Contribution to PM CARES Fund falls to Rs 912 Cr in 2022-23
New Delhi, Dec 28: The total voluntary contribution to the PM CARES Fund fell to Rs 912 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23, its lowest since the public charitable trust was created in March 2020 following the COVID-19 outbreak.
A study of the audited statements on the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund website shows that the voluntary contribution peaked at Rs 7,184 crore in 2020-21 and then fell to Rs 1,938 crore in 2021-22, before declining further in 2022-23 as the Covid threat receded after 2021.
The fiscal 2022-23 is the last year for which the statement is available on the website.
Foreign contribution has seen a sharper decline, registering a high of Rs 495 crore in 2020-21, before falling to Rs 40 crore and Rs 2.57 crore in the next two years.
The total expenditure in 2022-23 was around Rs 439 crore, with Rs 346 crore of it used by the "PM Cares for Children", a government initiative to support children who lost both of their parents, legal guardians or surviving parents to the Covid pandemic.
An amount of nearly Rs 92 crore was spent on the procurement of oxygen concentrators, according to the statement.
The Narendra Modi government had set up the PM CARES Fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like the one posed by the Covid pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected. It was registered as a public charitable trust.
The prime minister is the ex-officio chairman of the body and the fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions and does not get any budgetary support.
The fund has been used over the years to boost emergency care, including for setting up oxygen plants and purchasing ventilators in hospitals run by the central and state governments as part of the larger exercise to meet the challenges posed by the pandemic.
In 2021-22, an amount of Rs 1,703 crore was spent on pressure-swing adsorption oxygen plants, besides spending Rs 835 crore on ventilators, out of a total expenditure of nearly Rs 1,938 crore.
The closing balance of the fund at the end of the 2022-23 fiscal was more than Rs 6,283 crore.
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Gehlot changes profile pic to 'Save Aravalli', asks Centre to reconsider definition
Jaipur (PTI): Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Thursday urged the Centre to reconsider its definition of the Aravallis, warning that any damage to the mountain range posed a serious threat to the ecological future of north India.
Gehlot, a former Rajasthan chief minister, changed his social media profile picture in support of the nationwide 'SaveAravalli' campaign amid growing debate over mining and environmental safeguards in the Aravalli Range.
It was his symbolic protest against the new interpretation under which hills lower than 100 metres are no longer being recognised as part of the Aravalli system, he said.
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"The Aravalli cannot be judged by tape measures or height alone. It must be assessed by its ecological importance," Gehlot said, adding that the revised definition raised "a big question" over the future of north India.
Appealing to the Centre and the Supreme Court, Gehlot said the issue must be reconsidered in the interest of future generations and environmental security. He also urged citizens to participate in the campaign by changing their display pictures online to draw attention to the issue.
He said the Aravalli range functioned as a natural green wall against the expansion of the Thar desert and extreme heatwaves, protecting Delhi, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. Opening up smaller hills and so-called gap areas for mining would allow desertification to advance rapidly, he warned.
Gehlot also flagged concerns over air pollution, saying the hills and forests of the Aravallis acted as the "lungs" of the National Capital Region by checking dust storms and absorbing pollutants.
"When pollution levels are so alarming even with the Aravalli standing, one can imagine how disastrous the situation will be without it," he said.
Highlighting the water crisis, the former chief minister said the rocky terrain of the Aravallis played a crucial role in groundwater recharge by channelising rainwater underground.
"If the hills are destroyed, drinking water shortages will intensify, wildlife will disappear and the entire ecology will be pushed into danger," he said.
Gehlot argued that, from a scientific perspective, the Aravallis was a continuous chain and that even smaller hillocks were as vital as higher peaks.
