US President Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), slamming its alleged allocation of funds to interfere in India's electoral process. Trump questioned the need for US aid to India, claiming that the country already benefits from high tariffs on American goods. 

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"Eighteen million dollars for helping India with its elections. Why the hell? Why don't we just go to old paper ballots, and let them help us with their elections, right? Voter ID. Wouldn't that be nice? We're giving money to India for elections. They don't need money," Trump said on Saturday (Feb 22), addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington.

"They take advantage of us pretty good. One of the highest tariffed nations in the world. We try and sell something. They have a 200 per cent tariff. And then we're giving them a lot of money to help them with their election," the US President continued. 

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On Saturday (Feb 22), India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed concern over the USAID funds, stating that New Delhi was investigating the "concerning and worrisome" claims.

"Some information has been put out there by the Trump administration people, and obviously, that is concerning... I think, as a government, we're looking into it. My sense is that the facts will come out...USAID was allowed here in good faith, to do good faith activities; now, suggestions are being laid out from America that there are activities which are in bad faith. It's worrisome, and if there's something to it, then the country should know who the people are involved in it," Jaishankar said.

Also read: Trump defends $21 million DOGE cut; 'Have lot of respect for India, but...'

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Musk-led DOGE cancels $21 million intended for 'voter turnout in India'

Musk-led US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced the decision to cancel the $21 million funding allocation aimed at boosting "voter turnout in India" on Saturday (Feb 15).

The official DOGE handle on X announced the cancellation of various US taxpayer-funded expenditures, including the notable $21 million allocation for "voter turnout in India".

"US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all of which have been cancelled," the Musk-led department announced.

The cancelled funding was part of a larger list of expenditures scrapped by DOGE, which also included:

- $10M for "Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision"
- $9.7M for UC Berkeley to develop "a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills"
- $2.3M for "strengthening independent voices in Cambodia"
- $32M to the Prague Civil Society Centre
- $40M for "gender equality and women empowerment hub"
- $14M for "improving public procurement" in Serbia
- $486M to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening,” including $22M for "inclusive and participatory political process" in Moldova and $21M for voter turnout in India
- $29M to "strenghening political landscape in Bangladesh"
- $20M for "fiscal federalism" in Nepal
- $19M for "biodiversity conversation" in Nepal
- $1.5M for "voter confidence" in Liberia
- $14M for "social cohesion" in Mali
- $2.5M for "inclusive democracies in Southern Africa"
- $47M for "improving learning outcomes in Asia"
- $2M to develop "sustainable recycling models" to "increase socio-economic cohesion among marginalized communities of Kosovo Roma, Ashkali, and Egypt"


(With inputs from agencies)