New Delhi: A new discussion going on over the use of PM CARES Fund, following Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) who had called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to use fund for upgrading government schools in India.
This has made Dipke wonder that despite the huge fund being placed in PM CARES, many government schools, particularly in the villages, continue to grapple with several elementary issues like lack of drinking water, facilities, etc, and need of better buildings and benches. He has initiated the ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign to raise awareness about the situation of rural schools.
As per the latest audited data, the balance of PM CARES Fund on March 31, 2025 was ₹8,452 crore. This turned up to be ₹7,173 crore more than a year earlier. In financial year (FY) 2024-25, payments received through the fund totaled approximately ₹87.85 lakh. The audit report also revealed that over ₹7,846 crore was invested in fixed deposits and around ₹605 crore in savings accounts.
Dipke has proposed the funds to be allocated for constructing and upgrading schools. He asserted that the money of ₹8,500 crore could be used to build more than 1,000 schools like the modern model school, assuming that it costs ₹8 crore per school. He is primarily asking for the enhancement of children’s facilities for the rural and government schools.
Will PM Modi Respond?
So far there is no official reply in public domain from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister Office (PMO) about how they will fund their school infrastructure demand with the PM CARES fund.
It is also to be noted that PM CARES is not a regular fund of Government. As per official PM CARES website, it is a public charitable trust, which was established primarily for assisting in times of public health emergencies, disasters and distress situations. The fund can provide support for healthcare facilities, infrastructure, research and other assistance that has been approved in line with the objectives of the fund.
Hence the sum of ₹8,452 crore cannot be taken for granted to be going directly to schools. If the trustees decided to use the fund for education, it would be done in accordance with the laws governing the Trust.
For now, Dipke’s demand has shifted the spotlight to an important question: How to utilise the unutilised or available money from PM CARES for the immediate problem of infrastructure in government schools?
The government will have to wait and see if it will accept the proposal until it officially declares so by the Prime Minister or the PM CARES trustees. So far, no confirmation that PM Modi has decided to use the PM CARES Fund for the improvement of Schools.
