Excluding the opening balance, the PM CARES Fund received a total of Rs. 1,279.91 crore during the financial year 2024-25.
NEW DELHI (India CSR): The PM CARES Fund closed financial year 2024-25 with a balance of Rs. 8,452.07 crore, up from Rs. 7,173.03 crore a year earlier, according to the latest audited receipts and payments statement. The figures show a notable change in how the corpus is held: Rs. 7,846.65 crore, or nearly 93%, was in fixed deposits as on 31 March 2025. The audited statement also shows that the fund earned Rs. 475.14 crore in bank interest during the year. Of this, Rs. 469.38 crore came from fixed deposits. Domestic donations stood at Rs. 479.05 crore, while refunds from implementing agencies added Rs. 324.66 crore.
The PM CARES Fund’s FY 2024-25 receipts and payments account was audited by KKC & Associates LLP, Chartered Accountants (formerly Khimji Kunverji & Co LLP), with the audit report dated 7 August 2026.
The document indicates that the fund’s balance grew by about Rs. 1,279 crore during the year, even as recorded payments were Rs. 87.85 lakh.
A corpus built largely on deposits
As on 31 March 2025, the PM CARES Fund held:
| Component | 31 March 2024 | 31 March 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Savings bank accounts | Rs. 531.47 crore | Rs. 605.41 crore | Rs. 73.94 crore |
| Fixed deposits | Rs. 6,641.57 crore | Rs. 7,846.65 crore | Rs. 1,205.08 crore |
| Total closing balance | Rs. 7,173.03 crore | Rs. 8,452.07 crore | Rs. 1,279.03 crore |
Fixed deposits accounted for 92.84% of the closing corpus in 2024-25. Savings accounts represented the remaining 7.16%.
This matters because the fund is now deriving a substantial stream of income from its accumulated balance. Interest income of Rs. 475.14 crore was almost equal to the year’s domestic donations of Rs. 479.05 crore. Put simply, interest earnings became nearly as important as fresh domestic contributions in expanding the fund during the year.
Receipts in 2024-25: interest leads the inflow mix
PM CARES Fund receives Rs. 1,279.91 crore during FY 2024-25
| Source of receipt | Amount |
|---|---|
| Domestic donations, net of refunds | Rs. 479.05 crore |
| Foreign donations, net of refunds | Rs. 0.93 crore |
| Interest on savings accounts | Rs. 5.76 crore |
| Interest on fixed deposits | Rs. 469.38 crore |
| TDS refund on FD interest | Rs. 0.13 crore |
| Refunds from implementing agencies | Rs. 324.66 crore |
| Total receipts during FY 2024-25 | Rs. 1,279.91 crore |
The interest figure deserves closer attention. Fixed-deposit interest alone was only Rs. 9.67 crore lower than domestic donations. This means the fund’s financial growth is increasingly supported by returns on its existing corpus, rather than only by new donations.
Limited recorded payments during the year
The audited receipts and payments account records total payments of Rs. 87.85 lakh in FY 2024-25.
| Payment head | Amount |
|---|---|
| PM CARES for Children Scheme | Rs. 87.84 lakh |
| Bank and SMS charges | Rs. 451 |
| Total payments | Rs. 87.85 lakh |
The payment figure is small in relation to both the annual receipts and the closing corpus. However, the receipts-and-payments statement is a cash-flow document. By itself, it does not establish whether there are prior commitments, sanctioned projects, implementation schedules, or obligations that may lead to expenditure in future years. It does, however, show that cash outgo recorded in FY 2024-25 was limited.
Important clarification on the Rs. 6,641 crore figure
The figure of Rs. 6,641.57 crore in fixed deposits was the position at the start of FY 2024-25 – effectively the closing position on 31 March 2024. By 31 March 2025, fixed deposits had risen to Rs. 7,846.65 crore. Therefore, the latest audited statement does not show Rs. 6,641 crore as the amount parked in fixed deposits at the end of FY 2024-25; it shows Rs. 7,846.65 crore.
The history of PM CARES Fund
The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, commonly known as PM CARES Fund, was constituted as a public charitable trust on 27 March 2020, during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its trust deed was registered in New Delhi under the Registration Act, 1908.
The stated purpose was to create a dedicated fund capable of responding to public-health emergencies, natural calamities, man-made emergencies and other distress situations. Its mandate includes support for healthcare facilities, pharmaceutical infrastructure, research, relief assistance and grants for affected people.
The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairperson of the trust. The Union Ministers for Defence, Home Affairs and Finance are ex-officio trustees. The official website states that the fund is based entirely on voluntary contributions and does not receive budgetary support. Donations qualify for 100% deduction under Section 80G and are eligible to be counted as CSR expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013. PM CARES Fund: About and audited accounts
From pandemic-response fund to a large financial corpus
PM CARES received an exceptional public response in its first days. In FY 2019-20, it received more than Rs. 3,076 crore in contributions in the brief period after its creation. The following year was the height of the pandemic response. The audited accounts for FY 2020-21 showed total funds available of Rs. 10,990.17 crore, including the opening balance, donations, foreign contributions, interest and refunds. The fund recorded disbursements of about Rs. 3,976 crore during that year, including support for ventilators, oxygen infrastructure, migrant welfare, COVID-19 vaccines and testing capacity. The closing balance then stood at about Rs. 7,014 crore.
As the immediate public-health emergency eased, the fund’s role evolved. Subsequent years saw expenditure on oxygen plants, ventilators, oxygen concentrators and the PM CARES for Children Scheme, which supports children who lost parents or legal guardians during the pandemic. In FY 2022-23, the audited accounts recorded expenditure of about Rs. 439 crore, including substantial spending on the children’s scheme and oxygen concentrators. The latest figures show another stage in that journey: a large corpus being maintained predominantly in fixed deposits, generating meaningful interest income while the fund’s annual cash expenditure remains modest.
What the latest accounts indicate
The 2024-25 accounts suggest three broad developments. First, PM CARES has retained substantial financial capacity. A corpus of Rs. 8,452 crore gives the trust the ability to respond to future large-scale emergencies, subject to decisions of its trustees and the fund’s stated objectives. Second, fixed deposits have become central to the fund’s financial position. The rise in FD holdings by more than Rs. 1,205 crore in a single year increased the fund’s interest-generating base.
Third, public disclosures would be more useful if they enabled readers to connect three elements easily: money held, money committed, and money spent. The audited statement provides a clear annual cash position. Project-wise disclosures, implementation timelines and updates on pending commitments would provide a fuller picture of how the corpus is being deployed over time.
PM CARES Fund and CSR: What the government circulars provide
Contributions to the PM CARES Fund are eligible to be treated as Corporate Social Responsibility expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs clarified through General Circular No. 15/2020, dated 10 April 2020, that donations made to the PM CARES Fund qualify as CSR spending under Item (viii) of Schedule VII of the Act. Earlier, through General Circular No. 10/2020, dated 23 March 2020, the Ministry had also clarified that CSR spending on COVID-19-related activities could be undertaken under Schedule VII provisions covering healthcare and disaster management. For companies, this means a contribution to PM CARES may be counted towards their statutory CSR obligation, subject to the usual board approval, disclosure and reporting requirements. The fund’s official website also states that such donations qualify as CSR expenditure and are eligible for 100% deduction under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act. MCA circulars
Auditor’s public profile
The FY 2024-25 PM CARES Fund statement was audited by KKC & Associates LLP, formerly Khimji Kunverji & Co LLP. The firm has drawn public attention because one of its senior partners, CA Ketan S. Vikamsey, has held a position on the Central Board of the State Bank of India. SBI’s official disclosure records his re-election as a director under Section 19(c) of the SBI Act for the period from 26 June 2023 to 25 June 2026, while KKC identifies him as a senior partner and head of its assurance practice. These are verifiable professional and public-sector associations. However, an appointment to a public-sector bank board or an audit engagement for PM CARES Fund should not, by itself, be presented as evidence of a political affiliation or party relationship. Any such claim requires clear, independent documentary evidence. SBI disclosure, KKC profile
CA Ketan S Vikamsey is a senior partner at KKC & Associates LLP (formerly Khimji Kunverji & Co LLP), Chartered Accountants, a firm established in 1936. He holds a Certification on IFRS by ICAI; Diploma in Information System Audit (DISA) of ICAI; and Certification in IT and Cyber Security for Board Members by IDRBT, Hyderabad. He is registered as an Independent Director with the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs. He comes with over thirty years’ experience in the areas of audit of large banks, manufacturing concerns, Investment Banks, Insurance Companies and Mutual Funds. He is a regular Speaker/ Chairman, at various seminars, meetings, lectures held by ICAI, Regional Councils of ICAI, Branches & Study Circles of ICAI, RBI, C&AG and several other organisations. He is a Trustee at Vipassana Research Institute, Igatpuri and Shri V L Vidyarthigriha – a NGO operating a modern Hostel facility in the heart of Mumbai with a capacity of over 150 students. He is a wildlife and nature lover, having keen interest in professional photography, having widely travelled across the world, with a passion for exploring new places and varied interesting cultures.
Source: PM CARES Fund, Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31 March 2025, audited on 7 August 2026 and made public on the PM CARES website.
