PM Cares Fund in India

The PM Cares Fund is one of the government of India’s schemes and was enacted in March 2020 by the Prime Minister. The chairperson of this public charitable trust is the prime minister himself. 

There are other members of this trust, such as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of Home Affairs, and Minister of Finance. With the PM Cares Fund, the government claims to offer support to needy people in the form of funding for medical facilities and pharmaceutical products. The main objective of this fund is to offer support in emergency situations such as natural calamities, epidemics, and man-made disasters.

Objectives of the fund

The PM Cares Fund came into action following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the government, the fund facilitated the supply of almost 1 lakh oxygen concentrators and 50,000 ventilators to different states to reinforce public health facilities. Also, over 6 crore Covid-19 vaccines and 4,000 beds were arranged with the help of the PM Cares Fund during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The main objectives of this scheme are:

• Giving support to the common people dealing with medical emergencies, natural calamities, man-made disasters, and epidemics. This also includes providing funding for pharmaceutical drug processing and medical equipment.
• The PM Cares trustees take responsibility for passing the bill for financial assistance required.
• The fund is a scheme by which individuals as well as private and public organisations can donate voluntarily for the sake of the common people. It also accepts funding from foreign countries.
• The PM Cares Fund has the authority to investigate whether situations calling for funds are authentic or fake. The trustees take their steps accordingly and disburse the amount.

Account details for PM Cares Fund

According to the running year’s audit report, during the coronavirus pandemic, Rs.31,000 crores of donations were accepted by the fund.

• Out of the total sum, Rs.2,000 crores is said to have been donated to government hospitals to buy ventilators and oxygen concentrators. About Rs.1,000 crore was apparently used for the benefit of migrant workers and the rest was spent for vaccines and pharmaceutical facilities.
• The PM Cares Fund accepts both domestic and foreign donations from individuals and organisations.
• Donors can transfer funds through the online mode, i.e. through net banking, credit/debit cards, SWIFT transfer, NEFT, RTGS, cheques and drafts.
• One can also donate through UPI payment modes such as Google Pay, Amazon Pay, BHIM and PhonePe to the UPI ID PMCARES@SBI.
• Donations are accepted through private and public banks.
• There are particular online portals that allow donations to be made to the fund. These are: pmindia.gov.in, pmcares.gov.in, and portals of Indian public banks. 
• All the contributors get a printed receipt for their donation through all the payment methods mentioned here.

 Framework of the fund

• The PM Cares Fund is a charitable trust made for the common people. It was created in March 2020 and its address is the South Block of the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi.
• The prime minister, being the chairperson of the board of the trustees who control the activities of the PM Cares fund, chooses the other three members of the board.
• The members of the board of trustees should belong to the field of healthcare, administration, law, research, social work, or related fields. They have the legal power to grant a bill or payment concerning the fund.
• There is a joint secretary in the office of the prime minister to manage any legal procedures regarding the fund.
• The joint secretary works under an administrative officer called the deputy secretary.
• The PM Cares Fund has been designated a scheme in the public domain for which beneficiaries and donors need not pay income tax according to the Income Tax Act 1961. 

Other details for the fund

1. According to the Company Act of 2013, all donations or payments related to the PM Cares Fund should be considered as Corporate Social Responsibility expenditure.
2. The fund does not receive monetary support from the annual budget of a financial year.
3. One can donate a minimum amount of Rs.10 in this fund.
4. The spending of the fund depends on the direction of the prime minister and no parliamentary approval is needed for the same.
5. An independent auditor is appointed as a chartered accountant for the audit of the fund.

Conclusion

Along with the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF), the PM Cares Fund was said to be a successful scheme that got an outstanding response during the coronavirus pandemic. The PM Cares Fund is a public charitable fund that accepts donations from both foreign and domestic contributors. The aim of this scheme is to help the common people during emergency situations and disasters. Any individual or organisation can make donations using net banking, UPI transfer, credit or debit cards and other modes.