The United States has recently canceled large amounts of financial assistance to many countries around the world. Among them, the country has canceled a $ 21 million aid program for India to increase 'voter turnout'. The new US department, the Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE) led by Elon Musk, made this announcement. This information was reported by Indian media NDTV in a report on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has defended the suspension of US financial aid to India, expressing his respect for India and its Prime Minister Modi, but his reluctance to provide financial assistance.
President Donald Trump has defended the move, days after the US Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE), led by billionaire Elon Musk, cancelled a $21 million grant to boost 'voter turnout' in India, questioning why US taxpayer money was being used for such a project, NDTV reported.
"Why are we giving India $21 million? They get a lot more money. They have one of the highest tariffs in the world on American goods; we can hardly get into that (Indian market) because their tariffs are so high. I have a lot of respect for India and their Prime Minister, but $21 million for voters? In India? What about the voter turnout there?" President Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The new US administration, led by President Donald Trump, is taking steps to reduce the budget, and as part of this, the US is canceling millions of dollars in funding for several countries, including India and Bangladesh. In continuation of this, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency announced on Sunday the cancellation of a $21 million grant to increase voter turnout in India.
Indian media reports say that the $21 million fund allocated to India was mainly aimed at increasing voter participation in the country's elections. However, after the announcement of the cancellation of the grant, India will no longer receive this funding.
Notably, the announcement of the aid cut to India comes just days after Donald Trump met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Although the two leaders made important announcements to strengthen US-India ties after the meeting, there was no sign of a joint statement or press conference.
