PM CARES Fund’s Audited Accounts Missing Since FY 2022‑23, Sparking FCRA and CSR Scrutiny

PM CARES Fund: Missing Audits Raise Questions on Transparency and Accountability

The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund has not released any audited financial statements since the FY 2022‑23 filing, breaking a pattern of public disclosure that began with its inception in March 2020. The last available audit shows an opening balance of ₹5,415.65 crore, voluntary contributions of ₹909.64 crore, and a closing balance of ₹6,283.68 crore as of 31 March 2023. The silence on subsequent accounts has revived a debate over whether the trust, chaired by the Prime Minister, should be treated as a public authority under the Right to Information Act 2005.

The PM CARES Fund is a public charitable trust created to mobilise resources for health emergencies and disaster relief. It is funded entirely through voluntary contributions, including corporate social responsibility (CSR) donations from public‑sector undertakings and salary‑based contributions from government employees. Donations qualify for a 100 percent tax deduction under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act and are also counted as CSR expenditure under the Companies Act 2013.

• ▸The trust deed allows the Chairperson to nominate three eminent persons as trustees, all serving pro bono.
• ▸Contributions from CSR are treated as public money, even though the fund is presented as a private trust.
• ▸The fund enjoys exemption under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010 (FCRA), enabling foreign donations through a designated account.

Legal Status and Accountability Framework

Although the fund is registered as a public charitable trust, it has been kept outside the ambit of the RTI regime. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) retrospectively amended the Companies Act rules to reinforce this exclusion, while the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) audits only central ministries, not the trust.

• ▸The Comptroller and Auditor General of India does not audit the PM CARES accounts, creating a gap in statutory oversight.
• ▸The Ministry of Home Affairs, empowered by FCRA‑Section 13(1), can suspend or cancel registration of organisations receiving foreign funds, but has not exercised this power over the trust.
• ▸Parliamentary committees lack a mandate to examine the fund’s books, limiting legislative scrutiny.

Financial Snapshot of FY 2022‑23

The audited statements for FY 2022‑23, the most recent publicly available, reveal the scale of resources mobilised and the pattern of spending.

• ▸Opening balance: ₹5,415.65 crore; total receipts: ₹6,723.07 crore; total payments: ₹439.38 crore.
• ▸Closing balance: ₹6,283.68 crore as on 31 March 2023.
• ▸Expenditure of about ₹7,900 crore since inception includes ₹2,146.6 crore for 50,000 “Made in India” ventilators, ₹1,703.15 crore for PSA oxygen plants, ₹1,393.45 crore for COVID‑19 vaccine doses, ₹1,000 crore for migrant welfare, and ₹100 crore for vaccine development.

Why Audits Matter: RTI, CAG and Parliamentary Oversight

Transparency in public finance is a cornerstone of the Right to Information Act 2005, which obliges public authorities to disclose their accounts. When a fund receives CSR contributions—essentially public money—the expectation of accountability intensifies. Absence of audited statements hampers civil‑society monitoring, undermines fiscal discipline, and fuels speculation about fund utilisation.

• ▸RTI requests for the fund’s accounts have been denied on the ground that the trust is not a “public authority.”
• ▸Without CAG scrutiny, there is no independent verification of the private auditor’s findings.
• ▸The lack of parliamentary questioning means elected representatives cannot hold the trustees to account.

Implications of Opacity for Public Trust

The opacity surrounding the fund’s finances erodes confidence in a mechanism that was marketed as a “people’s fund.” When CSR money—derived from statutory obligations of public enterprises—flows into a trust shielded from RTI, the line between public and private accountability blurs. Moreover, the absence of regular audits makes it difficult to assess cost‑effectiveness, especially when large sums are spent on high‑value items such as ventilators and oxygen plants.

• ▸Stakeholders, including donors and beneficiaries, cannot verify whether expenditures align with the fund’s stated objectives.
• ▸Potential misuse or misallocation remains unchecked, raising fiscal risk for the exchequer if the fund’s assets are later deemed non‑recoverable.
• ▸International donors may view the exemption under FCRA as a loophole, affecting India’s reputation in global aid governance.

Way Forward

Closing the accountability gap requires a two‑pronged approach. First, a legislative amendment should bring the PM CARES Fund within the scope of the Right to Information Act 2005, ensuring that all audited statements are publicly accessible. Second, the CAG could be empowered to audit trusts that receive CSR contributions, aligning them with other central schemes such as the National Disaster Response Fund. Such measures would reinforce fiscal transparency, uphold the spirit of the Corporate Social Responsibility framework, and restore public faith in a fund that was conceived as a national safety net.