Will Donald Trump’s USAID crackdown affect India? Here’s all you need to know

The US Agency for International Development halted all operations in India this week amid a funding review by the Donald Trump government. The newly inducted Republican leader may soon bring the agency under State Department control — days after he imposed a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance.

What happens now?

USAID has been one of the agencies hardest hit as the new administration and Elon Musk’s budget-cutting team target federal programs they say are wasteful or not aligned with a conservative agenda. 

Staffers around the world were left scrambling Wednesday for answers and starting to pack up households or pull their children from school after a sudden Trump administration order yanking almost all of them off the job and out of the field.

Is India affected?

Economic aid from the US has been used to improve infrastructure and address health concerns in India for several decades. This includes the establishment of numerous educational institutions as well as strengthening national programs on on immunisation, family planning, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, polio and more. 

Indian dependency on US support has declined over the years — especially in the wake of a 2004 decision that rejected conditional foreign aid. Reports citing ForeignAssistance.gov indicate that the total US aid obligations to India in FY2024 stood at $141 million. 

According to reports, India has received around $1.5 billion from USAID between 2015 and 2024 — with fluctuations over the years. The top programmes funded by USAID in India over the past year was in the health sector. An initiative focused on ending maternal and child deaths in India received the highest funding — amounting to $10.2 million — from USAID. The Department of State provided with $7.2 million under USAID to Project Accelerate which looks to prevent HIV/AIDS in India. The agency has also reportedly disbursed $6.6 million for the socio-economic development of Tibetan communities living in South Asia.

(With inputs from agencies)