USAID row

IN his zeal to Make America Great Again, US President Donald Trump is demonising and crippling an institution that has done well as a global benefactor for decades — the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Trump and his much-touted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, have no qualms about making false claims to push their narrative. Efficiency is obviously their top priority, not accuracy or transparency. One typically unsubstantiated claim triggered a political slugfest in India. The BJP jumped to a conclusion when Trump and DOGE accused USAID of allocating $21 million to India for enhancing ‘voter turnout’. The ruling party regarded it as proof — though none was furnished by the US — that the Congress had sought foreign funding to influence India’s electoral exercise. The Congress, in turn, pointed a finger at the BJP. It was a huge anti-climax when reports indicated that the money was sanctioned to Bangladesh, not India. And it’s nothing short of absurd that Trump and Musk got two distinct subcontinental nations mixed up.

The NDA government has avoided hitting back at Trump, perhaps because he never tires of calling PM Narendra Modi his ‘friend’. An annual report of the Finance Ministry has ruled out the diversion of USAID money for political funding in India. It shows that $750 million provided by the US agency was used for government projects linked to food, agriculture, rural development, energy and environment during 2023-24. So, all this has turned out to be much ado about nothing.

The lesson for India from this avoidable controversy is loud and clear: Let facts do the talking instead of treating Trumpspeak as the gospel truth. Strict regulation of foreign contributions is no doubt vital to weed out agencies bent on destabilising the nation, but the entire process should be marked by accuracy, transparency and fairness. Efficiency can wait.