Two explainers on the Contingency Fund of India give different figures for its authorised corpus, with Bajaj Finserv stating Rs 500 crore, which is the older figure, and a January 2026 note from Bajaj AMC stating Rs 30,000 crore, which is the current one.
The fund is constituted under Article 267(1) of the Constitution, and the government uses it when money is needed quickly for urgent needs such as natural calamities. Parliament creates the fund by law, and it is placed at the disposal of the President.
In 2005, the corpus was raised from Rs 50 crore to Rs 500 crore. The rise to Rs 30,000 crore was made through the Finance Act, 2021, which amended the Contingency Fund of India Act, 1950, and it has been in force since 2021.
Spend first, approval later
The fund works as an imprest, which is a sum held for a specific purpose and the Secretary of the Finance Ministry holds it on behalf of the President. When an emergency arises, the government withdraws the required amount from this fund without waiting for Parliament to meet.
After the spending has taken place, a supplementary demand for grants is placed before Parliament and the approval is given only at that stage. The order is therefore reversed, with the expenditure coming first and the sanction coming later.
Once Parliament approves, an equal sum is moved from the Consolidated Fund of India to the Contingency Fund. The amount is thus restored for the next emergency and this is the reason the fund is described as revolving.
State funds and a similar-sounding RBI reserve
Under Article 267(2), each state may set up its own contingency fund, and the corpus of such a fund is fixed by the state legislature. The Union fund and the state funds are therefore separate, with their own corpus and their own approval process.
The RBI also has a reserve with a similar name, the Contingency Risk Buffer, for which the range set in 2019 was 5.5% to 6.5% of its balance sheet, and the range was revised to 4.5% to 7.5% in May 2025. It is held by the RBI and is not the Contingency Fund of India.
The authorised corpus of the Union fund is Rs 30,000 crore, and the 2021 amendment is law, though some older explainers still show Rs 500 crore. The Contingency Fund of India Act, 1950, as amended in 2021, and the Ministry of Finance can confirm the corpus.
