Tuesday, January 11 2005 10:25 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Donations to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for Tsunami relief yesterday (Jan 10, 2005) touched a whopping Rs 441.85 crore.

The response has been "very encouraging" and yesterday's collections were Rs 44.50 crore, a PMO (Prime Minister's Office) spokesman said.

The major contributors to the Fund include Jharkhand Government (Rs 10 crore), Nuclear Power Corporation and IDBI (Rs 5 crore each), Indian Bank and its staff (Rs 3 crore) and Aga Khan Foundation (Rs 2.25 crore), he said.

The spokesman said the Rs 441.85 crore excluded the contributions made by the people through banks, which have also been authorised to collect funds for tsunami-affected people.

The online contribution introduced on January 1, stood at Rs 1.74 crore, he said.

Donations made to the Fund following the 2002 Gujarat quake amounted to Rs 422 crore.