On March 28, four days into the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the constitution of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund.
As stated in the
press release, this fund’s purpose is to specifically cater to the health and economic ramifications caused by the global pandemic. An objective of this fund is the encouragement of public participation to mitigate the issues India is currently facing. The funds collected are also aimed at
enhancing research that will help in combating the virus.
PM Modi has also allowed micro-donations, due to which donations can be made in the smallest of denominations without a requirement to donate a bare minimum amount.
With the PM-CARES public charitable trust fund set up, many citizens have come forward to support the Centre by making donations. Among the donors who have pledged their support are celebrities, sportspersons, politicians, and even industrialists, corporates and startups.
Akshay Kumar, one of the most notable names in the Indian film industry, donated a hefty amount of Rs 25 crore to the fund. “Jaan hai toh jahaan hai,” said Akshay, as he appealed to his Twitter followers to do anything and everything since this was a matter of life and death.
Kartik Aryan pledged Rs 1 crore, while Varun Dhawan donated Rs 30 lakh. Sachin Tendulkar notedly donated a sum of Rs 25 lakh to the relief fund, while cricketer Rohit Sharma donated Rs 45 lakh on March 31. Suresh Raina also followed suit by chipping in an amount of Rs 31 lakh.
Many other celebrities including Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli, Karan Johar, Sonam Kapoor, and Ayushmann Khurrana guaranteed their support to the PM-CARES Fund, however, chose to not disclose the amounts of their respective donations.
Meanwhile, Adani Foundation donated Rs 100 crore to the PM-CARES Fund, and Mukesh Ambani has reportedly donated a whopping sum of Rs 500 crore.
With the Prime Minister lauding every effort, big or small, many are heeding the call to contribute to the fund to help the government and their fellow countrymen.
“I feel that it is important to help each other during times of crisis. Even small contributions from citizens will make a huge difference and help the government in revamping facilities and add to the well-being of those affected,” Bharat SB, a Bengaluru-based techie who contributed Rs 2,000 to the fund, tells SocialStory.
Here are a few tweets from people and organisations from across the country, sharing screenshots of their donations to the PM-CARES fund,
"I donated Rs 3,000 to the fund, hoping that these funds collectively are utilised to combat this stressful time we're all going through," says Sapna P, an entrepreneur from Bengaluru.
According to the statement issued by the government, the separate fund has been created to cater to situations of emergency and distress, whether natural or otherwise, by alleviating the suffering of those affected, and controlling damage to infrastructure. The statement also mentions that the Prime Minister’s Office has been receiving numerous requests for making generous donations to support the government during the health crisis.
(Edited by Kanishk Singh)
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