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United States President Donald Trump’s claim that $21 million (about Rs 182 crore) was granted for “voter turnout in India” has stirred a political row here. While he repeated the remark several times, a recent annual report by India’s Ministry of Finance has revealed how $750 million (around Rs 6,501 crore) in funding in 2023-24 by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was spent.
As per the report, the funding that year was not for voter turnout but for seven projects related to agriculture and other programmes. We explore how the now-suspended USAID funds have been utilised in India.
Let’s take a closer look.
Finance Ministry’s report
The latest annual report of the Finance Ministry says that the US agency funded seven projects worth $750 million in 2023-24 in India.
USAID is the overseas aid agency of the American government.
“Currently, seven projects worth a total budget of $750 million (approximately) are being implemented by the USAID in partnership with the government of India,” PTI cited the report as saying.
Around $97 million (about Rs 841 crore) was committed by USAID for the seven projects in the financial year 2023-2024, as per the report.
The Finance Ministry’s Department of Economic Affairs says that these funds were utilised on projects related to agriculture, food security programmes; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); renewable energy; disaster management and health.
Moreover, USAID also supported sustainable forests and climate adaptation programme, along with energy efficiency technology commercialisation and innovation projects.
USAID funding over the years
The US bilateral assistance to India for development projects began in 1951 and was mainly administered through USAID. Since its start, the US agency has provided over $17 billion (Rs 1.5 lakh crore) in funding to India for more than 555 projects in different sectors, reported PTI.
A Moneycontrol analysis has found that more than a fifth of USAID’s funding to India came in the last four years. India got $650 million (about Rs 5,634 crore) from the US agency over this period. With this, the total allocation to India since 2001 touched $2.86 billion (Rs 24,789 crore).
As per the report, India received more than $150 million (about Rs 1,300 crore) from USAID last year. In 2023, the US agency gave India $175.7 million (Rs 1,523 crore).
The yearly external assistance from USAID reached its highest at $228.2 million (Rs 1978 crore) in 2022.
USAID’s funding to India has been spent on various sectors, including agriculture, education, infrastructure, governance and social sector.
According to data accessed by CNN-News18USAID funding to non-government institutions in the South Asian country rose under the Modi government to $2,579 million (Rs 22,354 crore) from $2,114 million (Rs 18,323 crore) in the UPA era.
Speaking to CNN–News18BJP sources alleged an uptick in USAID funding during notable political moments in India, particularly when the NDA government is in power or before elections in the country. They claimed it could have been done to influence policy decisions, boost civil society groups, and “shape political narratives in alignment with deep state interests”.
USAID funding increased from $121 million (Rs 1,049 crore) in 2001 to $154 million (Rs 1,335 crore) in 2002. It further jumped from $83 million (Rs 719 crore) in 2020 to $228 million (Rs 1,976 crore) in 2022.
Amid alleged foreign interference in elections, India has called Trump’s allegations about the “$21 million in USAID funding to India for voter turnout” “concerning” and the government is looking into the issue.
#WATCH | Delhi: On USAID, EAM S Jaishankar says, “…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… pic.twitter.com/UZT5aimfXX
– years (@ani) February 22, 2025
The Congress has criticised the government over the issue, asking why it is “silent” when Trump and Elon Musk are “insulting” India repeatedly.
How freeze of USAID will impact India?
US President Donald Trump’s administration recently shut down the operations of
USAID.
As per Moneycontrol, the suspension of funding from the US agency will mostly affect healthcare projects in India. Over the past four years, the healthcare sector received two-thirds of the organisation’s allocation for the country.
In 2023, of the $175.7 million economic assistance to India, 69 per cent or $120 million was for health.
Besides health, environmental projects, which received $9.6 million in funds in 2023, and governance, which got $14 million, are also likely to suffer, reported Moneycontrol.
With inputs from agencies
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