New Twist: PM-CARES Fund Controlled By The Government, But RTI Doesn’t Apply

The government, in its reply, said PM-CARES is a body “owned by, controlled by and established by the government of India” but does not come under the RTI as it receives private funds.

The centre has said in a new RTI reply that the PM-CARES fund set up for Covid donations is “established by the government” and therefore a public entity, in contrast to its own recent claim on its website that the fund is private.

The government, in its reply, said PM-CARES is a body “owned by, controlled by and established by the government of India” but does not come under the RTI or Right to Information law as it receives private funds.

“This fund is completely financed by donations received from individuals/organisations/CSRs (Corporates)/foreign individuals/foreign organisations/PSUs and not at all financed by the appropriate government and administered by private individuals as trustees, which is a compulsory condition to invoke section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, therefore, PM CARES fund cannot be considered a public authority,” the RTI reply dated December 24 reads.

However, the trust deed, under which the fund was established on March 27, said it was not owned or controlled by the government.

According to NDTV, the controversy over PM-CARES’ ownership erupted earlier this month after the fund’s trust deed was made public. A clause in the document called the fund a private entity, exempting it from RTI scrutiny.

However, the fund has been registered with the revenue department of Delhi, with the prime minister as chairperson and senior ministers as trustees. The opposition has been vocal regarding the transparency of fund ahs criticised the government questioning the need to create the reserve when Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund already existed.