India presses US on USAID funding
The ministry announced that last week in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, Times of India reported on Tuesday.
As such funding comes through organizations which are 'not-for-profit', the Indian government has sought information on the entities involved in implementing USAID-backed initiatives, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told the newspaper. American officials have not formally responded to India's request, according to the report.
While there is some open-source information available, the Indian government 'understandably expects an official response from the US Government on this matter,' said Singh.
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said last month that USAID had been allowed to operate in India 'in good faith.' However, the information 'emerging from the US administration' seemed to reveal activities 'which are in bad faith,' Jaishankar stated, commenting on data on USAID programs released by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Jaishankar revealed that the government was looking into NGO contributions and that such organizations were obligated to declare their sources of funding, adding that 'the facts will come out.'
In a related development on Tuesday, India's economic intelligence agency, the Enforcement Directorate, raided eight locations linked to USAID activities. They included the premises of a fund manager associated with the Open Society Foundations, which is controlled by US billionaire George Soros.
The raids were carried out following the discovery of a money trail of about $3 million that led to various NGOs. In its 2023-24 annual report, India's Finance Ministry revealed that USAID was funding seven projects in India, with a total investment of $750 million.
In the most recent fiscal year, USAID had allocated $97 million to these projects, which are being implemented in partnership with the Indian government and span multiple sectors, including agriculture, water and sanitation, renewable energy, disaster management, and health.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Russia Today
India conducts trials for UAV-aided missiles
India has successfully tested a new UAV-launched precision guided missile, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh announced on Friday. India's Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted flight trials of the ULPGM-V3, an extended-range, air-to-surface missile designed for deployment via unmanned aerial platforms. The ULPGM-V3 is an extended-range, air-to-surface missile designed for deployment via unmanned aerial platforms. The trials were conducted at the National Open Area Range (NOAR) in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In a post on X, Singh said the trials marked a 'significant boost' to India's defense capabilities. 'This success proves that the Indian industry is now ready to absorb and produce critical defense technologies,' he added. ❗️🇮🇳🎯 Precision Defence! India Tests Drone-Launched Guided Missile in APDefence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated India's DRDO for the successful trials of UAV Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)- drills in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, show India's resilience… Since its recent conflict with Pakistan, India has upped the ante on drone production as one of measures to bolster its defense capabilities. During the military confrontation in May, India used homegrown unmanned aerial vehicles, counter-drone technologies, and loitering munitions (also known as kamikaze drones). Kamikaze drones are believed to have enabled precise targeting of Pakistani military infrastructure. India is one of the world's largest importers of military drones. Earlier this month, the Reuters news agency, citing government and industry sources, reported that the South Asian nation plans to launch a $234 million program for three years that will cover manufacture of drones, components, software, counter drone systems, and services. The Indian private sector is also looking to meet the country's growing need for military drones. Apollyon Dynamics, a defense-tech startup founded by two 20-year old engineering students delivered drones to the Indian armed forces, local media outlets reported on Tuesday. These kamikaze drones can hit speeds of over 186 miles per hour and deliver 1 kg payloads with accuracy, according to the Times of India.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Russia Today
Zelensky backpedals on anti-corruption crackdown
Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky announced a bill on Thursday restoring the independence of the country's anti-graft agencies, after facing a wave of mass protests at home and a storm of criticism in the West. It comes two days after he signed a law granting the Prosecutor General's office the authority to intervene in the activities of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). That followed a law enforcement raid on NABU offices and the arrest of a senior employee of the agency accused of spying for Russia. The new legislation contains 'full-fledged guarantees of the independence of anti-corruption agencies,' Zelensky claimed, adding that it is also designed to 'keep out' any alleged Russian interference. Specifically, the draft law introduces mandatory lie detector tests for employees of NABU, SAPO and other agencies. 'The text of the bill was discussed with partners, law enforcement agencies, and representatives of the NABU and SAPO. There were many proposals from our partners to involve European experts – from the UK, Germany, and the EU,' he said. The about-face comes after the country endured a wave of protests against the clampdown on the agencies. Demonstrations were seen across the country, including in the capital Kiev, Odessa and Dnepr – the country's third- and fourth-largest cities – the western city of Lviv, and others. Critics have accused Zelensky of authoritarian tendencies and attempting to further tighten his grip on power, and argued that the move rendered the agencies 'purely decorative.' The crackdown was condemned by Kiev's key western backers, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who demanded Zelensky 'respect the rule of law' and warned it could derail Ukraine's EU membership bid. NABU and SAPO were established following the US-backed 2014 coup in Kiev and promoted as key components of reforms supposed to align Ukraine with Western governance standards and international financial institutions. Critics, however, have branded the agencies an element of external control over Ukraine's domestic affairs. At the same time, some Western officials, including US Vice President J.D. Vance, have argued that the decade-long transformation has failed to yield results or weed out entrenched corruption.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Russia Today
India just laid track through Kashmir – and the message is loud
On June 25, 60-year-old Muhammad Fakhrudin Bhat fulfilled a dream nearly four decades in the making: his first-ever train journey out of the Kashmir Valley to India's capital, New Delhi. As he boarded the newly inaugurated Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express – launched with great fanfare by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier that month – Bhat looked on in awe. The sleek, orange train glided gracefully through summer-kissed mountains, verdant valleys, blooming orchards, and dense pine forests, a moving panorama of Kashmir's natural beauty. 'It felt like something long dreamed and a visual treat to pass through the mountains and greenery, in a train,' Bhat said, recalling his maiden journey from Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, to Katra, a town renowned as the base camp for the Vaishno Devi Temple, one of Hinduism's most revered shrines. What would typically take at least seven hours by road – often more in heavy traffic – was completed in just three hours. In Katra, passengers traveling to New Delhi have to pass security checks before boarding another train. The journey that took two days of road and rail travel from Delhi to Srinagar can now be completed in just 13 hours, which has brought joy to the faces of locals and visitors. For over four decades, Bhat had heard talk of connecting Srinagar to the rest of India by rail. The deadlines kept stretching for years. However, last month, he experienced it firsthand, traveling to Delhi to visit his daughter's family. 'It was exciting – a completely new experience,' he said, smiling. 'I booked my tickets 20 days in advance just to make sure I got a seat.' For Bhat, every glance outside the panoramic windows was a revelation. 'This was not just a ride, but a testament to hope arriving on the rails after forty years of waiting,' he said with a wide smile. 'This will transform tourism and trade in the region. The economy will witness a boost. Kashmiri apples, handicrafts, and other goods can now reach the main markets more swiftly and affordably, while all-weather connectivity will also help during harsh winter months when roads are often blocked,' said Masooma Jan, a resident who deals with the organic fruit new train route is a part of the 272km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link that connects Kashmir with the rest of India's railway network. The route involves 36 tunnels, totaling nearly 119km, and 943 bridges, passing through rugged, seismically active mountains with peaks exceeding 15,000 ft. The rail link is a $5.5 billion engineering marve; it also features the Chenab Bridge, which, according to Indian officials, is now the world's tallest: 359 meters above the riverbed, even taller than the Eiffel Tower. The journey of building railways to Kashmir began in 1892, long before India and Pakistan gained independence from British rule, when the Dogra Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir, then a princely state, first envisioned a railway line reaching their isolated land. The present project was conceptualized by New Delhi in the mid-1990s but was delayed due to the region's political and security instability. The project gathered steam only in 2002, when the it was declared a national priority. The final leg of the rail link – between Katra and Sangaldan – was completed in early 2024, bringing trains to the valley via one of the world's most challenging terrains. The linking of the remote and mountainous Kashmir Valley to the rest of India by train marks one of the country's most extraordinary infrastructure achievements. The entire project proved to be a challenge for India's engineers and government due to the extreme Himalayan terrain and geological instability. 'At one point, this seemed impossible, but today it is a reality, and there is a lot of rush in bookings. The train journey is affordable and also makes the otherwise cumbersome road journey easy for locals as well as outsiders,' said Adeeba Ishtiyaq, a business management student from Kashmir who studies in Delhi. The scale of the engineering effort is staggering. 'This is a great relief for people who always felt cut off,' Adeeba said. A month after its launch, the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat train is witnessing unprecedented demand. Railway officials told RT that tickets are sold out one month in advance. At the grand inauguration of the rail link, India's prime minister described the bridge and rail link as 'living symbols of India's strength.' He emphasized that this rail link fulfilled a multi-generational dream, recalling that current Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had been a schoolboy when the foundation stone was laid in 1983-84. Highlighting the Chenab Bridge specifically, Modi called it 'new India's resolve and pride' and said it removes the need for Kashmiris to travel abroad to see wonders like the Eiffel Tower. He also promised that the train would integrate the region – economically, culturally, and strategically – and pledged $5.5 billion worth of additional public projects in the Chenab Bridge at the heart of the new rail link was built with over 30,000 metric tons of steel; it is designed to withstand extreme weather, seismic activity, and even explosions. Dr. Madhavi G. Latha, who was one of the engineers who contributed to the construction of the bridge and has been involved in its work for the past seventeen years, said 'the bridge is a civil engineering marvel.' 'All glory of the planning, design, and construction goes to Indian Railways and AFCONS. Thousands of people have significantly contributed in different ways to the construction of this iconic bridge. There are millions of unsung heroes to whom I salute today. My role as a geotechnical consultant to AFCONS was to help in developing slope stabilization schemes and the design of foundations on slope,' she added. Propelling the vision of # Chenab Bridge is the world's highest railway arch bridge will give a boost to socio-economic development of the J&K region while improving its connectivity with other parts of #BemisaalBharat. The construction, which officially began in 1994-95, was not just delayed by technical challenges, but also geopolitical and environmental ones: landslides, earthquakes, heavy snowfall, political tension, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, Indian engineers pressed on with what has now become a flagship example of infrastructure in difficult terrain. During Kashmir's harsh winters, when the temperature falls below freezing, heavy snowfall frequently blocks the Jammu-Srinagar highway, cutting the region off from the rest of the country. The winter-proof Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat ensures reliable rail travel even in heavy snow. 'These custom-built trains come equipped with heated windshields, triple insulation, and winter-ready water systems, designed to operate in the region's sub-zero conditions,' said Mukhtar Ahmad, a civil engineer based in the region. He added that the arrival of the Vande Bharat Express in Kashmir has been a moment of pride for residents and engineers alike. The officials have noted that the rail link will also streamline troop movement. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah hailed the project and said that it is not just 'steel and concrete.' 'It is the realization of generations of aspirations and will be of immense benefit to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.' Local entrepreneurs are optimistic: shortcuts mean fresher products, new job markets, and expanded trade routes. The train ensures all-weather access, breaking through winter's chokehold.
