Congress criticises government over PM CARES Fund utilization

‘PM CARES? Hardly,’ Pawan Khera wrote on X.

NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Tuesday criticised the government for utilising only 0.01% of the PM CARES Fund, which was created in 2020 to facilitate relief measures during the Covid-19 pandemic. Calling out the government for using "only 0.01% of the Rs 8,452 crore" in the fund, Rajya Sabha member Pawan Khera denounced the Prime Minister for not disbursing more funds despite the need for relief amid natural calamities across the country. "Onily 0.01% of the ₹8,452 crore available has been utilised — even as natural calamities devastate communities across the country and thousands need relief and rehabilitation. thousands need relief and rehabilitation. Rs 8,452 crore sitting idle while people suffer. PM CARES? Hardly," the Congress leader posted on X.

Pawan Khera criticised the government on X over PM CARES fund.

Domestic donations to the PM CARES Fund fell by 30 per cent to nearly Rs 479 crore in the financial year 2024-25, while foreign donations declined by 18 per cent to Rs 92.8 lakh, according to the fund's latest audit report. In 2023-24, the domestic donations stood at Rs 681.8 crore, while foreign contributions during the year totalled Rs 1.13 crore. An analysis of the audited statements available on the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund website shows that voluntary domestic contributions were at their highest at Rs 7,184 crore in 2020-21. They fell to Rs 1,896 crore in 2021-22 and declined further to Rs 909 crore in 2022-23.

The total balance in the PM CARES Fund stood at Rs 8,452 crore as on March 31, 2025, compared with Rs 7,173 crore a year earlier. Of the total balance, Rs 7,846 crore was held in fixed deposits, while Rs 605 crore was kept in savings bank accounts, the report said. The fund spent Rs 87.8 lakh under the PM CARES for Children Scheme during 2024-25, compared with Rs 15.37 crore in the previous year. Overall payments made by the fund during 2024-25 stood at Rs 87.85 lakh, down from Rs 15.6 crore in the previous financial year. Foreign contributions have also fallen substantially over the years. They stood at Rs 495 crore in 2020-21 before declining to Rs 40 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 2.57 crore in 2022-23. Foreign contributions in 2024-25 stood at Rs 92.8 lakh, the second-lowest level recorded after Rs 39.7 lakh in 2019-20.