The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) was created on 27 March 2020. The PM CARES Fund is registered as a Public Charitable Trust, with its trust deed duly registered under the Registration Act, 1908, in New Delhi on 27 March 2020. The notice issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, which stated that questions regarding the PM CARES Fund, relief programs, and defence funds are inadmissible in Parliament, has gained much attention.
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Key Highlights
- PM CARES Fund
- What has PMO stated?
- Directive and Reasoning by PMO
- Consolidated Fund of India (CFI)
- PMO’s Statements Implications for Parliamentary Accountability
- Sociality of Debate and Dimensions of Governance in India
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The Prime Minister Fund (PM CARES Fund) was created on 27 March 2020. The recent Lok Sabha Secretariat directive by the Prime Minister's (PMO) office, barring questions on PM CARES, relief, and defence funds, has elicited high debate among parliamentarians and the general discourse. The rationale behind the PMO justification lies in the fact that such money is formed by 100 percent voluntary contributions and has no relation to the Consolidated Fund of India and is thus not subject to legislative committee regulation. This situation raises acute questions about the extent of parliamentary accountability, the boundaries of executive discretion, and whether the financial governance in India is transparent. The significance of the directive lies in its suggestion of consequences for parliamentary answerability. As these funds are not provided by the Consolidated Fund of India but by voluntary contributions, they do not undergo the traditional scrutiny by the legislature. Consequently, some concerns have been raised regarding transparency and government accountability. It highlights the conflict between procedural regulations and the democratic demands of external examination.
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What is PM CARES Fund?
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| On 27 March 2020, the PM CARES Fund (Prime Minister's Citizens Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund) was established as a public charitable trust, in this case to offer support during emergencies, as in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic. This trust is incorporated under the Registration Act, 1908, and the Prime Minister is the ex officio Chairman, and senior ministers are the trustees. It is not based on the Consolidated Fund of India and its corpus is solely based on voluntary contributions including foreign contributions, thus not under parliamentary control.
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PM CARES Fund- What has PMO stated?
On 5 June 2020, the Prime Minister's Office stated that the PM CARES fund did not qualify as a public authority for the purposes of the Right to Information Act 2005, and accordingly refused to disclose a copy of the trust deed that established the fund, any government circulars or documents. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has made a new arrangement where a letter has been addressed to the Lok Sabha Secretariat stating that questions regarding PM CARES, the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF), and the National Defence Fund (NDF) are not admissible under the parliamentary rules.
Parliamentary Context of PMO’s Statement
Reportedly, this stance was announced on the day of 30 January 2026 by the PMO, referring to the provisions of Rule 41 (2) (viii) and Rule 41 (2) (xvii) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Lok Sabha. These clauses contain limitations on whether questions are not directly connected with the government functions or refer to issues that the legislature cannot supervise. Its non-governmental nature was further enhanced by the establishment of the PM CARES Fund on 27 March 2020 in the event of the COVID-19 pandemic, an institution that was registered as a public charitable trust in the Registration Act, 1908.
Directive and Reasoning by PMO
The argument of the PMO pointed out how the corpus of these funds is all made out of voluntary contributions by the people without any contribution on the part of the Consolidated Fund of India. This difference is important in that parliamentary accountability is conventionally applied to funds that are raised by the Consolidated Fund. The PMO, therefore, claimed that the inquiries about such funds are not within the powers of the parliament to inquire about. This distinction has also been endorsed by the Supreme Court, which simply stated that PM CARES does not have to be confused with statutory disaster relief systems and refused to order its audit under the Comptroller and Auditor General.
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Consolidated Fund of India (CFI)
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Consolidated Fund of India (CFI) is the principal account of the Government of India, which has been created in accordance with Article 266 of the Constitution of India. All revenues received by the Union, such as the income tax, the customs duties, corporate taxes, the loans, and the repayments, etc., are all put in this fund. Relatively, all government spending is obtained out of it, subject to parliamentary approval through appropriation acts. CFI is divided into revenue and capital accounts, hence maintaining fiscal discipline and transparency in the management of public finance.
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Voluntary Contributions in PM CARES
The PMO further clarified that these are entirely voluntary fund contributions by the citizens and can never be appropriated at all by the Consolidated Fund of India. This definition is critical, considering the fact that parliamentary control has always been actualised only in terms of funds that are disbursed through the Consolidated Fund. Its extra-governmental nature is also firmly embedded in the very fact that the PM CARE Fund is a Public Charitable Trust, registered in accordance with the Registration Act, 1908.
Judicial Endorsement on PM CARES
This stance has been followed by the Supreme Court, which declared PM CARES to be a separate entity as compared to the statutory disaster relief agencies like the National Disaster Response Fund and even refused to require audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General. This legal mandate constitutes reinforcement to the legal and procedural basis of the exclusion of these kinds of funds from parliamentary scrutiny.
PMO’s Statements Implications for Parliamentary Accountability
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has communicated to the Lok Sabha Secretariat that questions, Zero Hour notices and special mentions relating to the PM CARES Fund, the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF), and the National Defence Fund (NDF) are not permissible in Parliament. This position, conveyed on 30 January 2026, is based on the rationale that these funds are supported by voluntary public contributions and do not draw resources from the Consolidated Fund of India, placing them outside the scope of direct parliamentary oversight. The ban of parliamentary questions on PMNRF and PM CARES, as well as the National Defence Fund by PMO, has major implications on the accountability of parliaments, which raises issues concerning transparency, accountability, and democracy.
Limiting Parliamentary Scrutiny in India
Parliament is a traditional forum where elected members question the government on social issues of concern. Through the ineligibility of such funds before the parliament, the parliament is limiting, in effect, the efforts of the Members of Parliament to seek clarifications on how funds will be spent. It is reported that PMCARES has already received thousands of crores in contributions since its creation in 2020, and the initiatives of the organization are not subject to the discussion of parliament.
Issue of Trust Deficit in Governance
The lack of parliamentary control can create a lack of trust among people. Even though PMO claims that since voluntary contributions work against the scrutiny of such funds, critics remind that the Prime Minister and senior cabinet members are trustees, thus blurring public and private responsibility. This two-fold ability is associated with questions on whether legislative checks are mandated by executive participation.
Democratic Vulnerability in India
The empirical research on parliamentary practices reinforces the key position of accountability mechanisms in the area of democratic governance. Omitting the large-scale funds from the scrutiny of the parliament, therefore, poses some threat to the checking and balancing mechanism of the institutions. Analysts argue that without transparency in fund management, there can be no sustained citizen confidence, and democracy is kept at bay.
Sociality of Debate and Dimensions of Governance in India
The directive given by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) not to investigate the PM Care, PMNRF, and the National Defence Fund has brought out a lot of debate amongst the public, raising issues related to governance, openness, and accountability through democracies.
Reactions and Criticism on PMO’s Statement
PM CARES received significant donations of several crores in the year, but has left a negative impression by its exclusion from Parliamentary scrutiny. Opponents argue that acting as trustees would lose the separation between a private charity trust and a government agency by being the Prime Minister and a senior minister. This conflict of interest has increased calls to seek greater levels of transparency and an external audit of the operations of the fund.
Governance Implications of PMO’s Statement
The political aspects of this discussion concern whether the voluntary contributions should still be subject to the scrutiny of parliament when implemented by government officials. Observers note the institutional checks and balances on such funds by not subjecting them to questioning in a legislative process, which may consequently undermine democratic traditions.
Broader Democratic Connotations by PMO’s Statement
The tension between legality and the democratic expectations is highlighted in the public discourse. Though the PMO defends its inadmissibility with references to regulations, many scholars believe that fund management transparency is the key to perpetuating citizen trust. The discussion, therefore, is not limited to technical rules as it goes further and gets into the realms of morality underlying governance and the question of Parliament in ensuring accountability.
Conclusion
Finally, the directive of the PMO that does not allow parliamentary inquiries concerning PM Cares, PMNRF, and the National Defence Fund shows a serious conflict between the legality of the procedure and democratic accountability. Although the government points out that these amounts are voluntary and not part of the Consolidated Fund of India, the fact that these amounts are not subject to parliamentary scrutiny prompts more general queries on the issues of transparency, institutional control, and citizen confidence. This discussion explains why there is a need to harmonize the ethics of governance and the rules of procedures so that accountability in financial management is achieved in democratic institutions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
To provide financial assistance, including grants or monetary payments, or to undertake any other measures deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees for the benefit of the affected population.
In April 2020, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Manohar Lal Sharma that challenged the legality of the constitution of the PM CARES Fund in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, characterising the petition as misconceived.
The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) addresses a wide range of natural disasters and calamities, including cyclones, earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis. Its funds are also used to provide assistance for acid attack victims and to support medical treatments such as cancer care and kidney transplants. In contrast, the PM CARES Fund was established specifically to meet requirements arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and is used exclusively for COVID-19–related purposes.
The PM CARES Fund (Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund) is a public charitable trust established in India to provide emergency relief, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. It supports healthcare, research, and disaster response through voluntary public contributions, offers 100% tax exemption to donors, and is administered by the Prime Minister along with nominated trustees. Although separate from government budgetary allocations, the fund is audited by independent auditors to ensure transparency.
Eligibility for assistance from India’s Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) typically applies to individuals affected by natural or man-made disasters or facing serious medical conditions such as cancer or cardiac ailments, who lack sufficient financial resources for treatment. Applicants are generally required to demonstrate low income—often below ₹1.25 lakh per annum—and submit supporting documentation, including medical certificates, income proof, and valid identity and residence documents.