PM CARES Fund Balance Rises to ₹8,452 Crore

The PM CARES Fund is a public charitable trust created in 2020 for emergency relief and disaster-related assistance in India. Its audited financial statements for FY 2023–24 and FY 2024–25 were made public, and the closing balance stood at ₹8,452.07 crore as of 31 March 2025.

PM CARES Fund: Basic Structure

PM CARES stands for Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund. It functions as a public charitable trust and receives voluntary contributions from individuals, institutions, and companies.

The fund is distinct from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, which has a separate legal and administrative framework. The PM CARES Fund was set up in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Income, Corpus and Investment Pattern

The total corpus increased from ₹7,173.03 crore in FY 2023–24 to ₹8,452.07 crore in FY 2024–25. Fixed deposits accounted for about 93% of the closing balance, with ₹7,846.65 crore parked in fixed deposits and ₹605.41 crore held in savings bank accounts.

The fund earned ₹469.38 crore as interest from fixed deposits during FY 2024–25. Interest income formed the largest source of income for the trust in that financial year.

Contributions and Expenditure

Voluntary domestic donations declined by 30% to ₹479.05 crore in FY 2024–25 from ₹681.81 crore in FY 2023–24. Foreign contributions also fell to ₹92.83 lakh, which was 18% lower than the previous year.

The fund spent ₹87.85 lakh during FY 2024–25, which was 0.01% of the total balance. Almost the entire expenditure, amounting to ₹87.84 lakh, went to the PM CARES for Children Scheme.

Important Facts for Exams

• PM CARES stands for Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund.
• The fund was created in March 2020 as a public charitable trust.
• Fixed deposits held ₹7,846.65 crore of the fund’s balance as of 31 March 2025.
• The PM CARES for Children Scheme is one of the welfare components linked to the trust.

Audit and Public Disclosure

The accounts were signed off by trust officials in Delhi on 6 August 2026 and by KKC & Associates LLP, a Mumbai-based audit firm, on 7 August 2026. The public release of the audited statements came after a delay in publishing the FY 2023–24 records.