A viral video posted by US Representative Nancy Mace has sparked controversy over a $750,000 (Rs 6.56 crores) grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to an NGO linked to Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor’s family.
The video, captioned, "USAID is too busy playing global good Samaritan to advance American interests," questions whether such foreign aid aligns with U.S. priorities.
The grant was awarded in 2020 to Good Business Lab (GBL), co-founded by Anant Ahuja, the brother of Kapoor’s husband, Anand Ahuja. According to a social media post, 'He serves as the CEO and Co-Founder of 'Good Business Lab', a not-for-profit, labour innovation lab which design, test, and scale programs using rigorous research methods, that align worker wellbeing with business interests'.
The funding was reportedly designated to support migrant garment workers in India, particularly to address social isolation and mental health challenges faced by young female workers.
According to USAID’s official page, the grant supported a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 1,000 female junior factory workers at six factories. The program paired junior workers with senior colleagues to provide mentorship and emotional support. The intervention aimed to help India’s massive rural-to-urban migrant workforce—an estimated 120 million people—cope with the social and psychological distress of migration.
USAID stated that if successful, the model could be expanded to benefit Shahi Exports’ 150,000 workers and potentially influence industry-wide mental health initiatives.
The funding has now come under scrutiny amid political tensions over USAID’s spending. According to AP, officials working with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reportedly sought access to the U.S. Treasury’s payment system to halt USAID’s fund transfers, raising concerns about political interference.
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