BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has initiated a 'substantive motion' against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
On July 2, the US Embassy shared data that "it said covered USAID funding in India from 2014 to 2024", including details of implementing partners, objectives, and key accomplishments of each activity undertaken, he said.
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India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has expressed concern over information regarding USAID funding in India, calling it "concerning" and hinting at potential "bad faith" activities. Jaishankar asserted that India is looking into the matter and that the country should know who is involved in such activities. He also emphasized the need to expand India's security definition in the digital age, highlighting the influence of technology and narratives on public perception. The statements come amid controversy surrounding USAID funding for certain activities in India, with the US President Donald Trump questioning the agency's funding of voter turnout efforts.
President Donald Trump has withdrawn the United States from over 60 international organisations, including United Nations bodies and the India-France-led International Solar Alliance, calling the institutions 'redundant' and 'contrary' to America's interests.
'If the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation cuts funds, there could be more impact.'
The latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24.
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.
'If she hadn't left Bangladesh, the militants had planned on killing her'
The study said the fund cuts could reverse decades of progress and that for many low and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a "global pandemic" or a "major armed conflict".
'One Chinese interlocutor said India should realise that "China can do without India, but India could not do without China", pointing to its inability to do without Chinese intermediates and components,' former foreign secretary Shyam Saran discovers on a visit to China.
Trump further pointed out India's strong economic position and high tariffs on US goods, stating, "They got a lot of money. They're one of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us. We can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high."
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.
Trump made these remarks after Elon Musk-led DOGE's (Department of Government Efficiency) disclosed that USAID contributed USD 21 million to Election Commission for boosting voter turnout.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will scale up its efforts on the African continent, focusing on three key goals over the next 20 years, ending preventable maternal and child deaths, eradicating deadly infectious diseases, and reducing poverty.
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."
United States President Donald Trump for the fourth time in recent days claimed that the Biden administration allocated $21 million funding to India for 'voter turnout', evoking a sharp response from the Congress which urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to 'talk to his friend' and strongly refute the allegation.
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.
Soros, a Hungarian-American political activist, and his organisations like OSF have been accused by the ruling BJP of acting against India's interests. His utterances during the Adani-Hindenburg controversy also drew criticism from the party.
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.
On Wednesday, protests erupted across the United States in response to President Donald Trump's recent actions.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has criticized the BJP for its allegations that elements in the American "deep state" were behind attempts to destabilize India, saying this "attack-dog" behavior is an embarrassment to India. Tharoor's comments come after the US rejected the BJP's allegations, describing them as "disappointing" and asserting that the US government is a champion of media freedom. The BJP had alleged that the US deep state colluded with the media portal OCCRP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to "damage" India's image.
"Anybody unhappy with Elon? If you are, then we'll throw them out of here," Trump said
To date, USAID has provided $5.9 million to assist India in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The United States on Saturday rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party's allegations that organisations funded by the US State Department and elements in the American 'deep state' were behind attempts to destabilise India through targeted attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business tycoon Gautam Adani.
'While suppression of information is acceptable for the government, the Opposition's efforts at pinning the government and its leaders is labeled anti-national,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Arun Maira who worked for 25 years with the Tata Group, remembers his early years with Ratan Tata.
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.
India registered a 9.4 per cent growth in gross domestic product in the last fiscal, driven by sectors like manufacturing and information technology.
No single individual, institution, or action is to blame for this. The BJP is responding in kind -- definitely not without checking with its government. And they wait for Mr Trump, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Experts are finding feasible solutions for making the Delhi buildings more resistant to earthquakes.
"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.
Dr Sambhu N Banik, commissioner, Human Rights Commission of Maryland, has been appointed a public member of the United States Agency for International Development's Foreign Service Performance and Evaluation Board for 2010.
The 39-year-old Indian-American was sworn in on Friday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the chief of USAID, which oversees disbursal of $40 billion US foreign aid programme.
Dr Rajiv Shah, the senior-most Indian American in the Barack Obama administration, has been nominated as the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development -- the country's top foreign assistance programme.In nominating Shah, Obama said, "The mission of USAID is to advance America's interests by strengthening our relationships abroad. Rajiv brings fresh ideas and the dedication and impressive background necessary to help guide USAID."
United States Agency for International Development's Administrator Dr Raj Shah has said the public-private partnerships the USAID has been pushing for in India has overcome much of the notorious entrenched bureaucratic hurdles and red tape that has hitherto been a bane to development, particularly in alleviating acute health care deficiencies in the system.
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 USAID workers were on a visit to a girls' school in the Koto area, located some 15 km from Lower Dir's headquarters in Timargarah, when the remote-detonated bomb went off. More than 70 persons have been injured in the blast. The slain girls were in their classroom when the bomb was detonated. So it is believed that the toll could go higher.
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