On 21^st September, 2022, the Government of India appointed Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata, alongside two others, as the Trustees of the PM CARES Fund. Two other members are former Supreme Court judge KT Thomas and former Deputy Speaker Kariya Munda.

The decision was announced a day after PM Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the PM CARES Fund, which was attended by the newly nominated trustees of the PM CARES Fund. The Prime Minister’s Office informed that PM CARES has a larger vision of responding to emergency and distress situations, not only through relief assistance but also by taking mitigation measures and capacity building. PM Modi welcomed the Trustees, saying their participation would provide wider perspectives on the functioning of the PM CARES Fund, “Their vast experience of public life would impart further vigour in making the fund more responsive to various public needs.”

The PM CARES Fund, a public charitable trust, was created during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the primary aim of dealing with any emergency / distress situations, like that posed by the pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected individuals. The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organizations and does not receive any budgetary support. The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairman of the PM CARES Fund. As per Centre’s data, a total of ₹7,031.99 crore was collected under PM CARES Fund between 2020-21.

The Centre also nominated three eminent persons for the advisory board to the PM CARES Fund – including former CAG – Rajiv Mehrishi, former Infosys Foundation Chairperson – Sudha Murthy, and Anand Shah – former CEO of Indicorps and Piramal Foundation.