WASHINGTON: The US led by Elon Musk has canceled a $21 million funding grant given for awareness programmes as part of promoting voting in India. The move comes at the behest of the United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk. The grant was initiated during the administration of former US President Joe Biden.

The $21 million grant was part of a larger $486 million budget allocated to the consortium for elections and political process strengthening. Musk’s department said the cancellation of the grant was part of efforts to improve government efficiency and ensure that taxpayer money is not being spent on “questionable” foreign political activities.
The grants Musk canceled included $29 million to Bangladesh, $19 million to Nepal, $14 million to Mali, and $2.5 million to South Africa.

Meantime, the BJP called the canceled funding “external interference” in India’s electoral process. “$21 million to promote voting? This is definitely external interference in India’s electoral process. Who benefits from this? Certainly not the ruling party,” BJP national spokesperson Amit Malviya said in a statement.