DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

GS-II : Governance RTI

20 August, 2020
5 Min Read

Need for transparency: On PM CARES Fund

Context

The Supreme Court has rejected a writ petition calling for a funds diversion from this PM CARES to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and also denied the petitioners’ demand that the “public charitable trust” be audited by the CAG, questions remain about its need, operation and its persisting lack of transparency.

Supreme Court’s decision

A three-judge Bench asserted that no exception could be taken to the constitution of yet another public charitable trust at a time of a raging COVID-19 pandemic.
But the need for a fresh trust when there is the PM’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) with a substantial corpus in place is not clear.
Since the PM CARES Fund existed independent of budgetary support or government money, the Court’s reasoning was that there was “no occasion” for a CAG audit.
However, the concern is not about the legal basis or the absence of a CAG audit, or whether it is superfluous or indeed essential.
As responses to RTI queries on the Fund reveal, the government is not forthcoming on questions on its transparency or accountability.

Lack of transparency

Queries on the trust deed for the Fund, and its creation and operation have been summarily dismissed by arguing that the Fund was not a “public authority” even though the PM is its ex-officio chairman and three Cabinet ministers are its trustees.
And, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had also treated it as a fund set up by the Centre.
Since the trust was created, lakhs of public and private sector employees have donated a day’s salary to it, with some of them claiming that this deduction was done without their explicit consent.
Many public sector units and corporate entities too have made donations because of a proviso allowing uncapped corporate donations that would qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.
Earlier, a government panel had rightly suggested that the double benefit of tax exemption would be a “regressive incentive”.
Thus far, the exact amount of donations and a clear break-up of the expenditure from the fund have not been provided apart from an announcement in May that 3,100 crores had been sanctioned from it to be spent on ventilators, migrant worker welfare and vaccine development.
States have led the response to COVID-19 and their resources have increasingly been stretched by the continuing rise in infections and deaths, which have crossed the 2.8 million and 54,000 mark, respectively.

Conclusion

At the very least, RTI requests that seek to understand how funds are being received and how they are being disbursed so far should be seen as legitimate.
Also, more needs to be done by the government to public donations to the more accountable NDRF which allows for a transfer of funds to States.

Source: TH

Join Our Telegram

India–Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreem

India–Azerbaijan

05 Apr, 26
SHARE

A year after tensions arising from Operation Sindoor, India and Azerbaijan have taken steps to restore and normalise bilateral relations. The 6th round of Foreign Office Consultations, held in Baku, marked the first such engagement since 2022, signaling renewed diplomatic momentum. Recent Diplomatic Engagement During the consultations, bo

India–Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreem

04 Apr, 26
SHARE

The India–Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement has completed four years since its signing. Both countries now aim to build on this progress through strengthened collaboration and ambitious targets, including reaching AUD 100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030. What is the India–Australia Economic Cooperation and Tra

ADR Report on Political Funding

03 Apr, 26
SHARE

A recent report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) analyses donations of ?20,000 or more declared to the Election Commission of India (ECI) by national political parties for FY 2024–25, highlighting transparency and accountability in political financing. Key Findings Massive Funding Surge Total donations to nationa

Maritime Chokepoints

03 Apr, 26
SHARE

Maritime chokepoints are narrow channels along global shipping routes where maritime traffic is concentrated. These points are geopolitically and economically critical, as they handle a large proportion of global trade, especially energy shipments. Current Relevance Over two-thirds of seaborne energy trade passes through a handful o

US-Israel-Iran War

01 Apr, 26
SHARE

Following the launch of Operation Epic Fury (U.S.) and Operation Roaring Lion (Israel), the geopolitical landscape has shifted fundamentally with the confirmed death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Iran retaliated through Operation True Promise 4, launching missile attacks against Israel and nearby Gulf states. The escala

Quick Links Testimonials FAQ

Crash Course

Regular Modules 2024

Mains

Optional

Need for transparency: On PM CARES Fund

Need for transparency: On PM CARES Fund

India–Azerbaijan

India–Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreem

ADR Report on Political Funding

Maritime Chokepoints

US-Israel-Iran War

DNA

05 Apr,2026

Important GS Topics

Toppers

Search By Date

Top Editorials

UPSC Courses

Saarthi Mentorship Programme

Important Tags

Articles:Geography And Environment

Articles: History Culture Society

Articles: Governance & National Issues

Articles: IR & IO

Articles: Economic Development & Economic Issues

Articles: S&T Internal Security

Articles: Ethics & Others

Articles: Others

Newsletter Subscription

SMS Alerts

Important Links