The Finance Ministry's annual report has revealed that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in India during the 2023-24 fiscal year. The projects, implemented in partnership with the Indian government, cover areas like agriculture and food security, water and sanitation, renewable energy, disaster management, health, sustainable forests, and climate adaptation. This disclosure comes amidst controversy over USAID's alleged role in influencing Indian elections, with claims that the agency allocated USD 21 million to India for 'voter turnout'. However, the report clarifies that no funds were dedicated to enhancing voter turnout.
China has firmly denied that its Wuhan Institute of Virology conducted gain-of-function studies on coronavirus, rejecting allegations that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded such research at the lab. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, emphasized that the lab has never engaged in gain-of-function research, designed, made, or leaked COVID-19. China has also reiterated its stance on the origins-tracing of COVID-19, stating that the pandemic was "extremely unlikely" to have originated from a lab leak, as concluded by the WHO-China joint mission.
State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce Sunday said, "President Trump stated clearly that the United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people. Reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative."
The latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24.
A Chinese team of virologists has discovered a new bat coronavirus that can infect human cells, raising concerns about potential animal-to-human transmission. The virus, a new lineage of the HKU5 coronavirus, uses the same human receptor as the virus that causes COVID-19. The study, led by Shi Zhengli, a prominent virologist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, was published in the journal Cell. The discovery comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the Wuhan lab, which was previously accused of being the source of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese government has denied any involvement in the virus's origin and insists that the Wuhan lab never engaged in gain-of-function studies on coronaviruses.
The United States has temporarily suspended foreign assistance to Pakistan for re-evaluation following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, according to a media report on Tuesday.
'If the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation cuts funds, there could be more impact.'
From bhikshus of Ashokan 3rd century BC and medieval Sufis to Oxfam, Omidyar and Soros now, non-State actors have any real power only when they work in conjunction with a real State, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
This includes over $15 billion of proposed investment in the infrastructure sector in the Indo-Pacific and $9 billion for shoring up American defence in the region.
To date, USAID has provided $5.9 million to assist India in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Trump had announced in May that the US will donate ventilators to India to help it fight the "invisible enemy".
At a media briefing after talks with Blinken, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanked the US for its 'truly exceptional' support to India during the second wave of the pandemic and for keeping the supply chain for raw material open for vaccine production in India.
US Agency for International Development Administrator Dr Rajiv Shah has been praised by US lawmakers for shepherding America's development efforts with the scarce resources available and alleviating poverty-stricken populations in Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of South Asia, and Haiti, which was devastated by a killer earthquake over two years ago.
Yet another young and talented Indian American with impeccable credentials in development work worldwide, has been appointed by United States President Barack Obama to a senior position in his administration.
The first-ever Indian-American assistant secretary of state Richard R Verma gives Aziz Haniffa an insider's view of the administration.
Announcing her nomination among several others, Obama said: "I am grateful that these impressive individuals have agreed to join my administration. I am confident they will serve ably in their new roles, and look forward to working with them in the coming months and years."
Being organised by the US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, US and Foreign Commercial Service, in partnership with the US Department of Energy and US Agency for International Development, the Energy Efficiency Trade Mission would travel to New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai from November 16 to 20.
"A powerful consensus has formed across this government, at the highest level, that development is vital both to our national security and the shared interests of an interconnected world," Shah said in his maiden speech.
The United States Senate has approved the nomination of Rajiv Shah to head the US Agency for International Development, making him the highest ranking Indian-American in the administration.
Dr Rajiv Shah, who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to head the US Agency for International Development -- the country's top non-military foreign assistance programme -- has told US lawmakers that "the mission of USAID is my passion," and that "it is with enthusiasm and humility" that he seeks confirmation to lead the agency first established by President John F Kennedy in 1961
The Indo-US relations on Monday came up for review as an American Congressional delegation led by Senator Judd Gregg met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
India registered a 9.4 per cent growth in gross domestic product in the last fiscal, driven by sectors like manufacturing and information technology.
'We are in close touch with Indian officials at all levels. We are also closely coordinating with our allies, friends, and Quad partners about how we can collectively support India in its hour of need,' a senior Biden administration official told reporters
The document describes India as a growing centre of power with which Washington has common strategic interests.
The 'terrible' surge of the coronavirus cases in India has severely impacted COVAX's vaccine supply in the second quarter of this year to the extent that there will be a shortfall of 190 million doses by the end of June, according to a joint statement by the WHO, UNICEF, GAVI and CEPI.
USAID looks forward to working with each to make financial inclusion a long-lasting and sustainable reality in India.
The US Senate has confirmed Indian-American woman administrator Nisha Desai Biswal as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, making her the first person from the community to hold the top diplomatic position.
The highest ranking Indian-American in the Obama Administration, Raj Shah on Wednesday announced to step down as administrator of the US Agency for International Development in mid-February next year after receiving high-praise from the President.
US president Barack Obama new initiative to help millions of proud Indian-Americans directly invest in India's future.
A partial United States government shutdown over President Donald Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the US-Mexico border entered its 23rd day on Sunday making it the longest shuttering of federal agencies in the country's history, with no end in sight. The closure, which began on December 22, broke a decades-old record by a 1995-1996 shutdown under former US President Bill Clinton that lasted 21 days.
The country received $ 6bn in clean energy investment in 2013, out of a total of USD 62bn from 2006 to 2013.
Experts hail Obama's India trip as a big step towards signing of imp trade agreements.
Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in New Delhi onto participate in the fourth round of Indo-US strategic dialogue even as US announced to invest $100 million in India's burgeoning clean energy sector.
Ambassador Islam 'Isi' Siddiqui, one of the highest ranking Indian Americans in the Obama administration, has resigned from his position as chief agricultural negotiator in the office of the United States Trade Representative.
The government had constituted a one-man probe panel to look into Walmart's lobbying activities, after a political furore over the issue late last year.
Puneet Talwar, one of the most respected Middle East policy specialists in administration and Congressional circles, has been nominated by United States President Barack Obama to a senior State Department position.
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