According to the latest audited statement, the PM CARES Fund, which was set up to deal with emergencies like the Covid epidemic, saw its corpus virtually triple to Rs 10,990 crore in the 2020-21 fiscal year, while the disbursal increased to Rs 3,976 crore.
The funds were disbursed in two parts: Rs 1,000 crore for migrant welfare and around Rs 1,392 crore for Covid vaccination dosage procurement.
During the fiscal year, the fund received roughly Rs 494.91 crore in international donations and over Rs 7,183 crore in voluntary contributions.
The fund got Rs 3,076.62 crore in contributions in 2019-20, which was collected in just five days after it was established on March 27, 2020, with an initial corpus of Rs 2.25 lakh.
The ‘Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund)’, according to its website, is made up “entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organizations and does not get any budgetary support.”
A portion of the funds was utilized to purchase medical equipment, such as ventilators, to aid in the fight against COVID-19, as well as to provide relief to migrants.
