$21 million for ‘voter turnout in India’ among grant cuts announced by Elon Musk-led DOGE

 U.S. President Donald Trump chose Elon Musk to head the new Department of Government Efficiency. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency led by billionaire Elon Musk has announced a series of expenditure cuts, including $21 million allocated for “voter turnout in India.” U.S. President Donald Trump chose Mr. Musk to head the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last month. Tasked with improving governance and curbing wasteful expenditures, the DOGE announced the cuts in a post on X on Saturday (February 15, 2025).

The Department said, “U.S. taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all (of) which have been cancelled…” The list included $486 million in grants to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening” including $22 million for “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova and $21 million for “voter turnout in India”. No further details on the funding were given in the post.

This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S., during which he held talks with President Trump, as well as Mr. Musk.

The SpaceX CEO met Mr. Modi with his family, including three children. The two discussed opportunities in space, mobility, technology, and energy and exchanged notes on efforts at good governance in India and the US.

In its post, the DOGE also cancelled $29 million allocated to “strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh”, as well as $20 million for “fiscal federalism” in Nepal and $19 million for “biodiversity conversation” in the Himalayan nation.

It also announced cutting a $10 million grant for “Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision”, $2.3 million for “strengthening independent voices in Cambodia”, $32 million to the Prague Civil Society Centre, $40 million for “gender equality and women empowerment hub” and $14 million for “improving public procurement” in Serbia, among other expenditure cuts. It also included $47 million for “improving learning outcomes in Asia”.