USD 21 mn For ‘Voter Turnout In India’: Elon Musk-Led DOGE Cuts Grant

International

pti-PTI

Updated: Sunday, February 16, 2025, 14:24 [IST]

The
US
Department
of
Government
Efficiency
led
by
billionaire
Elon
Musk
has
announced
a
series
of
expenditure
cuts,
including
USD
21
million
allocated
for
“voter
turnout
in
India.”

US
President
Donald
Trump
chose
Musk
to
head
the
new
Department
of
Government
Efficiency
(DOGE)
last
month.

Tasked
with
improving
governance
and
curbing
wasteful
expenditures,
the
DOGE
announced
the
cuts
in
a
post
on
X
on
Saturday.
The
department
said,
“US
taxpayer
dollars
were
going
to
be
spent
on
the
following
items,
all
(of)
which
have
been
cancelled…”

The
list
included
USD
486
million
in
grants
to
the
“Consortium
for
Elections
and
Political
Process
Strengthening”
including
USD
22
million
for
“inclusive
and
participatory
political
process” in
Moldova
and
USD
21
million
for
“voter
turnout
in
India”.
No
further
details
on
the
funding
were
given
in
the
post.
This
comes
days
after
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi’s
visit
to
the
US,
during
which
he
held
talks
with
President
Trump,
as
well
as
Musk.

The
SpaceX
CEO
met
Modi
with
his
family,
including
three
children.
The
two
discussed
opportunities
in
space,
mobility,
technology,
and
energy
and
exchanged
notes
on
efforts
at
good
governance
in
India
and
the
US.

In
its
post,
the
DOGE
also
cancelled
USD
29
million
allocated
to
“strengthening
political
landscape
in
Bangladesh”,
as
well
as
USD
20
million
for
“fiscal
federalism”
in
Nepal
and
USD
19
million
for
“biodiversity
conversation”
in
the
Himalayan
nation.

It
also
announced
cutting
a
USD
10
million
grant
for
“Mozambique
voluntary
medical
male
circumcision”,
USD
2.3
million
for
“strengthening
independent
voices
in
Cambodia”,
USD
32
million
to
the
Prague
Civil
Society
Centre,
USD
40
million
for
“gender
equality
and
women
empowerment
hub”
and
USD
14
million
for
“improving
public
procurement”
in
Serbia,
among
other
expenditure
cuts.
It
also
included
USD
47
million
for
“improving
learning
outcomes
in
Asia”.