PM CARES Fund Corpus Rises to ₹8,452 Crore

The PM CARES Fund’s corpus increased to ₹8,452.95 crore during the financial year 2024-25, with more than 93% of its assets parked in fixed deposits, according to the fund’s latest audited accounts released on Tuesday. The disclosures showed that expenditure from the fund remained minimal during the year, with only ₹87.85 lakh spent on administrative and establishment-related expenses.

The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund was established in March 2020 to support relief efforts during emergencies, including natural disasters and public health crises. The fund is financed entirely through voluntary contributions from individuals and organisations and does not receive budgetary support from the government.

According to the audited statements, the fund’s total balance stood at ₹8,452 crore as of March 31, 2025, up from ₹7,188.63 crore a year earlier. The accounts indicated that a substantial portion of the corpus remained invested in fixed deposits, reflecting a conservative investment strategy aimed at preserving resources for future emergencies.

The release of the financial data also triggered a political debate. The Congress party questioned the low level of expenditure from the fund during FY25, arguing that only a tiny fraction of the available corpus had been utilised despite the existence of multiple humanitarian and disaster-related challenges across the country. Opposition leaders sought greater clarity on the circumstances under which the funds would be deployed.

Supporters of the fund, however, argued that maintaining a large reserve enables authorities to respond quickly to unforeseen emergencies. They noted that the fund had previously financed a range of pandemic-related initiatives, including procurement of ventilators, support for migrant welfare, oxygen infrastructure and vaccine-related measures during the COVID-19 crisis. With the fund continuing to accumulate resources, questions over future spending priorities are likely to remain part of the public discussion.etermine the full extent of the damage. Hospitals in several districts reported receiving injured residents, while local governments mobilised additional resources to support rescue and relief efforts. Authorities also urged people to remain alert for possible aftershocks, which are common following major earthquakes and can pose further risks to already weakened structures.

Indonesia is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world because it sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a zone of intense seismic and volcanic activity. The country frequently experiences earthquakes of varying magnitudes, some of which have caused devastating loss of life and widespread destruction in the past.

As rescue operations continue, national and local authorities are focusing on locating survivors, providing emergency assistance and restoring essential services. The disaster has once again highlighted Indonesia’s vulnerability to powerful seismic events and the challenges of responding to emergencies across its vast island chain.