Coronavirus | PM CARES makes first allocations

The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, better known as PM CARES, will allocate ₹3,100 crore to COVID-19 relief, including funds for ventilators, migrant workers and vaccine development, according to an official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office on May 13 evening.

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The announcement comes one-and-a-half months after the fund was set up on March 27. There is no indication in the statement or on the PM CARES website how much money the fund has collected from donors in that time.

In order to augment the health infrastructure needed to tackle the pandemic, the PM CARES Fund Trust has decided to spend ₹2,000 crore to buy 50,000 Indian-made ventilators, which will be provided to government-run hospitals designated for COVID-19 treatment in all states and union territories, said the statement.

Another ₹1,000 crore will be used to support States’ welfare measures for migrant workers, and will help provide accommodation, food, medical treatment and transport. State-wise allocations will be determined on the basis of population (50% weightage), number of positive COVID-19 cases (40% weightage) and a 10% share split equally to ensure a basic minimum sum for all States. The money will be released to the district administration through the State Disaster Relief Commissioners, said the statement.

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PM CARES will give ₹100 crore to support those in Indian academia, start-ups and industry who are working on designing and developing a vaccine against COVID-19. The money will be spent under the supervision of the Principal Scientific Advisor.

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The PM CARES Fund Trust, which decided these allocations, is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his official capacity. Other ex-officio members are the Ministers for Defence, Finance and Home Affairs. Although the PM can nominate three eminent persons in relevant fields to the Board of Trustees, it is not known whether this has been done as yet.