The PM CARES Fund's corpus climbed to a record ₹8,452.07 crore at the end of March 2025, even as its expenditure during the year fell to just ₹87.85 lakh, prompting questions over the utilisation of the fund, ₹324.66 crore in refunds received from implementing agencies and the absence of accompanying notes to its latest financial statements.
The latest audited accounts show that the Fund received ₹1,279.91 crore during financial year (FY)24-25 through domestic and foreign donations, interest income and refunds, while spending only ₹87.85 lakh. Anjali Bhardwaj, a transparency activist, questioned why such a large corpus was being kept largely unused. "Why is the PMCARES Fund keeping such large sums of money idle?"
she asked in a post on X.
Ms Bhardwaj also questioned the ₹324.66 crore refunded by implementing agencies, saying there was no publicly available information explaining what the payments related to, why they were refunded or which agencies had returned the money. She asked whether the refunds were connected to concerns over equipment supplied through the fund and whether they could have been made to avoid accountability for faulty equipment.
Another key concern raised by Commodore (Cmde) Lokesh Batra, who has tracked disclosures relating to the PM CARES Fund, is the absence of the accompanying notes to the audit report. "After Years of delay!"
Cmde Batra said, noting that the receipts and payments accounts for FY23-24 and FY24-25 are now available on the Fund's portal. However, he pointed out that the 'accompanying notes to the financial statements' are still missing, while also noting a change of auditors from FY23-24 onwards.
Ms Bhardwaj also highlighted the missing documents. She said that although the audit statement had finally been made public, the missing notes left important questions unanswered about the Fund's financial transactions and administration.
The audited accounts for FY24-25 show that the Fund had ₹8,452.07 crore at the end of the financial year, up from ₹7,173.03 crore in FY23-24. Of the closing balance, ₹7,846.66 crore was held in fixed deposits with scheduled banks, while ₹605.41 crore remained in savings bank accounts.
The Fund earned ₹469.38 crore in interest from fixed deposits during FY24-25, compared with ₹5.77 crore earned from savings bank accounts.
However, the publication of the accounts has prompted renewed questions over transparency and the extent to which the Fund's resources are being deployed for the emergency and relief purposes for which it was established.
Activist Questions Idle Funds, ₹324 Crore Refunds
Ms Bhardwaj said on X that the publication of the FY24-25 audit statement is welcome but questioned why such a large corpus remained largely unused.
"Finally the audit statement of PMCARES Fund for FY24-25 has been made public!" Ms Bhardwaj said, highlighting that only 0.01% of the available ₹8,452 crore was utilised during the year.
She questioned why the Fund is 'keeping such large sums of money idle' when it had been established to assist citizens during disasters and emergencies.
The accounts show that the Fund's expenditure during FY24-25 was only ₹87.85 lakh. Almost the entire expenditure was under the PM CARES Fund for children scheme which supports children who lost their parents or legal guardians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms Bhardwaj also drew attention to ₹324.66 crore received as refunds from implementing agencies during the year.
"Why have accompanying notes to the audit report not been uploaded?" she asked, while seeking information on what the refunds related to, why they were made and which agencies had returned the money.
She also questioned whether the refunds could be connected to accountability for equipment or other procurements, asking whether any implementing agencies had returned money because of problems relating to the equipment supplied.
The audited statement records the refunds but, according to Ms Bhardwaj, the absence of detailed accompanying notes leaves important questions unanswered.
'Still No Information Available on Sources of Funds'
Ms Bhardwaj also renewed her criticism of the Fund's transparency. A key concern raised by her was the continued lack of publicly available information about the sources of the Fund's contributions.
The latest accounts show that the PM CARES Fund received ₹479.04 crore in domestic donations and ₹92.83 lakh in foreign donations during FY24-25. It also received ₹324.66 crore in refunds from implementing agencies and ₹13.49 lakh as a refund of tax deducted at source on fixed-deposit interest.
Ms Bhardwaj said the Fund had accumulated thousands of crores, including money received from foreign sources, but remained 'shrouded in secrecy'.
She also pointed to the Fund's refusal to submit itself to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, arguing that this continued to restrict public scrutiny of its operations and finances.
Her questions, therefore, go beyond the size of the corpus and focus on how money is received, how it is deployed, why implementing agencies return Funds and what information should accompany the audited financial statements.
Cmde Lokesh Batra Flags Missing Accompanying Notes
Former naval officer and transparency campaigner Cmde Batra also raised questions over the manner in which the financial information has been made public.
In a post on X, Mr Batra said the 'receipts and payments accounts' for FY23-24 and FY24-25 had finally appeared on the PM CARES portal after years of delay.
However, he pointed out that the 'accompanying notes to the financial statements' are still missing.
Cmde Batra also highlighted a change in auditors from the FY23-24 financial year onwards.
His observations are significant because the receipts and payments figures provide the headline financial position, while accompanying notes generally provide additional context on accounting policies, transactions, investments, liabilities, significant receipts and payments and other information necessary to understand financial statements.
The absence of such notes, therefore, has become a central transparency concern for critics of the Fund.
Corpus Rises by ₹1,279 Crore
The latest accounts show that the PM CARES Fund's corpus increased by ₹1,279.04 crore during FY24-25, from ₹7,173.03 crore to ₹8,452.07 crore.
The Fund opened the year with ₹7,173.03 crore and received ₹1,279.91 crore through domestic and foreign donations, interest income and refunds. Against this, expenditure was only ₹87.85 lakh.
The large fixed-deposit component has also become a defining feature of the Fund's latest financial position.
The ₹7,846.66 crore in fixed deposits represents about 92.8% of the total corpus. The deposits generated ₹469.38 crore in interest during the year, allowing the Fund to earn substantial income from its accumulated reserves.
The financial statements thus show two parallel developments: the corpus has reached its highest level since the Fund's creation, while annual expenditure has fallen sharply from the levels seen during the Covid-19 emergency.
From Heavy COVID Spending to Minimal Expenditure
The PM CARES Fund was constituted on 27 March 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a public charitable trust.
In its first financial year, ending March 2020, the Fund received ₹3,075.85 crore in voluntary contributions and ₹39.68 crore in foreign contributions. Its closing balance stood at ₹3,076.63 crore.
The inflow rose sharply in FY20-21, when the Fund received ₹7,183.78 crore in voluntary contributions and ₹494.92 crore in foreign contributions. It spent ₹3,976.17 crore that year, including on ventilators, migrant welfare, makeshift COVID hospitals, oxygen-generation plants, vaccines and laboratory upgrades. The closing balance stood at ₹7,014 crore.
In FY21-22, the Fund spent another ₹3,716.29 crore, including on oxygen-generation plants, oxygen concentrators, COVID-19 hospitals and related medical equipment. Its corpus consequently fell to ₹5,415.66 crore.
The spending declined considerably after the peak of the pandemic.
In FY22-23, the Fund spent ₹439.38 crore, including ₹346 crore under the PM CARES for Children scheme and ₹91.87 crore on oxygen concentrators.
Expenditure fell to ₹15.60 crore in FY23-24, of which ₹15.38 crore was spent under the PM CARES for Children scheme.
In FY24-25, expenditure fell further to just ₹87.85 lakh, while the corpus climbed to its record level.
The figures illustrate the dramatic change in the Fund's financial profile. It was heavily deployed during the COVID emergency but has accumulated money since then, with interest income and contributions increasing the corpus while expenditure has fallen sharply.
The Transparency Question
The latest controversy is therefore not simply about whether the PM CARES Fund has enough money to respond to a future emergency.
Its financial statements show that it has a substantial reserve, with more than ₹7,800 crore invested in fixed deposits. The central questions raised by Ms Bhardwaj and Mr Batra concern public accountability and disclosure.
Ms Bhardwaj has questioned the limited utilisation of the corpus, the ₹324.66 crore refunds, the identity of agencies making those refunds and the reasons behind them.
Cmde Batra, meanwhile, has highlighted the fact that the accompanying notes to the financial statements are not available on the portal, despite the publication of the receipts and payments accounts for two financial years.
Together, their comments shift the focus from the headline corpus figure to the information required to understand how the Fund is being administered.
The PM CARES Fund says it consists entirely of voluntary contributions and does not receive budgetary support. Its stated objectives include providing relief and assistance in public health emergencies and other emergencies, calamities and distress, including support for healthcare infrastructure, research and affected populations.
The latest accounts show that the Fund now has a substantial financial cushion. But Ms Bhardwaj and Cmde Batra's questions underline that the size of the reserve does not by itself answer questions about its deployment, refunds, sources of contributions and the level of public disclosure surrounding its financial management.
