DOGE in Spotlight After Removal of $21M US Grant for 'Voter Turnout in India'

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has announced withdrawal of grants in millions of dollars across countries. This move aims at reducing “wasteful” expenditure, including the $21 million grant allocated for “voter turnout in India”.

DOGE posted an announcement on X stating that, “US taxpayers dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all of which have been cancelled.”

Musk’s move on budget cuts, aligns with Trump’s vision to avoid wasteful spending and saving US taxpayer money. Among the cancelled grant initiatives, DOGE listed the following:

$29M allocation for “strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh”
$10M allocation for “Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision”
$9.7M allocation for UC Berkeley to develop “a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills”

Criticising the tweet, BJP’s Amit Malviya responded:

“$21M for voter turnout? This definitely is external interference in India’s electoral process. Who Gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!”

“$486M to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening, including the $22M for Inclusive and participatory political process in Maldova and $21M for voter turnout in India,” Malviya wrote on X.

Other key funding initiatives that have been withdrawn are as follows:

$29M to “strenghening political landscape in Bangladesh”
$20M for “fiscal federalism” in Nepal
$19M for “biodiversity conversation” in Nepal
$1.5M for “voter confidence” in Liberia
$14M for “social cohesion” in Mali
$2.5M for “inclusive democracies in Southern Africa”
$47M for “improving learning outcomes in Asia”
$2M to develop “sustainable recycling models” to “increase socio-economic cohesion among marginalized communities of Kosovo Roma, Ashkali, and Egypt”

Trump reportedly criticised USAID (US Agency for International Development), alleging widespread mismanagement of funds. He also called for its shutdown, accusing the organisation of financial fraud and corruption.

“USAID is driving the radical left crazy, and there is nothing they can do about it because the way in which the money has been spent, so much of it fraudulently, is totally unexplainable. The corruption is at levels rarely seen before. Close it down,” Trump posted on X.