Why Are We Giving USD 21 Million To India? Donald Trump On Cancelling Voter Turnout Fund

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his move to cancel USD 21 million fund marked for 'Voter Turnout in India'.

Why US Cancelling The Fund?

Claiming India is a growing economy with high taxation rates, the country does not need such financial support, Trump said after signing executive orders at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday.

"Why are we giving USD 21 million to India? They have a lot more money. They are one of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us; we can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high. I have a lot of respect for India and their Prime Minister, but giving USD 21 million for voter turnout?" ANI quoted Trump as saying.

His statement comes after DOGE relased a list of cancelled US taxpayer-funded initiatives with a mention of USD 21 million earmarked for "voter turnout in India."

DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) is an initiative of the second Trump administration led by Elon Musk.It is a temporary contracted organization under the United States DOGE Service (formerly the United States Digital Service) which is been formed with an aim of eliminating wasteful spending.

"US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all of which have been cancelled," the Musk-led department announced on February 16.

BJP Reaction

Meanwhile, BJP's Amit Malviya took to his X to react to the announcement. "$21M for voter turnout? This definitely is external interference in India's electoral process. Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!" his post read.

"Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision" is the other funding which has been cancelled by the US department which will save USD 10 million to the government.

"USD 486M to the 'Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening,' including USD 22M for an 'inclusive and participatory political process' in Moldova and USD 21M for voter turnout in India," DOGE added.

In addition to it, a USD 29 million intended for "strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh" and a USD 39 million for "fiscal federalism" and "biodiversity conservation" in Nepal was also cancelled. Also, USD 1.5 million for "voter confidence" in Liberia, USD 14 million for "social cohesion" in Mali, USD 2.5 million for "inclusive democracies in Southern Africa," and USD 47 million for "improving learning outcomes in Asia" were also cancelled by DOGE.