US awards for projects promoting democracy, HR in S Asia

The awards, announced by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour of the State Department, will be an open competition affair and the department plans to dole out up to $ 15 million through such grants, an official statement said on February 10.

The department also plans to give away 10 to 20 awards, with the award money ranging between $ 250,000 and $ 1 million under the "Human Rights and Democratisation Initiative in Countries with Significant Muslim Populations," it said.

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The projects should promote democratic elections by strengthening institutional capacity and in-country election monitoring capabilities of local groups in Bangladesh and expand training for political parties and candidates in Pakistan, the statement added.

Announcing the awards, the State Department said it views the large Muslim population in India as "marginalised" and wants projects to come up which supports the civil society.