PM CARES Has ₹8,452 Cr. But Where Is The Money Going? | LME 158 | Pooja Prasanna

PM CARES was created to deal with emergencies and distress situations. But by the end of 2024–25, the fund had a closing balance of ₹8,452 crore — while spending just ₹87.85 lakh during the financial year. The latest accounts raise bigger questions. Why is 93% of the fund’s money being kept in fixed deposits? Who are its donors? Why is PM CARES outside the ambit of the RTI and CAG audit? What explains the lack of detailed disclosure on its spending? And has the fund diverted corporate CSR money away from civil society organisations working on the ground? In this episode of Let Me Explain, Pooja Prasanna examines what the latest PM CARES accounts reveal, what they leave unanswered, and why a fund holding thousands of crores continues to face questions over transparency and accountability. Produced by Megha Mukundan, script by Dhanya Rajendran, edit by Nikhil Sekhar ET, camera by Ajay R Whether PM CARES or not, The News Minute cares about bringing you the truth. Like Pooja's LME? Support the show: https://rzp.io/rzp/support-lme Subscribe to Newslaundry: https://pages.razorpay.com/nlsm Join the NL-TNM Book Club: https://www.newslaundry.com/book-club Join us on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va61... Download the accessible Newslaundry app: https://www.newslaundry.com/download-app Follow and engage with us on social media: Facebook:   / newslaundry   Twitter:   / newslaundry   Instagram:   / newslaundry