Veena Reddy, ex-USAID India chief, faces scrutiny over 2021-2024 funding surge following Trump's interference comments.
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00:00And as the political slugfest over USAID funding intensifies in India, the spotlight is on
00:05the UN agency's former India chief Veena Reddy.
00:08Lawyer and BJP leader Mahesh Jait Malani has called for an investigation into her role
00:13as USAID funding jumped during Reddy's tenure from 2021 to 2024.
00:18Well, 21 million dollars, I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected, well.
00:26US President Donald Trump hinting at USAID interference in India's election has put the
00:31spotlight on Veena Reddy, the former India director for the UN agency.
00:39An Andhra Pradesh-born American diplomat, she joined USAID's India office on August
00:455, 2021.
00:49She announced her return to the US on July 17, 2024, more than a month after the results
00:56for the Lok Sabha elections were announced.
01:00Before joining the US government as a Foreign Services Officer, Reddy was a corporate attorney
01:05in New York, London and Los Angeles.
01:08She has also been a member of Bar Councils of New York and California, and has also served
01:14in USAID missions in Pakistan, the Central Asian republics and Central America.
01:22With Trump's bombshell revelation, BJP leader and top lawyer Mahesh Jait Malani demanded
01:28an investigation into USAID funding and Veena Reddy's role.
01:33Well, India should certainly make a request for further details, whether there are only
01:40three questions which remain.
01:42An allocation was made, right, which President Trump, in his words, says were meant to bring
01:50about a change in government and we should tell the Indian government.
01:53Who are the people who made the allegation on behalf of USAID in India, right?
01:58And three, who are the people who received the allocated funds?
02:01We will know when this investigation takes place or where further information is communicated
02:07by the Trump administration to the Modi government.
02:11USAID funds disbursements for Indian projects by USAID rose significantly during Reddy's
02:17tint, jumping multi-fold to over $228 million or Rs 1,982 crores in 2022, the highest since
02:282001.
02:31According to the US State Department, during her nearly three years of tenure as the mission
02:36director, Veena Reddy oversaw various projects in fields of health, economic development,
02:42education, social services, democracy, human rights and governance.
02:50India Railways, Ministry of Power, Neeti Aayog, National Power Training Institute and Power
02:56Sector Skill Council, NTPC, Green National Skills Development Corporation, Ministry of
03:01Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Atal Innovation Mission are among
03:06prominent government bodies that either signed fresh agreements or implemented USAID-funded
03:12programs during Reddy's tint in New Delhi.
03:16Will the USAID funds and Veena Reddy's role be probed now?
03:21With Shubham Tiwari, New Delhi, Bureau Report, India Today.