New Delhi: Even as the COVID-19 pandemic had its second-worst impact in India, among the world’s countries, and as its vaccine supply has suffered through many ups and downs, the PM CARES Fund, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi set up to deal “with any kind of emergency or distress situation,” failed to allocate the sum of Rs 100 crore it promised for vaccine development.
This came to light in response to a query filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
In response to the application by activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd.), the Union health ministry admitted: “So far, as information from [Health and Public Education] Division is concerned, it is stated that no funds have been received from PM CARES Fund for vaccine development.”
Batra received the reply nearly four months after he filed his application, in July 2021, and after multiple reminders filed with various authorities.
A press release from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) dated May 13, 2020, said that the Modi government will provide Rs 3,100 crore to help India’s fight against COVID-19. The release added: “To support the COVID-19 vaccine designers and developers, an amount of Rs 100 crore will be given from PM CARES Fund as a helping hand to catalyse vaccine development, which will be utilised under the supervision of Principal Scientific Advisor.”
