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Trump’s USAID cuts slash key Tibetan aid—the CTA now scrambles to cope as nearly half its funding disappears, threatening core programmes.
Image Source: Getty
The United States (US) President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel 83 percent of the programmes of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) worldwide has shocked many developing nations. However, for the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) based in Dharamshala, India, which received 40–50 percent of its budgetary funding from USAID, it has come as a particularly rude shock. To mitigate the effects of the shock, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed an official letter on 10 March to the Sikyong Penpa Tsering to reassure him and all Tibetans of the US support for Tibetans and to help them preserve their culture and identity. With the Tibetan Parliamentary session having just passed its annual budget, constraints will certainly get in the way of the effective functioning of the CTA. The implications of this go far beyond just the issue of funding, as without assistance, the Tibetan community globally will find it difficult to sustain itself and the Tibetan cause.
The programme channelled through USAID, assisted by the Tibet Fund and the US Government, aimed at empowering Tibetan communities by fostering sustainable livelihoods, enhancing social resilience, and preserving Tibetan cultural heritage.
According to Penpa Tsering, during the recently concluded Tibetan Parliamentary session, the letter from the US Secretary of State reaffirmed the US’ steadfast commitment to advocating for Tibetan human rights and supporting Tibetans in exercising their fundamental freedoms without fear of persecution, and in living peacefully and with dignity. Ironically, it was only in November last year that the US government announced a new five-year programme of support to the CTA. The programme channelled through USAID, assisted by the Tibet Fund and the US Government, aimed at empowering Tibetan communities by fostering sustainable livelihoods, enhancing social resilience, and preserving Tibetan cultural heritage.
Writing in 2013, Tsewang Namgyal stated that CTA would have received a total of US$ 530 million since 1959 in donations, even if one assumed annual assistance of US$ 10 million from various sources, indicating the heavy financial dependence of CTA on outside financial support. More recently, the suspension of US aid only reinforces this fact. The Sikyong said in February 2025 that aid suspension would disrupt several key programmes, including US$ 7 million allocated via the Tibet Fund for Tibetan refugee and diaspora community development and education. Further, funding of US$ 2 million for healthcare initiatives in India and Nepal, through the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, and the CTA’s five-year developmental programme, now in its fourth year, which had been receiving an annual grant of US$ 3 million, totalling US$ 15 million will be affected. The suspension will also affect the Department of Religion and Culture’s three-year Tibetan Digital Library project and the US$ 10 million, Inside Tibet program, funded through USAID, which operates independently of CTA oversight. In 2024, the US granted US$ 23 million in support of Tibetan programmes globally.
While several Tibet-related charities and NGOs globally remain active in supporting the CTA, the overdependence on the US for aid and assistance opens up the necessity of searching for alternative sources of revenue
To add context, the CTA was formerly known as the Tibetan Government in exile. It has three equal branches—executive, legislative, and judiciary—headed by the Sikyong (Political Leader), Tsoktso (Speaker), and Trimpon Chewa (Chief Justice Commissioner). Earlier, Sikyong was designated as Prime Minister (PM), but more recently, the nomenclature has been changed to ‘President’. The Tibetan diaspora supports the CTA by making financial contributions through the Green Book—a document issued by the Tibetan government in exile since 1972—and is encouraged to donate voluntarily to support the CTA’s activities.
The Government of India granted the Central Tibetan Relief Association (CTRA) INR 40 crore up to the fiscal year 2025–26. This is an annual grant-in-aid of INR 8 crore towards administrative expenses of settlement offices and other welfare schemes for Tibetan refugees staying in India. According to other reports, India contributes roughly 10 percent of the Tibetan budget as support for the refugee community and is channelled through direct grants, state-level aid, and indirect assistance, including land and infrastructure for settlements, besides financial assistance schemes to support Tibetan culture and heritage. Notably, the Karnataka Government provided INR 3 crore (2023–24) for the development of Tibetan settlements in South India. Additionally, several global charitable organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and agencies are involved in helping the Tibetan community in India.
Ever since the US Secretary of State has been helming the USAID, the CTA probably expects him to find ways and means to continue funding Tibetans and the government in exile after the 90-day review ordered by the US President. While several Tibet-related charities and NGOs globally remain active in supporting the CTA, the overdependence on the US for aid and assistance opens up the necessity of searching for alternative sources of revenue. India’s role has thus far been varied, and while assistance has been steady, it has been merely of a token value. Any effort to change the contours of India’s assistance will certainly demand facing the new realities of the Trump administration.
Bhashyam Kasturi is the former director of the National Security Council Secretariat.
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Bhashyam Kasturi is former director, National Security Council Secretariat. ...
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