Digital Desk; The government announced the appointment of eminent personalities as trustees of the PM CARES Fund on Wednesday, including industrialist and TATA Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata, former Supreme Court judge KT Thomas, and former deputy Lok Sabha speaker Kariya Munda.
The announcement came
a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a meeting of the board
of trustees, which included the newly appointed members, as well as Union Home
Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman.
The Prime Minister's
Office issued a statement saying, "The Prime Minister welcomed the
trustees for becoming an integral part of the PM CARES Fund." The other
trustees are Sitharaman and Shah.
The Fund's advisory
board has been expanded to include former Comptroller and Auditor General Rajiv
Mehrishi, former Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murthy, and Teach for
India co-founder Anand Shah.
"The
participation of new trustees and advisors will provide wider perspectives to
the functioning of the PM CARES Fund," according to the statement.
The trustees
recognised the fund's contribution during critical times, including the PM
CARES for Children scheme, which supports 4,345 children.
"It was discussed
that PM CARES has a broader vision of effectively responding to emergency and
distress situations, not only through relief assistance, but also through
mitigation measures and capacity building," the statement continued.
The PM CARES Fund was
established as part of emergency relief measures in the event of a Covid-19
pandemic in 2020. The Prime Minister serves as the ex-officio chairperson, and
all contributions are tax-free.
Among its initiatives is the PM CARES for Children programme, which was launched last May 29 to assist children who lost both of their parents, legal guardians, adoptive parents, or surviving parents to the Covid-19 outbreak between 11 March 2020 and 28 February 2022.
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