Amid having been surfaced with controversies over its transparency, the first-ever audit of PM Cares fund has revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has contributed Rs 2.25 lakh as the initial corpus to the newly established funding channel, which was formed to combat and contain the COVID-19 outbreak and to provide relief assistance for the affected people. 

The report of the audit of PM Cares Fund was made public on Wednesday through which the contribution made by the Prime Minister has come to the light and along with that, the audit report further revealed that the PM Cares Fund, which was set up on March 27, has received Rs 3,076 crore in just five days of its establishment. 

The Prime Minister has made a donation of Rs 2.25 lakh from his own savings to the funding channel which has been pooled by huge contributions from people of various walks and the contribution received is said to be deployed for the nation's fight against the COVID-19 outbreak. After the report revealed the donation made by the Prime Minister from his own savings, many BJP leaders have been lauding the Prime Minister for donating the initial corpus for the PM Cares Fund. 

The revelation has come at a high time when PM Cares Fund has been under national scrutiny on its transparency and its pipeline of receiving and deploying the funds. The Fund was set up on March 27 this year for combating and containing the pandemic and providing relief efforts to the affected people. 

The Center has been carrying out an extensive campaign asking people to contribute to the fund which neither audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) nor by the Central government. As the list of donors and handling of donations has been kept under dark, the PM Cares Fund had drawn massive flak across the nation on what has become a suspicious ambit of limiting the nation to understand the inflow and outflow of donations received. Earlier in June, the Prime Minister's office had rejected an RTI application that sought details of donations of the fund. Upon rejecting the request, the Prime Minister's office had said that the fund is not the public authority under the RTI Act.

After the audit report revealed that the fund has received Rs 3,076 crore in the first five days, Senior Congress leader and Former of Union Minister P Chidambaram asked why the names of these generous donors will not be revealed. He raised a question, "Every other NGO or Trust is obliged to reveal the names of donors contributing more than a threshold amount. Why is the PM CARES FUND exempt from this obligation?"

But the names of these generous donors will not be revealed. Why?

Every other NGO or Trust is obliged to reveal the names of donors contributing more than a threshold amount. Why is the PM CARES FUND exempt from this obligation?

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 2, 2020

Congress party and other parties have been raising concerns over the fund and its necessity for the funding channel when the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund has been in place since 1948. On the other hand, the Center has been defending the PM Cares Fund, which is chaired by the Prime Minister, by claiming the fund as a voluntary channel. The PM Cares Fund is exempted under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act making the fund to receive donations and contributions from individuals and organizations abroad.