Trump’s claim on India falls flat: US embassy denies $21 million USAID claim for voter turnout; MEA confirms in Rajya Sabha | India News

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday knowledgeable the Rajya Sabha that the United States embassy has contradicted claims made earlier this 12 months by US President Donald Trump, stating that USAID had not allotted $21 million to spice up voter turnout in India.In a written reply to a Rajya Sabha query, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh mentioned the US Embassy in New Delhi has formally knowledgeable India that “USAID/India did not receive or provide funding of $21 million for voter turnout in India from fiscal years 2014 to 2024, nor has it implemented any voter turnout-related activities in India.”This clarification got here after the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), in February 2025, had publicly posted about cancelling $486 million in USAID funding worldwide, together with an alleged $21 million earmarked for “increasing voter turnout in India.” Trump himself had cited this for instance of US assist misuse.Following the put up, MEA sought pressing particulars from the US embassy relating to all USAID-funded tasks in India over the previous decade. In July, the embassy shared a funding breakdown however reiterated that no voter turnout initiatives had ever been financed in India.

The MEA additionally confirmed that USAID operations in India have been wound up. On August 11, the US embassy notified India that each one seven Partnership Agreements with the federal government had been closed as a part of Washington’s resolution to dissolve USAID globally.According to official figures positioned in Parliament, USAID funding between 2022 and 2024 in India went to applications supporting Tibetan communities, schooling for marginalized kids, air air pollution mitigation, renewable vitality tasks, and HIV/AIDS interventions, however none associated to elections.Here’s the reply made in Rajya Sabha: