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PM CARES Fund Corpus Grows Despite Falling Donations and Lower Spending in FY25

PM CARES Fund Corpus Grows Despite Falling Donations and Lower Spending in FY25

Nisha Rai
August 19, 2026

The PM CARES Fund saw a sharp fall in donations during FY 2024-25, even as its overall balance rose to Rs 8,452 crore, showing the cushion built during the Covid-19 emergency.

According to the latest audited statements, domestic contributions declined 30 per cent to nearly Rs 479 crore in FY25, from Rs 681.8 crore in FY24. Foreign donations also fell 18 per cent, reaching Rs 92.8 lakh, compared with Rs 1.13 crore a year earlier.

Domestic voluntary contributions peaked at about Rs 7,184 crore in FY21, during the pandemic. They subsequently dropped to Rs 1,896 crore in FY22 and Rs 909 crore in FY23 before reaching the latest FY25 level. Foreign contributions fell even more sharply, from a peak of Rs 495 crore in FY21 to Rs 40 crore in FY22, Rs 2.57 crore in FY23 and less than Rs 1 crore in FY25. The pattern indicates that donations were heavily driven by the exceptional needs of the pandemic and have settled at substantially lower levels since then.

Despite weaker inflows, the fund’s financial position strengthened. Its balance increased from Rs 7,173 crore on March 31, 2024, to Rs 8,452 crore a year later. About Rs 7,846 crore was held in fixed deposits and Rs 605 crore in savings bank accounts, with most of the corpus in interest-bearing instruments.

Spending also dropped sharply. The PM CARES for Children Scheme received Rs 87.8 lakh in FY25, compared with Rs 15.37 crore in FY24. Total payments during FY25 were Rs 87.85 lakh, against Rs 15.6 crore previously.

Created in 2020 as a public charitable trust, the fund responds to emergencies and receives voluntary contributions without budgetary support. During the pandemic, spending was much larger: in FY22, nearly Rs 1,938 crore was spent, including Rs 1,703 crore on oxygen plants and Rs 835 crore on ventilators.

The latest figures therefore show a clear shift: exceptional pandemic-era fundraising has given way to lower recurring donations, while the accumulated corpus remains substantial and annual utilisation has moderated significantly.