Use PM CARES Fund for schools, says CJP’s Abhijeet Dipke as corpus crosses Rs 8,400 crore

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Aug 19, 2026: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has questioned why the ₹8,452-crore corpus of the PM CARES Fund is not being used to improve basic infrastructure in rural government schools.

Dipke’s remarks came after the fund’s audited financial statements showed that its corpus increased 17.8% from ₹7,173.03 crore in 2023-24 to ₹8,452.07 crore in 2024-25, despite a decline in domestic and foreign donations.

“A report came out that there is almost ₹8,500 crore in the PM CARES Fund which is not being used anywhere,” Dipke said in a video.

He said he had recently visited government schools in villages and found several lacking basic facilities, including drinking water.

“On one hand, it is being said that there are no funds for schools, and on the other hand, ₹8,500 crore is lying in the PM CARES Fund,” he said, asking why the money could not be used to build or upgrade schools.

Dipke estimated that if a well-equipped model school cost around ₹8 crore, the corpus could theoretically fund more than 1,000 such schools.

The PM CARES Fund was established on March 27, 2020, to provide relief during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is its chairperson, while the Defence, Home and Finance Ministers serve as trustees.

According to the audited statements, domestic donations fell from ₹681.81 crore in 2023-24 to ₹479.05 crore in 2024-25, while foreign donations declined from ₹1.14 crore to ₹0.93 crore. The increase in the corpus was largely attributed to interest earned on fixed deposits and refunds from implementing agencies.

The fund earned ₹469.38 crore in interest and received ₹324.66 crore in refunds during 2024-25. As of March 31, 2025, it had ₹605.41 crore in savings accounts and ₹7,846.65 crore in fixed deposits.

Expenditure from the fund also declined sharply. Spending under the PM CARES for Children Scheme fell from ₹15.38 crore in 2023-24 to ₹87.85 lakh in 2024-25, a decline of about 94%.

Dipke’s comments come amid the CJP’s ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign, launched on August 15 to highlight poor infrastructure in government schools across rural India. The campaign has called for social audits focusing on electricity, drinking water, toilets and mid-day meal facilities.

The CJP, in a post on its official account, questioned why the fund could not be used for school construction and repairs, stating, “Lack of funds was never the problem. Lack of intent is.”