Background / Origin
• Set up in January 1948 following an appeal by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
• Initial purpose → assist displaced persons from Pakistan after Partition
Current Purpose & Utilisation
• Immediate relief to families of persons killed in natural calamities
- floods, cyclones, earthquakes etc.
• Support to victims of major accidents & riots
• Medical Assistance (partial cost support) - heart surgeries
- kidney transplant
- cancer treatment
- acid attack victims
Fund Structure & Legal Status
• Not constituted by Parliament
• Recognised as a Trust under Income Tax Act
• Prime Minister = Chairperson
- assisted by officers / staff on honorary basis
• No budgetary support → consists entirely of public contributions
• Voluntary donations only (individuals / institutions)
• No conditional donations; no donations from Govt. budgets / PSU balance sheets
Financial Administration
• Corpus invested with scheduled commercial banks & similar agencies
• Disbursements approved by Prime Minister
• Operations → PMO, South Block (no licence fee payable)
• Income Tax status:
- Exempt under Section 10 & 139
- Donations eligible for 100% deduction u/s 80G
Governance / PAN
• PAN (as publicly notified) → XXXXXX637Q
UPSC Lens
• Difference between PMNRF vs PM-CARES → important prelims theme
• Trust based mechanism → not created by Act of Parliament