Ex-USAID India chief Veena Reddy's role under scrutiny after Trump's allegations

Veena Reddy, ex-USAID India chief, faces scrutiny over 2021-2024 funding surge following Trump's interference comments.

Transcript

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.