compared to ₹7,173 crore a year prior. The report indicates that ₹7,846 crore of this amount is parked in fixed deposits, while ₹605 crore remains in savings bank accounts, ensuring long-term liquidity for future emergencies.

Historical Background

The PM CARES Fund was established by the Narendra Modi government as a public charitable trust to address national emergencies and distress situations. It is chaired ex-officio by the Prime Minister and operates entirely on voluntary contributions without any budgetary support from the government. During the COVID-19 crisis, the fund played a pivotal role in financing oxygen plants and ventilators for hospitals across India.

In the 2021-22 period, the fund spent nearly ₹1,938 crore on critical medical infrastructure, including ₹1,703 crore for pressure-swing adsorption oxygen plants and ₹835 crore for ventilators.

Did You Know?: The PM CARES Fund is a public charitable trust and does not receive any direct funding from the government budget.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the current total balance of the PM CARES Fund?
As of March 31, 2025, the total balance in the fund stands at ₹8,452 crore.

2. How much did foreign donations drop since 2020?
Foreign contributions fell from a peak of ₹495 crore in 2020-21 to just ₹92.8 lakh in FY25.