India’s Finance Ministry report says USAID funded 7 projects worth USD 750 million in India in 2023-24 but not related to ‘voter turnout’

Finance Ministry clears air amid ‘voter turnout USAID-funded’ row

Amid a raging political controversy over USAID‘s alleged role in influencing Indian elections, the latest annual report of India’s Finance Ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24. “Currently, seven projects worth a total budget of USD 750 million (approx.) are being implemented by USAID in partnership with Government of India,” as per the Finance Ministry annual report for 2023-24.

In Washington, speaking at a ‘Governors Working Session,’ Trump had said: Twenty-one million dollars going to my friend Prime Minister Modi in India for voter turnout. We’re giving 21 million for voter turnout in India. What about us? I want voter turnout too. A video clipping from the event was posted on social media by the White House on Friday. Though the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress engaged in a slugfest after Trump’s reiteration of spending USD 21 million to increase India’s voter turnout from USAID after Elon Musk’s claims, no official response from the Government of India has not yet come.

For the financial year 2023-24, an obligation of a total of USD 97 million (about Rs.825 crore) has been made by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) under the seven projects, according to the Finance Ministry’s Report. The Department of Economic Affairs under the Finance Ministry which is the nodal department for bilateral funding arrangements has also shared the details of projects funded in 2023-24 in the report.

During the year, no funding was made for enhancing voter turnout but for projects related to agriculture & food security programme; water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); Renewable Energy; disaster management, and health. Besides, it said, funds were committed to the Sustainable Forests and Climate Adaptation Program and Energy Efficiency Technology Commercialization and Innovation Project.

The United States of America’s bilateral development assistance to India started in 1951 and it is mainly administered through USAID. Since its commencement, USAID has provided economic assistance of over USD 17 billion to India in various sectors for over 555 projects. Political controversy erupted in the country earlier this month after the Elon Musk-led DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) claimed that it had cancelled a USD 21 million grant to India to boost “voter turnout”.

US President Donald Trump also repeatedly claimed that USAID under the previous administration led by Joe Biden allocated USD 21 million in funding to India for ‘voter turnout’. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the information put out by the Trump administration is “concerning” and that the government is looking into it. The USAID was allowed in India “in good faith, to do good faith activities”, and suggestions are being made out of America that “there are activities which are in bad faith,” Jaishankar had said.

On the other hand, the Congress party on Sunday accused the BJP of indulging in “anti-national work” by spreading “fake news from America” and asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will also have to answer as to why the government is silent when US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are “insulting” India repeatedly. Seeking a White Paper on US funding, Congress General Secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh said, “BJP is a procession of liars and illiterates. The news about USD 21 million, on which the BJP and their bootlickers were jumping on, turned out to be fake. The USD 21 million in 2022 was not for ‘voter turnout’ in India but for Bangladesh.”

But Trump on Friday said USD 29 million was spent to strengthen the political landscape in Bangladesh to a firm that nobody ever heard of.

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