Crossword Genius

State assistance raised to support the kind-hearted (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

india

'state' is the definition.
(I know that India is a Asian country)

'assistance raised to support the kind-hearted' is the wordplay.
'assistance' becomes 'aid' (synonyms).
'raised' is a reversal indicator (going up in a down clue).
'to support' says to put letters next to each other (in a down clue, some letters hold up others).
'hearted' indicates the central letters.
The middle of 'kind' is 'in'.
'aid' backwards is 'dia'.
'dia' put after 'in' is 'INDIA'.

(Other definitions for india that I've seen before include "Part of Asia" , "One preceding Juliet" , "Second most populous country in the world" , "Populous nation" , "Cricket team" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app