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—case-studies:pm-cares-not-government-rti [2026/07/10 21:57] (current) – created - external edit 127.0.0.1
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 +{{htmlmetatags>metatag-keywords=(pm cares rti, pm cares fund government rti, pmnrf vs pm cares, pm cares audit cag, pm cares transparency, pm cares RTI refusal)&metatag-description=(How RTI applications to the PMO, CAG, and Finance Ministry in 2020–2022 established on the public record that PM CARES Fund is not government money and is not subject to CAG audit — a key distinction from PMNRF.)}}
  
 +====== PM CARES is not "Government" — what RTIs revealed — citizen guide 2026 ======
 +
 +{{ :social:auto:pm-cares-not-government-rti.png?direct&1200 |PM CARES RTI case study — RTI Wiki}}
 +
 +<WRAP center round info 95%>
 +**Direct answer.** When PM CARES Fund was created in March 2020, multiple RTI applications were filed to the PMO, Finance Ministry, and CAG seeking audit access and fund structure details. The RTI replies — and the court proceedings they fed — established on the public record that PM CARES is a public charitable trust, not a government fund, and is not subject to CAG audit. This distinction matters for how donated money is accounted for.
 +</WRAP>
 +
 +On 28 March 2020, at the height of the first COVID-19 wave, the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund — PM CARES — was created. Within weeks, it had received thousands of crores in donations from citizens, corporations, and public sector companies. Citizens who wanted to know how this money was being spent naturally turned to the RTI Act.
 +
 +What they found — through the replies and the refusals — was a structural opacity that differed significantly from India's existing disaster relief fund, the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
 +
 +===== Who filed =====
 +
 +Multiple RTI applicants filed to the PMO, Finance Ministry, and CAG between April 2020 and 2022. Among those publicly documented:
 +
 +  * **Commodore Lokesh Batra** (retd.), a prolific RTI applicant, filed applications to the PMO and Finance Ministry seeking the trust deed, trustee composition, and audit arrangements for PM CARES.
 +  * **Samyak Gangwal**, an RTI activist, filed to the PMO seeking the fund's governing documents.
 +  * Several others filed to the CAG asking whether PM CARES was within the CAG's audit jurisdiction.
 +
 +The PMO's responses and the subsequent High Court proceedings were widely reported.
 +
 +===== What they asked =====
 +
 +RTI questions as reported in news coverage included:
 +
 +  - Is PM CARES Fund a "public authority" under the RTI Act, 2005?
 +  - Is PM CARES Fund audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India?
 +  - Provide a copy of the trust deed or foundation document of PM CARES Fund.
 +  - What is the composition of the Board of Trustees of PM CARES Fund?
 +  - What is the total amount received in PM CARES Fund and the total amount disbursed as of [date]?
 +  - How does PM CARES Fund differ structurally from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund?
 +
 +===== What the authorities replied =====
 +
 +**PMO:** In a reply widely reported in 2020, the PMO stated that [[cases/cic-rti-pm-cares-status-2022|PM CARES Fund is "not a Public Authority under the RTI Act, 2005"]] and therefore declined to provide information. The PMO's reply stated that the fund is a "public charitable trust" registered separately and that RTI obligations do not apply to it.
 +
 +**CAG:** The CAG, in reply to RTI applications asking about its audit jurisdiction, indicated that PM CARES Fund does not fall within its audit mandate under the CAG (DPC) Act, 1971, because it is not a government fund flowing through the Consolidated Fund of India.
 +
 +**Finance Ministry:** Confirmed that PM CARES is not a government fund and that CSR contributions to PM CARES were made eligible under the Companies Act (Schedule VII) by government notification — which had itself been challenged in court.
 +
 +The **PMNRF**, by contrast, is funded partly by government grants, is audited by the CAG, and the PM's secretariat provides information about it under RTI.
 +
 +===== What court proceedings and journalism followed =====
 +
 +**Delhi High Court (2020):** A petition seeking to bring PM CARES under CAG audit was filed. The Delhi High Court declined to direct CAG audit, holding that PM CARES was a private charitable trust. The decision was reported widely.
 +
 +**Supreme Court (2020–2021):** Several petitions challenged the structure of PM CARES. The Supreme Court declined to redirect PM CARES funds to the NDRF (National Disaster Response Fund), holding that the government had discretion in how it chose to mobilise funds for COVID response.
 +
 +**Journalism:** The Wire, Scroll, The Hindu, and LiveLaw published detailed investigations into the structural difference between PM CARES and PMNRF, using the RTI responses as the documentary foundation. Factly published a comparison table of both funds' audit status, RTI applicability, and governance.
 +
 +**Public record established:** The cumulative effect of the RTI replies and judicial proceedings was to establish — formally, on the public record — that PM CARES is not subject to CAG audit, is not a public authority under RTI, and differs structurally from PMNRF. This documentation is now cited by courts, journalists, and civil society in every comparative analysis.
 +
 +===== PMNRF vs PM CARES — the key distinctions established by RTIs =====
 +
 +^ Feature ^ PMNRF ^ PM CARES ^
 +| Public authority under RTI? | Yes | No (PMO reply) |
 +| CAG audit? | Yes | No |
 +| Contributions qualify as CSR? | Yes (limited) | Yes (notification) |
 +| Flows through Consolidated Fund? | No (trust) but government-supervised | No (private trust) |
 +| Trustees | PM + Finance Minister + others | PM + nominated ministers |
 +| Annual accounts publicly published? | Yes | Yes (trust accounts; not CAG-audited) |
 +
 +===== Why this matters for citizens =====
 +
 +**What this case proves you can do:**
 +
 +  - **RTI refusals are information.** The PMO's reply that PM CARES is "not a public authority" is itself a piece of public information — it defined the legal status of the fund on the public record. The RTI route that was closed became the documented evidence of the closure.
 +  - **Fund structure can be probed through multiple authorities.** Even when the PMO says it won't answer, the Finance Ministry, CAG, and other authorities can confirm or deny related facts. Multi-authority RTI strategy builds the complete picture.
 +  - **Journalism uses RTI as documentation, not just discovery.** The RTI responses served as citable, reproducible sources for stories that could otherwise be disputed. "The PMO replied on [date] that PM CARES is not a public authority" is a quotable, verifiable fact.
 +
 +===== Outbound citations =====
 +
 +  * PMO RTI reply on PM CARES (2020) — reported by The Wire — [[https://thewire.in|thewire.in]]
 +  * Scroll.in on PM CARES vs PMNRF structure — [[https://scroll.in|scroll.in]]
 +  * Factly comparison of PM CARES and PMNRF — [[https://factly.in|factly.in]]
 +  * LiveLaw on Delhi HC petition — [[https://livelaw.in|livelaw.in]]
 +  * The Hindu on Supreme Court petitions — [[https://thehindu.com|thehindu.com]]
 +  * PM CARES official website — [[https://pmcares.gov.in|pmcares.gov.in]]
 +
 +===== FAQ =====
 +
 +==== Can I file an RTI about PM CARES Fund today? ====
 +The PMO's position is that PM CARES is not a public authority under the RTI Act. A direct RTI to PM CARES Fund or PMO for fund details will likely be declined on this ground. However, you can file RTIs to the Finance Ministry about the CSR notification, to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs about companies' disclosures of PM CARES contributions, and to specific departments about grants received from PM CARES.
 +
 +==== Is the PMNRF subject to RTI? ====
 +Yes. The PMNRF is managed by the Prime Minister's office and operates under government supervision. The PMO has responded to RTI applications about PMNRF with information about receipts and disbursements. The annual accounts of PMNRF are also published.
 +
 +==== What happened to money donated to PM CARES for COVID? ====
 +PM CARES publishes an annual audited statement of accounts on its website at pmcares.gov.in. The accounts show receipts and disbursements. The audit is by a private chartered accountant, not the CAG — which is the point of distinction the RTI applicants and courts established.
 +
 +===== Related =====
 +
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/case-studies/start|Famous RTIs that changed India — index]]
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/case-studies/electoral-bonds-rti|Electoral Bonds: How RTIs exposed political finance opacity]]
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/case-studies/aadhaar-publicity-spend-rti|₹142 crore for Aadhaar ads — what an RTI found at UIDAI]]
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/rti-act-section-8|RTI Act Section 8 — exemptions explained]]
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/ai-rti-draft-app.html|AI RTI Drafter — file your own RTI now]]
 +===== PM-CARES fund RTI: Is it a public authority and how to get information? =====
 +
 +The PM-CARES fund's RTI status has been controversial. Here is the complete guide:
 +
 +  - **Step 1: What is PM-CARES?** (a) PM-CARES (Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations) Fund was established on March 28, 2020, (b) it was set up as a public charitable trust (not a government body — the Prime Minister is the Chairperson, and the Trustees include the Defence Minister, Home Minister, and Finance Minister), (c) the fund receives donations from individuals, companies, and foreign sources (for COVID-19 relief and other emergencies), (d) the fund has collected over Rs 10,000 crore (the exact amount is not publicly disclosed).
 +  - **Step 2: Is PM-CARES a public authority under RTI?** (a) the PM-CARES Fund has NOT been notified as a public authority under the RTI Act (the government has not included it in the list of public authorities), (b) the government's position: PM-CARES is a charitable trust (not a government body — so RTI does not apply), (c) the counter-argument: (i) the Prime Minister is the Chairperson (the fund is controlled by government functionaries), (ii) the fund receives government support (the PMO provides administrative support), (iii) the fund's operations are intertwined with the government (the trust deed references government functions), (d) the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court have heard petitions on this issue — but the matter is not fully resolved.
 +  - **Step 3: What can you ask via RTI?** (a) file RTI with the PMO (Prime Minister's Office — which is a public authority) asking for: (i) the total amount collected by PM-CARES, (ii) the total amount spent, (iii) the breakup of expenditure (heads — relief material, medical equipment, etc.), (iv) the audit report of PM-CARES, (b) the PMO may deny under Section 8(1)(d) (commercial confidence) or Section 8(1)(j) (personal information) — but the CIC has held that public interest overrides these exemptions for a fund that receives public donations.
 +  - **Step 4: Alternative routes.** (a) file RTI with the Ministry of Home Affairs (which administers disaster relief — asking for PM-CARES expenditure on disaster relief), (b) file RTI with the Ministry of Finance (asking for tax exemption details — PM-CARES has 80G and 12A exemptions), (c) file RTI with the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General — asking whether PM-CARES has been audited, and if so, request the audit report).
 +  - **Step 5: If denied.** (a) file First Appeal (argue that the PMO has the information — and the public interest in disclosure is very high), (b) file Second Appeal with the CIC (the CIC has previously ordered disclosure of PM-CARES information in some cases), (c) file a writ petition in the High Court (the court can order the government to disclose PM-CARES information — on the grounds of transparency and accountability).
 +  - **Step 6: Related transparency tools.** (a) the PM-CARES website (pmcares.gov.in) publishes some information (total collection, expenditure heads — but not detailed breakup), (b) the CAG can audit PM-CARES (the CAG has the power to audit any body that receives public funds — but it is unclear if the CAG has audited PM-CARES), (c) file a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) asking for: (i) PM-CARES to be notified as a public authority under RTI, (ii) CAG audit of PM-CARES, (iii) disclosure of PM-CARES income and expenditure.
 +  - **Step 7: Comparison with PMNRF.** (a) the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) is also a trust — but it has been audited by the CAG (the CAG audit report is public), (b) the PMNRF publishes annual reports (with income, expenditure, and breakup), (c) the PM-CARES Fund does not publish annual reports (this is a significant transparency gap), (d) the CIC has directed the PMO to disclose PM-CARES information in several orders — but compliance is inconsistent.
 +
 +See [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/guide/find-pio-2026|Find PIO]] and [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/blog/section-20-penalty-rs-250-per-day|Section 20 Penalty]].
 +
 +{{tag>pm-cares fund rti public authority pmo charitable trust transparency cag audit public interest disclosure 2026}}