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What is PM National Relief Fund?
The Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was established in 1948 in pursuance of an appeal by then PM Jawaharlal Nehru entirely with public contributions to mitigate the consequences of untold disasters and consequent human flights to escape misery and destitution.
Nehru's appeal at that time to create the fund was to assist displaced people fleeing from Pakistan.
The PM National Relief Fund has not been constituted by Parliament and thus is recognised as a Trust under the Income Tax Act. The fund is governed by a managing body including the Prime Minister or multiple delegates for national causes. The managing committee also consisted of a representative from the business sector, as originally envisaged by PM Nehru till 1985.
In 1985, when Rajiv Gandhi was the PM, the management of the fund was handed over to the prime minister. Since then, the PM has had the sole discretion of appointing an official to manage the fund. No separate office or staff is assigned for managing PMNRF. No remuneration is paid to the official for managing the fund which is considered as an honorary function. Under PMNRF, the resources of the fund is purely at the 'discretion of the PM and in accordance with the PM's directions' and therefore the right for disbursement of money and selection of beneficiaries is also handled by the PM.
How is PMNRF used?
The PMNRF is used to provide urgent relief to families of those killed in natural calamities like floods, cyclones and earthquakes, etc and also to the victims of major accidents and riots.
PMNRF can also be utilised to provide the expenses for medical treatment like heart surgeries, kidney transplantation, cancer treatment, etc of needy people.
Key features of PMNRF
• Formed in 1948 by Jawaharlal Nehru before the Constitution came into force.
• The Indian National Congress president was part of the managing committee when the fund was created.
• PMNRF is not a constituent of Parliament and is recognised as a Trust.
• PMNRF runs entirely on contributions and gets no budgetary allocations.
• PMNRF accepts contributions from individuals, organisations, trusts, companies, institutions, etc.
• Account not audited by Comptroller Auditor General of India or CAG. The vetting of the fund has been done by third party till date.
• Contributions also qualify as CSR (corporate social responsibility) spend for companies, making it more attractive in terms of tax exemptions.
• All contributions made towards PMNRF are exempt from IT Act under section 80(G).
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