The PM CARES Fund had a balance of ₹8,452 crore as of March 31, 2025, with the corpus increasing by about ₹1,279 crore over the previous financial year, according to financial information from the fund’s audit report and documents now available in the public domain. The fund, established in March 2020 to respond to emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, recorded total receipts of ₹8,452.95 crore during FY2024-25, compared with ₹7,188.63 crore a year earlier.
The disclosures provide a clearer picture of how the emergency fund has been managed, including the significant portion of its corpus kept in fixed deposits. The data also show that domestic donations remained an important source of fresh inflows. The disclosures come amid renewed political debate over the utilisation, transparency and purpose of the fund, with the Congress questioning the extent to which the corpus has been deployed.
PM CARES Fund Balance Reaches ₹8,452 Crore
The PM CARES Fund’s balance stood at approximately ₹8,452 crore at the end of FY2024-25.
According to the reported audit data, total receipts increased from ₹7,188.63 crore in FY2023-24 to ₹8,452.95 crore in FY2024-25.
That represents an increase of approximately ₹1,264.32 crore, or about 17.6%, in the amount recorded as receipts during the year.
PM CARES Fund: Key Numbers
| Metric | FY2023-24 | FY2024-25 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported receipts | ₹7,188.63 crore | ₹8,452.95 crore | +₹1,264.32 crore |
| Balance at March-end | — | ~₹8,452 crore | — |
| Increase in corpus | — | ~₹1,279 crore | — |
| Domestic donations | — | ~₹475 crore | — |
| Major investment form | Fixed deposits | Fixed deposits | — |
The figures show that the fund continued to accumulate resources even after the peak phase of the COVID-19 emergency had passed. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
PM CARES Corpus Growth: A Visual Look
The reported balance increase of around ₹1,279 crore means the fund added a substantial amount to its corpus during the year.
Corpus Growth
Previous level
₹7,173 crore
██████████████████████████
↓
Increase
+₹1,279 crore
█████
↓
March 2025
₹8,452 crore
████████████████████████████████
The precise year-end balance and the year’s total receipts are different accounting measures, so they should not be treated as identical figures.
Majority Of PM CARES Funds Held In Fixed Deposits
One of the key details emerging from the disclosures is that a large portion of the PM CARES corpus has been kept in fixed deposits.
Fixed deposits provide relatively predictable returns and preserve liquidity compared with investments in more volatile financial assets.
For an emergency-response fund, maintaining a substantial amount in liquid or relatively low-risk instruments can provide the ability to deploy money when a crisis occurs.
Why Fixed Deposits Matter
PM CARES Corpus
↓
Fixed deposits
↓
Interest income
+
Capital preservation
+
Relatively predictable liquidity
↓
Emergency funding capacity
The disclosures therefore provide an indication that the fund has prioritised capital preservation and availability rather than deploying its entire corpus immediately.
Domestic Donations Contributed Around ₹475 Crore
Domestic donors contributed around ₹475 crore to PM CARES during the year, according to the reported financial information.
The fund was designed as a voluntary contribution-based mechanism, allowing individuals and organisations to donate toward emergency response and relief activities.
Sources Of PM CARES Inflows
| Source | FY2024-25 |
|---|---|
| Domestic donations | ~₹475 crore |
| Other receipts/income | Balance of reported receipts |
| Total reported receipts | ₹8,452.95 crore |
The domestic contribution figure represents only one component of the fund’s overall financial activity.
What Is PM CARES Fund?
The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, commonly known as PM CARES, was established in March 2020 following the outbreak of COVID-19.
Its stated purpose was to provide financial assistance for emergency situations, including public-health crises and other emergencies.
The fund became particularly prominent during the pandemic, when the government and private sector faced an urgent need for additional healthcare infrastructure, medical equipment and emergency support.
PM CARES Timeline
March 2020
PM CARES Fund established
↓
2020-21
Large-scale COVID-19-related contributions
↓
2021-22
Continued emergency-response spending
↓
2022-23
Pandemic emergency gradually recedes
↓
2023-24
Corpus continues to accumulate
↓
2024-25
Balance reaches approximately ₹8,452 crore
The fund’s financial position therefore reflects a transition from an immediate pandemic-response mechanism toward a broader emergency-response corpus.
Why The ₹8,452 Crore Corpus Is Significant
The size of the corpus has become a major point of discussion because it represents a substantial pool of resources available for emergency purposes.
The fund’s balance of approximately ₹8,452 crore is equivalent to:
- ₹84.52 billion
- Approximately ₹8.45 trillion? No — ₹8,452 crore equals ₹84.52 billion, not ₹8.45 trillion.
- A corpus accumulated through contributions and investment income.
The distinction is important when interpreting large financial figures.
₹8,452 Crore Converted
| Unit | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Crore | ₹8,452 crore |
| Billion rupees | ₹84.52 billion |
| Lakh crore | 0.0845 lakh crore |
| Trillion rupees | ₹0.0845 trillion |
This illustrates why the fund is large in absolute terms but still needs to be discussed using the correct Indian numbering system.
Receipts Increased 17.6% In FY2024-25
The fund’s reported receipts increased from ₹7,188.63 crore to ₹8,452.95 crore.
The calculation is:
₹8,452.95 crore − ₹7,188.63 crore = ₹1,264.32 crore
Percentage increase:
₹1,264.32 crore ÷ ₹7,188.63 crore × 100 ≈ 17.6%
Receipts Growth
FY2023-24
₹7,188.63 crore
███████████████████████████
FY2024-25
₹8,452.95 crore
████████████████████████████████
Growth: ~17.6%
This indicates that the fund continued receiving substantial financial inflows despite the decline in pandemic-related emergency activity.
The Fund’s Fixed Deposits Generate Interest
Keeping money in fixed deposits means the corpus can generate interest while remaining relatively secure.
For an emergency fund, this can provide an additional source of income without requiring the underlying principal to be spent.
The actual interest income, deposit maturity profile and bank-wise allocation are important for understanding the fund’s investment management, but the publicly reported figures primarily highlight the dominance of fixed deposits in the corpus.
How A Fixed-Deposit-Based Emergency Fund Works
Donations
↓
PM CARES Corpus
↓
Fixed deposits
↓
Interest earned
↙ ↘
Corpus preservation Emergency deployment
This structure allows the fund to maintain a financial reserve that can potentially be deployed when a major emergency occurs.
Political Debate Over Utilisation
The disclosure of the fund’s financial position has also triggered political debate.
Congress criticised the government on August 18, arguing that only a very small portion of the fund had been utilised and questioning whether the corpus was being used for its intended purpose.
The criticism adds a political dimension to the financial disclosures.
However, the existence of a large corpus does not by itself establish that funds are being improperly managed. The fund’s stated purpose is to respond to emergencies, meaning the timing of expenditure can differ substantially from the timing of contributions.
The Central Debate
Large corpus
↓
Questions over utilisation
↓
Government’s emergency-reserve rationale
vs.
Opposition’s demand for greater utilisation/transparency
↓
Continued public debate
The financial documents provide data on the fund’s position, while political parties have drawn different conclusions from those numbers.
Why Emergency Funds Can Maintain Large Reserves
Emergency-response funds are fundamentally different from normal government spending budgets.
A ministry generally receives an annual allocation intended for specified programmes and expenditure. An emergency corpus, by contrast, may need to retain resources for an event that cannot be predicted.
That creates a trade-off.
Emergency Fund Model
| Approach | Advantage | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Spend most funds quickly | Immediate impact | Less money available for future emergencies |
| Maintain large reserve | Strong emergency capacity | Questions over under-utilisation |
| Invest conservatively | Preserves capital | Potentially lower returns |
| Invest aggressively | Higher potential returns | Greater financial risk |
The PM CARES data suggest that preservation of a significant reserve has been an important part of the fund’s financial management.
PM CARES And Corporate Contributions
The fund also attracted substantial attention from Indian companies during the COVID-19 crisis.
Corporate donations were particularly significant in the early period of the pandemic as companies, public-sector enterprises and business leaders contributed toward emergency-response efforts.
The broader contribution ecosystem included individual donors, companies and other organisations.
Contribution Ecosystem
Individuals
+
Companies
+
Organisations
↓
PM CARES Fund
↓
Emergency response
The FY2024-25 domestic contribution figure of around ₹475 crore shows that contributions continued even after the initial pandemic emergency had subsided.
Transparency Remains A Key Issue
PM CARES has faced questions over transparency since its creation.
The fund is structured as a public charitable trust rather than as a conventional government budgetary fund. Previous legal and RTI-related proceedings have also addressed questions about whether it falls within the definition of a “public authority” under the RTI Act. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
The publication of financial information therefore has significance beyond the balance-sheet figures.
It provides the public with additional information about the size and management of the corpus.
Transparency Questions
| Question | What The Latest Data Shows |
|---|---|
| How large is the corpus? | ~₹8,452 crore |
| Did the corpus increase? | Yes |
| How much was received in FY25? | ₹8,452.95 crore |
| Domestic contributions? | ~₹475 crore |
| Where is a large portion held? | Fixed deposits |
| Is the entire corpus spent? | No |
| Is there political debate? | Yes |
The available figures answer some financial questions while leaving broader questions about individual expenditures, investment decisions and emergency deployment to the detailed public documents and audit disclosures.
PM CARES Fund Vs Immediate Relief Spending
It is also important to distinguish between the size of a fund and the amount spent during a particular emergency.
A reserve can remain large because contributions continue while emergency expenditure is comparatively limited.
Conversely, a major disaster or public-health crisis could require significant withdrawals from the corpus over a short period.
Reserve Fund Logic
Normal period
Contributions > emergency expenditure
↓
Corpus grows
↓
Major emergency
Emergency expenditure rises sharply
↓
Corpus is deployed
↓
Rebuilding phase
New contributions replenish reserve
This is the basic rationale behind maintaining an emergency corpus.
What The Latest Data Says About PM CARES
The newly available financial information provides several clear takeaways.
First, the PM CARES corpus stood at approximately ₹8,452 crore at the end of FY2024-25.
Second, reported receipts during the year were ₹8,452.95 crore, up from ₹7,188.63 crore in FY2023-24.
Third, around ₹475 crore came from domestic donations.
Fourth, a substantial portion of the corpus was held in fixed deposits.
Finally, the data have renewed political debate over how much of the fund should be deployed versus retained as an emergency reserve. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}
The Bigger Picture
The PM CARES Fund’s approximately ₹8,452-crore balance provides a rare look at the financial scale of an emergency-response corpus established during the COVID-19 crisis. The fund’s reported receipts rose from ₹7,188.63 crore in FY2023-24 to ₹8,452.95 crore in FY2024-25, while domestic donations during the year were around ₹475 crore. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}
The fact that much of the corpus remains in fixed deposits is central to understanding the fund’s financial strategy. It indicates that a significant portion of the resources has been retained rather than immediately deployed. That can provide financial capacity for future emergencies, but it also explains why the size of the corpus has become a subject of political scrutiny, particularly after Congress questioned the extent of utilisation.
Looking Ahead
The key issue going forward will be how the PM CARES Fund balances its role as an emergency reserve with demands for visible utilisation of its resources. A large corpus can provide valuable financial flexibility during an unexpected crisis, but public confidence also depends on clear information about how money is received, invested and eventually deployed. The newly disclosed figures provide greater visibility into the size and broad management of the corpus, while detailed expenditure and investment information will remain important for assessing its effectiveness.
For policymakers and the public, the PM CARES disclosures also underline the importance of transparency around emergency funds. The fund was created in response to an extraordinary crisis, but its continued accumulation means its role extends beyond the original pandemic emergency. As the corpus remains substantial, future disclosures and emergency deployments will likely determine whether the fund is viewed primarily as a long-term financial safety net, an underutilised reserve, or a combination of both.
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