Washington: America was giving $ 21 million to increase voter turnout in India. The Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency canceled this fund, which is now being supported by Donald Trump. Apart from this, Trump raised questions on giving such a huge amount to India. At his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Trump raised the question that why $ 21 million (Rs 182 crore) was given to India, when India already has a lot of money. The US government has stopped the US Aid program running in many countries.
Donald Trump said, 'Why are we giving $ 21 million to India? They already have a lot of money. They are one of the highest taxing countries in the world, especially for us. We hardly get there because their tariffs are very high. I have great respect for India and its Prime Minister, but why $21 million for voter turnout in India? What about voter turnout here?' Trump also raised the issue of tariffs imposed by India in his statement.
Where did the controversy start?
This entire controversy started when the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) canceled a grant of $21 million on February 16. In a post on X, DOGE canceled several foreign aid programs calling them unnecessary and excessive, in which the voter turnout project in India was at the top. DOGE's statement said, 'US taxpayers' dollars were to be spent on the following things, which have now been canceled.' Not only in India, there is talk of spending $29 million to strengthen the political scene in Bangladesh, and $39 million in Nepal.
Trump's decision creates problems for HIV patients
The decision of US President Donald Trump's administration to stop foreign aid has created a crisis in the treatment of HIV infected people in South Africa. Nozuko Majola (19), who lives in a rural area of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, is one of the millions of patients who have been affected by the US President Donald Trump's suspension of global foreign aid. This is expected to hinder the treatment of HIV patients, increase the infection rate and increase the number of deaths. The 'Human Sciences Research Council' reported in the year 2024 that Majola's province has the second highest prevalence of HIV in South Africa, where about 1,300 young people fall prey to this infection every week.
In KwaZulu-Natal, about 19.8 lakh people were infected with HIV in 2022. More than 75 lakh people in the country are infected with the virus that causes AIDS and this number is more than any other country. Trump's suspension of the Presidential Emergency AIDS Relief Plan (PEPEAR) has put the treatment of 5.5 million patients in the country in jeopardy.
Under this scheme, South Africa's HIV programs and several NGOs received aid of US$ 400 million every year. According to a United Nations agency, since its inception in 2003, PEPEAR is credited with saving the lives of at least 26 million people globally. A US federal judge recently ordered the Trump administration to temporarily lift the ban on aid, while the US embassy said that PEPEAR schemes would resume with limited exemptions.
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