PM Cares Fund not Come Under the Purview of RTI

The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund was introduced to withstanding, resisting and doing relief work against the COVID-19 pandemic and other such high emergency situations. It is also termed as  PM CARES Fund. The legal documentation that needs to be done for the fund constitution is not released publicly. The Indian government states that the chairman of the fund is the Prime Minister of India, who is currently Narendra Modi. The trustees involved are Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and Nirmala Sitharaman. 

PM CARES Fund does not come under the purview of RTI

The officials responsible and accountable for the answers regarding the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund have reported the Fund as a “Public charitable trust”. However, the government’s claim earlier was that it is a private fund. The government did not accept that this fund is a public trust because of laws that were into transparency like Right to Information (RTI) 2005. Due to the government’s claim, the funds have been criticised. An application was circulated because of the use of the national emblem of India. Any private entity can not use the national symbol. The public raised many doubts regarding the Funds’ establishment and functioning. Later the government accepted that this fund was a public fund in December 2020. Although, the government has not yet disclosed the internal data. The Indian government should be stringent to provide greater transparency. After all the government’s claim, the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund is yet not subject to the Right to Information (RTI) 2005 Act. 

Income and expenditure via PM CARE Fund

The amount received by the fund and the expenditure done from the fund are not yet disclosed to the public. However, a statement was updated in September 2020 on the official website of the PM CARES showing the total figure that was donated between March 27, 2019, to March 31 2020. The amount was ₹30.76 billion. However, the government has to be strongest to provide greater transparency. The identities of the donors were not disclosed publicly. Many individuals and companies estimated the approximate donation gained by the PM CARES Fund. Based on available reports, the Times of India estimated that the funds from private-sector corporations constitute 53 per cent of the total funds. Public sector undertakings constitute 42 per cent, and the 5 per cent remaining is from individuals.

It should be noted that the donations from private and public sector employees are counted in it. Micro-donations are possible with the fund. The minimum donation can be ₹ 10. 

Conclusion

The government’s claim regarding the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund has raised doubts about accountability and transparency. The exemption from audits was another big question among the citizens as it was countering the government’s claim. The government later stated that the fund trust appoints independent auditors to audit the funds. To avoid criticism, the Indian government also started to generate donation receipts. Many fraudulent accounts were also created to scam people in the name of the PM CARES Fund. The press bureau of India updated many clarifications on social media handles to avoid cheating people. The Indian government should be stringent to provide greater transparency.