U.S. President Donald Trump chose Elon Musk to head the new Department of Government Efficiency. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency led by billionaire Elon Musk has announced a series of expenditure cuts, including $21 million allocated for “voter turnout in India.” U.S. President Donald Trump chose Mr. Musk to head the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last month. Tasked with improving governance and curbing wasteful expenditures, the DOGE announced the cuts in a post on X on Saturday (February 15, 2025).

The Department said, “U.S. taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all (of) which have been cancelled…” The list included $486 million in grants to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening” including $22 million for “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova and $21 million for “voter turnout in India”. No further details on the funding were given in the post.

This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S., during which he held talks with President Trump, as well as Mr. Musk.

The SpaceX CEO met Mr. Modi with his family, including three children. The two discussed opportunities in space, mobility, technology, and energy and exchanged notes on efforts at good governance in India and the US.

In its post, the DOGE also cancelled $29 million allocated to “strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh”, as well as $20 million for “fiscal federalism” in Nepal and $19 million for “biodiversity conversation” in the Himalayan nation.

It also announced cutting a $10 million grant for “Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision”, $2.3 million for “strengthening independent voices in Cambodia”, $32 million to the Prague Civil Society Centre, $40 million for “gender equality and women empowerment hub” and $14 million for “improving public procurement” in Serbia, among other expenditure cuts. It also included $47 million for “improving learning outcomes in Asia”.

New Delhi:

Tesla chief Elon Musk is set to announce an investment in India of $2-$3 billion, mainly for building a new factory, when he visits New Delhi next week to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, two sources familiar with the discussions said.

Elon Musk will meet PM Modi on Monday during his India trip, when the billionaire is expected to unveil his plans to enter the world’s third-largest auto market where electric car adoption is still in its infancy.

India’s EV market is small but growing and dominated by local carmaker Tata Motors. EVs made up just 2% of total car sales in 2023, but the government is targeting 30% of new cars to be EVs starting 2030.

Elon Musk’s visit comes as Tesla battles slowing sales in the major markets of the United States and China, and has this week announced layoffs affecting 10% of its workforce.

Details of Elon Musk’s India visit are closely-guarded, with the CEO only publicly confirming on his social media platform X that he will meet PM Modi in India.

The two sources said Elon Musk will likely give an investment figure for India without sharing details such as a timeline or an Indian state where the plant will be built.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For years, Elon Musk opposed India’s high import taxes for EVs and lobbied for a change. India’s government in March unveiled a new EV policy lowering import taxes to 15% from as high as 100% on some models if a carmaker invests at least $500 million and sets up a factory.

Tesla has already started scouting for showroom space in New Delhi and Mumbai, and its Berlin factory is producing right-hand drive cars it aims to export to India starting later this year, Reuters has reported.

Elon Musk is also likely to attend an event organised by the Indian government in New Delhi with space startups, the two sources said.

Elon Musk owns the US space company SpaceX.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, in New York, USA. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI

American electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk is visiting India later this month to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is likely to announce the company’s investment plans in the country, according to sources.

Mr. Musk, who has described as a ‘natural progression’ to provide Tesla electric vehicles in India, is likely to be accompanied by other company executives during the visit that is expected in the week of April 22, a source said.

An e-mail query sent to Tesla to confirm Mr. Musk’s visit remained unanswered.

In June last year, Mr. Musk met with Mr. Modi during the latter’s US visit and stated that he planned to visit India in 2024 while expressing confidence that Tesla would enter the Indian market soon.

His upcoming visit to India comes weeks after the government announced a new electric vehicle policy under which import duty concessions will be given to companies setting up manufacturing units in the country with a minimum investment of USD 500 million, a move aimed at attracting major global players like Tesla.

As per the policy, the companies that would set up manufacturing facilities for EV passenger cars will be allowed to import a limited number of cars at lower customs /import duty of 15 per cent on vehicles costing USD 35,000 and above for a period of five years from the date of issuance of the approval letter by the government.

At present, cars imported as completely built units (CBUs) attract customs duty ranging from 70% to 100%, depending on engine size and cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value less or above $40,000.

The policy seeks to promote India as a manufacturing destination for EVs and attract investment from reputed global EV manufacturers.

Last year, Tesla approached the Indian government seeking duty cuts to import its vehicles in India.

Previously in 2022, Mr. Musk had said that Tesla, which was earlier seeking a reduction in import duties to sell its vehicles in India, would not manufacture its products unless it is allowed to first sell and service its cars in the country.

In August 2021, Mr. Musk said that Tesla may set up a manufacturing unit in India if it first succeeds with imported vehicles in the country. He had said Tesla wanted to launch its vehicles in India “but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!”