PM CARES vs Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund

inbatv Articles, India

A lot of confusion has been prevailing among the people since the creation of PM CARES fund by the Prime Minister Modi following the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The common question that arises among the citizens and government is why “Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund” was created when a similar “Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF)” already exists.

PMNRF was established in 1948 by the appeal of the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru for the purpose to provide funds at the time when many riots and exodus were seen during the Partition of India and Pakistan. The fund was registered as a ‘Trust’ to exempt it from Income Tax return purposes. In 1973, the entire management of PMNRF was entrusted to the Prime Minister. No change has been made since then in the PMNRF and even today it is recognized as a Trust and managed by the Prime Minister being operated from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), South Block, New Delhi. Prime Minister is the chairman of the fund and he is assisted by Officers/Staff on honorary basis as and when required. Donations and contributions to PMNRF can be made by individuals or organizations, including those based in foreign. The donation to the fund by organizations would qualify as and come under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

PM CARES was created on 28th March 2020 to deal with any emergency situation, like COVID-19 pandemic and to provide relief and assistance to the people affected by such situation. The ex-officio chairman of PM CARES is the Prime Minister and the ex-officio trustees are the Defence Minister, the Home Minister and the Finance Minister of India.

PMNRF and PM CARES are similar in many ways, such as-

  1. Both the funds accept voluntary contributions by individuals and organizations and they are neither financed by the Government nor do they get any budgetary support.
  2. Both the funds are creation of Prime Minister in his ex-officio capacity and do not come under the purview of the Government i.e. they would not be controlled, managed and governed by any Government policies.
  3. Both the funds are created for the similar causes i.e. charity and relief to the citizens. No money from the fund is used in any Government projects.
  4. The funds are not obliged under RTI to provide any information as they are not “Public Authority” under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005. (Issue regarding PMNRF not being a “Public Authority’ is pending in the Delhi High Court)
  5. Both the funds are not subject to the Audit of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.

The only substantial difference between PM CARES and PMNRF is that PM CARES accept the donations and contributions made by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

Therefore, the confusion that why a new platform is created when a similar platform already exists for the similar purposes, is legit and valid. Moreover, any changes and additions to the PMNRF could have been easily made by a supplementary Trust Deed. Also, the government has ignored the utilization of National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) on a large scale. The use of funds from NDRF would have been comparatively convenient as it is managed by the Central Government, can be audited by the CAG and comes under the ambit of RTI.

The money received under PM CARES would not be audited, would not come under the RTI so no one would know how the money is being channelized and it would get Income Tax Exemption. These facts leaves people in suspicion and question the need and authenticity of PM CARES fund as it lacks transparency.

-Ayushi Mishra

Student Reporter, INBA