New Delhi, September 21, 2022: PM CARES Fund which had landed into controversies over its functioning and utilisation of its funds has now got a credibility booster with joining of new trustees that included some of India’s most credible personalities such as veteran industrialist Ratan Tata, former Supreme Court judge KT Thomas, and former deputy Lok Sabha speaker Kariya Munda.
The newly nominated trustees of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES) attended a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 20, 2022. The other members of the PM-CARES Board of Trustees include Union Home Minister and the Union Finance Minister.
“Prime Minister welcomed the trustees for becoming an integral part of the PM CARES Fund,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund and the Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance, Government of India are the ex-officio Trustees of the Fund.
During the meeting, the Trust also nominated three names for the constitution of an Advisory Board to PM CARES Fund with eminent personalities including Rajiv Mehrishi, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India; Sudha Murty, former Chairperson, Infosys Foundation; Anand Shah, Co-founder of Teach for India and former CEO of Indicorps and Piramal Foundation.
Welcoming new trustees and advisors, the Prime Minister said that their participation will provide ‘wider perspectives to the functioning of the PM CARES Fund’ as their’ vast experience of public life would impart further vigour in making the fund more responsive to various public needs.’
PM Modi also lauded citizens for contributing wholeheartedly to the fund. A presentation on the various measures undertaken with the help of the PM CARES Fund, including the PM CARES for Children scheme, was also made, according to an official statement.
The PM CARES Fund was created during the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary objective of the fund is to deal with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected individuals.
The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organizations and does not get any budgetary support.
Donations to PM CARES Fund qualify for 80G benefits for 100% exemption under the Income Tax Act.
The PM CARES Fund had generated a lot of interest immediately after Prime Minister Modi announced its formation after the Covid-19 outbreak and appealed for donations, prompting several private firms, government bodies and individuals, including celebrities to donate money.
The Fund saw its corpus grow nearly three-fold to Rs 10,990 crore in the 2020-21 fiscal, while the disbursal rose to Rs 3,976 crore, according to the latest audited statement. The disbursal included Rs 1,000 crore for migrant welfare and over Rs 1,392 crore for procurement of COVID vaccine doses.
