DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES USAID FUNDING TO CEPPS LISTED BY DOGE Team Musk flags, Trump waves, but a fact-check: $21 million didn’t go to India for ‘voter turnout’, was for Bangladesh Agencies got $13.4 million for range of programmes: ‘Political and civic engagement’ among youth, projects that questioned elections under Sheikh Hasina GANDHINAGAR, FEBRUARY 20 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY US President Trump again questioned USAID funding BJP questions ‘foreign role’, Cong seeks white paper A December 2024 LinkedIn post by USAID advisor in Dhaka Lubain Masum that confirms $21-mn grant through CEPPS (CEPPS), a group based in Washington, DC, which specialises in “complex democracy, rightsandgovernanceprogramming.” CEPPSwasmeanttoreceivea totalof $486millionfromUSAID. This corpus included, as per DOGE: $22 million for “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova; and $21 million for “voter turnout in India.” The first was awarded to CEPPS in September 2016 to “promote”an“inclusiveandparticipatory political process” in Moldova. With Federal Award Identification Number AID117LA1600001 (an ID specific to the grant), this was to run until July 2026 and $13.2 million has been disbursed so far. The Bangladesh political project However, the USAID $21million grant that DOGE flagged was meant for Bangladesh. Consider these: ■ Each federal grant comes with a specific place of performance — the country where it is meant to be spent. According to the official open data source of US federal spending, there is no USAID funded CEPPS project in India since 2008. ■ The only ongoing USAID grant to CEPPS matching the denomination of $21 million and the purpose of voting was sanctioned — with Federal Award CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20 AS US President Donald Trump once again questioned USAID funding of US$ 21 million for “voterturnout”inIndia,saying,“I guessthey(theJoeBidenadministration) were trying to get somebody else elected”, the Congress and BJP got into a war of words on Thursday. While the Congress dismissed Trump's remarks as “nonsensical” and demanded a whitepaperonUSAID’sfinancial supporttogovernmentandnongovernmental organisations in India, the BJP said Trump had “confirmed”aforeignattemptto influence Indian elections. Addressing an event in MiamionThursday,Trumpsaid: “...US$ 21 million for voter CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BJP GOVT TAKES CHARGE OF DELHI, PORTFOLIOS ALLOCATED Nod for Ayushman Bharat, CAG reports: Gupta, team check in GAYATHRI MANI NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20 P17 THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW ‘CONG IN DECLINE, SO IF SOMEONE JUMPS SHIP, WE WELCOME THEM, KEEPING BJP IDEOLOGY INTACT’ MOHAN YADAV MADHYA PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER GOVT & POLITICS BJP MOUNTS PUBLIC OUTREACH ON JOINT ELECTIONS PAGE 17 HOURS AFTER being administered the oath of office, Delhi’s new Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her six ministers held their first Cabinet meeting Thursday evening. Gupta later told reporters that the Cabinet had passed the Ayushman Bharat, a flagship scheme of the Centre, under which eligible people will get an insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh. The Delhi government will give eligible beneficiaries an additional coverage of Rs 5 lakh. “The Cabinet discussed two majoritemsontheagendaatthe meetingtoday:AyushmanBharat Yojana and 14 pending CAG reports. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave this (Ayushman Bharat) scheme to the entire country but the previous AAP government did not implement it. But we passed it in our first Cabinet meeting,” she said. “Under this scheme, the Centralgovernmentwillprovide a benefit of Rs 5 lakh, and a topup of an additional Rs 5 lakh will be provided by the state government... The scheme will be implemented as soon as possible after completing all formalities,” she said. Gupta said the Cabinet also Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at the swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi on Thursday. Tashi Tobgyal discussed the Rs 2,500 financial assistance scheme for women. “Wehavetoidentifythebeneficiaries. It will take time to identify the category of beneficiaries and criteria. The scheme needs more discussion. It will be taken up in the next meeting,” she said. TheCabinetalsoapprovedthe pending CAG reports. “These are 14 pending CAG reports which thepreviousgovernmentdidnot tableintheDelhiAssembly...The reports will be tabled in the first sitting of the Assembly... The other issues on our agenda and commitmentswillbepassedone by one very soon,” she said. Earlier in the day, along with Gupta, the ministers who were administered the oath of office by Lt Governor V K Saxena at the Ramlila Maidan – the ceremony was attended by Prime Minister NarendraModiandtheBJPbrass – were Parvesh Sahib Singh, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra, Ravinder Indraj Singh and Pankaj Kumar Singh. Gupta has kept the portfolios of Finance, Services, Revenue andVigilancealongwithsixothers. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE GOVERNMENT will create a Viksit Gujarat Fund with an allocationof Rs50,000croretofulfill the vision of making the state a developed one by 2047, finance minister Kanubhai Desai announced as he presented a surplus budget of Rs 3,70,250 crore in the Gujarat Assembly on Thursday. Thebudgethassignificantallocations for fisheries, urban development and tourism sectors, among others. Desai further announced tax relief worth Rs 148 crore without introducing any new taxes. A major tax relief came in the form of reduction of 5% motor vehicle tax on fully-battery operated electric vehicles. The total size of the budget shows an increase of 11.37% compared to the 2024-25 budget. Other highlights included developing high-speed corridors; setting up Surat Economic Region (SER), allocation for farm mechanisation; and promoting usage of artificial intelligence in governance. Presenting the budget, the finance minister said, “With a commitment to building Viksit CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Finance Minister Kanu Desai (Centre) outside the Assembly as he arrives to present the budget on Thursday. Bhupendra Rana What’s for fisheries sector? Rs-1,622 cr package, key policy decision, and more PARIMAL DABHI GANDHINAGAR, FEBRUARY 20 FINANCE MINISTER Kanubhai Desai's budget speech on Thursday gave a boost to the fisheries sector with the announcement of a financial package of Rs 1,622 crore and a key Amid Allahbadia row, I&B issues advisory on ‘vulgar content’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20 AMID THE row over podcasterinfluencer Ranveer Allahbadia's remarks on a YouTube show, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has warned OTT (over-the-top) platforms and their self-regulatory bodies to strictly adhere to the Code of Ethics prescribed under the IT Rules-2021, underlining the need to ensure age-based classification of content. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court, while referring to the Allahbadia case, had asked whether the government intended to do something about THE WORLD obscenityinsocialmediacontent, sayingthat“otherwise,wearenot going to leave this vacuum”. InanadvisorydatedFebruary 19,theI&BMinistrysaidithadreceived complaints about the “spreadofobscene,pornographic and vulgar content by certain publishers of OTT platforms and social media”. It warned such platforms to “not transmit any content which is prohibited by law (and) undertake age-based classification of content”. The ministry asked these platforms to adhere to the Code of Ethics and implement “access control for 'A' rated content” to ensure that children don't consume inappropriate content. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20 PAGE 19 precedented” and hailed Gujarat's commitment to give impetus to “blue economy”. Before making the announcement, the finance minister said, “Our government emphasises on fisheries and animal husbandry along with agriculture to increase livelihood CONTINUEDONPAGE2 ‘Very, very disturbing’: SC stays Lokpal decision to probe HC judges ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20 CALLING IT “something very, very disturbing”, the Supreme Court Thursday stayed the Lokpal’s January 27 order which held it had the power to look into complaints against sitting judges of High Courts. The top court had taken suo motu cognizance of the January 27 order and listed it for hearing beforeabenchheadedbyJustice B R Gavai and also comprising Justices Surya Kant and A S Oka. “Something very, very disturbing,”JusticeGavaisaidasthe bench issued notice to the Centre, Lokpal and the com- plainant in the matter. It directed its registrar judicial “to mask the identity of the complainant and serve him through the Registrar Judicial of the High Court where the complainantresides”.Itinjunctedthe complainantfromdisclosingthe nameof thejudgeagainstwhom the complaint had been filed, or from disclosing contents of the complaint. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that according to his interpretation of the relevant provisions in the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, which the Lokpal had relied upon, “the High Court judge would never CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 2 Class 10 board exams next yr, CBSE may shrink schedule to under 2 weeks ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND HAMAS RETURNS BODIES OF FOUR ISRAELI HOSTAGES U.S. WITHHOLDS CO-SPONSORSHIP OF UN MOTION BACKING UKRAINE policy decision – non-agriculture(NA)approvalwillnolonger be required for undertaking fish farming on agricultural land. The decisions were taken for the “holistic development of fisheries” sector, the FM said. As the announcements were made,Chief MinisterBhupendra Patel called the package “un- THE CENTRAL Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is learnt to be considering a significant compression of its Class 10 board examination period from the usual month-long schedule to less than two weeks in order to accommodate a two-exam system starting next year. Currently,theBoardprepares the Class 10 exam schedule in a waythatnotwosubjectschosen by a student fall on the same date. This effectively translates intoamonth-longschedulewith E EXPLAINED NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20 Rs 50,000 cr for Viksit Gujarat Fund, fillip to fisheries, urban development sectors in Budget EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE JAY MAZOOMDAAR SINCE THE Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced February 16 that it had “cancelled,” among a string of projects, USAID funding of “$21 million for voter turnout in India,”therulingBJPhasaccused theoppositionCongressof using alleged external influence in India’s election process. Trumphimself,inaspeechin Miami Wednesday, said: “Why do we need to spend $21m for voter turnout in India? Wow, $21m! I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected.” Facts show all may have jumped the gun. That $21 million, records accessed by The Indian Express show, was sanctioned in 2022 for Bangladesh, not India. Of this, $13.4 million has alreadybeendisbursed,ostensibly for “political and civic engagement” among Bangladesh students in the run-up to the January2024electionsandprojects that put a question mark on theintegrityof theseelections— seven months before the ouster of Sheikh Hasina. At the centre of the dispute are two USAID grants on DOGE’s list that were channelled via the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Opening a window for ● students THE NATIONAL Education Policy, 2020, envisages moving away from highstakes exams and proposes biannual board exams to provide students with more opportunities. In line with this, the Education Ministry has asked the CBSE to prepare a proposal for holding two exams per year. a gap of anything between three toeven10daysbetweentwopapers at times. This year, for instance, the Class 10 board exams began on February 15 and will continue till March 18. However, if the two-exam system is to be introduced, CBSE may have to reduce the gap between papers considerably, maybe even to a day, to ensure both exams are held and all results declared by June, said sources. This could mean that the exams will be squeezed into a week or 10-day period. The issue was discussed at a recent meeting chaired by CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Gopi reality check for middle-class parents: Sport is high risk PAGE 1 ANCHOR SHIVANI NAIK MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 20 “ALL I'M saying is, don't go all in, hoping they will be the next Sachin and earn Rs 200 crore. It won't happen 99 per cent of the time.” That's the reality check PullelaGopichand—India'sbadminton national head coach and the man credited with shepherdingmanysuccessfulcareers, fromSainaNehwaltoPVSindhu and Kidambi Srikanth — has for parentsinasportslandscaperiddled with uncertainties. In an interview to The Indian Express, Gopichand, the man responsible for making India a badminton powerhouse, spoke of the realities of life that even the most elite of India's athletes (barring,possibly,thecricketers) face when they step out of their brightly lit sports arenas – from the shrinking of employment options that offer financial mobilitytothelackof growthinjobs under the sports quota and the prevalence of casual disrespect at the workplace. “SomeonelikeTanishaCrasto (Top 30 in badminton mixed doubles) or Treesa Jolly (women's doubles Top 10) are giving it their all. But when they come andaskme,'koi job hai?',it saddens me. Treesa is two-time All England semi-finalist, but if they still have to think 'I need a job',andjobsareelusiveanddisappearing, then something is majorly wrong. Even top players... Lakshya Sen (World Championshipbronzemedalist) gotajobonlyayearandhalf ago. SatwikReddy-ChiragShetty(formerworldNo1s)alsohadtowin manytitlesbeforetheywereconsideredforjobs,”Gopichandsaid. It is this bleak prospect that Pullela Gopichand with badminton stars Kidambi Srikanth, P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal. Express file forces Gopi to warn those looking at sport as a possible career pathfortheirchildren.“If youare a middle-class parent, where you value financial security, investing everything into sport is a big risk,” Gopi says. He also talks about the pain he feels when he sees the postretirementwork-livesof someof the country's top sporting stalwarts. “You might be the most talentedathlete,butlifeformost can be worse than the youngest railway civil services (officer) they are reporting to. I've seen a 55-year-old former Asiad medallist having to bow and say 'Yes, sir' to a 24-year-old junior- most entry-level guy, who was a civil services IAS reject. You pick five phone numbers on your contact list (of top sportspersons), call them and ask them, 'How is your officer?' and they will say 'torture ho rahaa hai (it's torture)',” he said. Career progressions are also bleak in Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) jobs. “Sometimes the highest ceiling of their careers is Office Chief Superintendent, below the joiningrankof someentry-levelcivil services officers. Then they are additionally told, 'Be happy you at least have a job'. They are repeatedly disrespected and told 'masti se sports quota mein aa gaye(youhaditeasy)'.It'shumiliating,” he said. According to Gopi, this work culture of contempt doesn't spare even the most-celebrated sports stars. “Seeing Sakshi Malik, one of only two Rio medallists, and the Phogat sisters, who have World Championshipmedals,havingto bow before officials, really angered me. Athletes and Olympians... our entire lives are focus-driven. The day sport leaves us, we struggle to find excitement in anything. For someone who hasn't been there, a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad