Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 20 September chaired a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the PM CARES Fund in New Delhi, where he welcomed the newly nominated Trustees and Advisors for becoming an integral part of the PM CARES Fund.

The newly nominated trustees of the PM CARES Fund are Justice K T Thomas, Former Judge, Supreme Court; Kariya Munda, Former Deputy Speaker; and Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons.

The Trust further nominated the following eminent persons for constitution of Advisory Board to PM CARES Fund. They are Rajiv Mehrishi, Former Comptroller and Auditor General of India; Sudha Murthy, Former Chairperson, Infosys Foundation; and Anand Shah, Co-founder of Teach for India, and Former CEO of Indicorps and Piramal Foundation.

The prime minister said participation of the new trustees and advisors will provide wider perspectives to the functioning of the PM CARES Fund. Their vast experience of public life would impart further vigour in making the fund more responsive to various public needs, he said.

At the meeting, a presentation was made on the various initiatives undertaken with the help of PM CARES Fund, including the PM CARES for Children scheme which is supporting 4345 children.

The PM CARES for Children scheme supports children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian or adoptive parents due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Also at the meeting, the Trustees appreciated the role played by the fund at a crucial time for the country and Modi thanked the people of the country for contributing wholeheartedly to PM CARES Fund.

Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) is a public charitable trust set up keeping in mind the need for having a dedicated fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected.

The Prime Minister is Chairperson (ex-officio) of the PM CARES Fund and Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance, Government of India are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund.

The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of PM CARES Fund has the power to nominate three trustees to the Board who shall be eminent persons in the field of research, health, science, social work, law, public administration and philanthropy. All the Trustees of the PM CARES Fund act in a pro bono capacity.