The View From India newsletter: The debate on USAID’s role in India Today World News

FILE PHOTO: People hold placards outside the USAID building, after billionaire Elon Musk, who is heading U.S. President Donald Trump’s drive to shrink the federal government, said work is underway to shut down the U.S. foreign aid agency USAID, in Washington, U.S., February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo
| Photo Credit: KENT NISHIMURA

(This article is part of the View From India newsletter curated by The Hindu’s foreign affairs experts. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Monday, subscribe here.)

Conspiracy theories serving a political agenda tend to be passionate but are invariably lazy. The shrill political debate and public discourse surrounding USAID’s presence in India has largely avoided hard facts, possibly because not many like truth coming in the way of a useful narrative. Set off by the U.S. government’s recent remarks that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) planned to spend $21 million on funding “voter turnout” in India, the political clashes escalated last week, even as New Delhi said it was investigating the “very deeply troubling” allegations.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on February 21, 2025 dismissed media reports claiming that the $21-million USAID fund allocation in 2022 was for Bangladesh and not for India, and accused Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party of being involved in “anti-India” activities. The Congress, on the other hand, claimed that the BJP’s narrative was aimed at diverting attention from its own use of foreign funds to destabilise Congress governments in the past. Indian leaders use the plank of “world’s largest democracy” to project power and confidence abroad. But when the two leading national parties trade accusations of each other “destabilising” the country, using foreign funds, it raises questions about what they make of the country’s democratic mettle.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump took another swipe on February 23, 2025 at the USAID and India for an alleged grant of millions for “voter turnout” during Indian elections. The comments, the fifth time Mr. Trump had referred to a list prepared by the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the past week, came even as more questions were being raised on the veracity of the allegations, Suhasini Haidar reports.

The Hindu Editorial today takes a close look at the issue. “It is true that foreign aid can be a tool of soft power, often used by stronger nations to exert influence over domestic affairs of other countries. However, recognising this reality requires a responsible and measured approach, and not an overreaction that borders on self-sabotage. India itself has evolved into an aid provider, a role it seeks to expand. According to an ORF analysis, since 2000, the Ministry of External Affairs has overseen financial assistance exceeding $48 billion to over 65 countries, through grants, lines of credit, and capacity-building programmes. This growing role, as a donor nation, has coincided with stricter regulations on foreign contributions within India. However, these regulations have been heavily politicised — entities aligned with the ruling establishment often face fewer hurdles, while others, even those engaged in purely apolitical activities, encounter significant restrictions,” the Editorial said, adding: “If the government genuinely suspects that foreign funding is shaping India’s political landscape in undesirable ways, it must approach the issue with transparency and a well-defined plan for investigation.”

Gaza, Ukraine and near invisible Sudan

The raging wars of our times continue to retain global attention, even if not in equal proportions. Israel has said it will begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, including an exchange of the remaining Israeli hostages with Palestinian detainees, while Hamas released the sixth and final hostage on February 22, 2025, according to the Israeli military.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on February 23, 2025 that he would “immediately” quit as Ukraine’s president in exchange for the country gaining NATO membership. A second meeting between representatives of Russia and the United States is planned for the next two weeks, the RIA state news agency reported on February 22, 2025, citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Moscow and Washington held their first talks on ending the nearly three-year war in Ukraine on Tuesday, aimed at restoring relations and preparing to conclude the conflict.

Meanwhile, European leaders failed to reach a joint position on whether they would send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, after they discussed the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine and negotiations for an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict at an emergency summit in Paris last week, Sriram Lakshman reports.

In Sudan, the military on February 23, 2025 broke a more than yearlong siege on the crucial city of Obeid, restoring access to a strategic area in the south-central region and strengthening crucial supply routes in its nearly two years of war against a notorious paramilitary group,” officials said. Sudan has been experiencing chaos and violence since April last year, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare across the country, claiming tens of thousands of lives.

Top 5 stories this week:

1. In the neighbourhood: Nepal PM Oli hoping for invitation to visit India in first half of 2025: FM Arzu Rana tells Suhasini Haidar

2. Colombo is not seeking to renegotiate the contentious renewable energy project with Adani Green, a top Sri Lankan official said, a week after the company abruptly pulled out of a wind farm initiative in the island’s Northern Province.

3. Bangladesh to mark February 25 as national military martyrdom day, amid 2009 Pilkhana killings investigation, Kallol Bhattacherjee reports

4. A new age of imperialism: The rhetoric from the White House signals a new world order that is nasty and brutish and in which might makes right, writes Priyanjali Malik

5.Greater momentum? Chandrajit Banerjee looks at PM Modi’s U.S. visit, through industry’s business lens