The PM CARES Fund that was set up as a public charitable trust to deal with emergencies like the Covid- 19 pandemic and to provide relief to the affected, has now grown three-fold to Rs 10,990 crore in 2020-21.
More than 7,183 crore was received as voluntary contributions while 494 crore was received from foreign contributors. An amount of Rs 3,976 was spent in 2020-21, out of which 1,311 crore went towards ventilators for government hospitals across the country and 1,000 crore was allotted to the states for migrant workers welfare schemes. Further, a sum of Rs 201.58 crore was spent on oxygen plants at public health facilities, while Rs 20.4 crore was disbursed for the upgradation of labs working on Covid vaccines.
Opposition parties have criticized the fund claiming that contributions and expenses are not transparent. However, this charge is denied by the government.
The fund’s closing balance as of March 31, 2021 stood at Rs 7,013 crore, more than double of the Rs 3,076.62 crore a year ago.
