The country's largest insurer -- Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) -- has contributed Rs 105 crore to the The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) for the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic.

In a press statement, the life insurer said that of the Rs 105 crore, a sum of Rs 5 crore has been donated from LIC's Golden Jubilee Fund.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India stands at 1,251. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said that 102 patients have recovered so far, but 32 have died.

LIC is the country's largest life insurer serving over 29 crore policies and an asset base of over Rs 31 lakh crore. It holds over 70 percent market share in the life insurance sector.

LIC Chairman MR Kumar said India is facing a huge challenge in the wake of the global pandemic, which is unprecedented in its severity. "...we will take every step to ensure safety and security of the people and relief for the affected," he added.

The PM-CARES Fund was set up on March 28 to raise money to deal with any COVID-19 like emergency situation and provide relief to the affected.

The contribution to PM-CARES Fund will be used for the most critical activities pertaining to COVID-19 such as testing, setting up of isolation wards, procurement of personal protective gear and ventilators.

All companies donating to the fund before March 31, whether in old or new tax structure, will get tax exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.

Till now, a slew of companies including Reliance Industries (contribution of Rs 500 crore), PFC (Rs 200 crore), L&T (Rs 150 crore), Infosys Foundation (Rs 100 crore), Bharti Enterprises (Rs 100 crore, of which a large portion is for this fund), NMDC (Rs 150 crore) and JSPL (Rs 25 crore) have donated to PM-CARES Fund so far.