Indian Olympic Association Loses Rs 24 Crore in Deal with Reliance: CAG Report

In 2022, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) made a deal with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). This deal allowed Reliance to be the main sponsor for six big sports events. For this, Reliance paid Rs 35 crore.

The Six Events Reliance Sponsored

Reliance became the main sponsor for these six events:

1. 2022 Asian Games

2. 2026 Asian Games

3. 2024 Paris Olympics

4. 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

5. 2022 Commonwealth Games

6. 2026 Commonwealth Games

Extra Events Added Without Extra Money

Later, on December 5, 2023, IOA added four more events to the deal:

2026 Winter Olympics

2030 Winter Olympics

2026 Youth Olympics

2030 Youth Olympics

However, IOA did not charge Reliance any extra money for these new events. Reliance still paid only Rs 35 crore, the same as before.

CAG Report Finds IOA Lost Money

The CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) did an audit and said IOA should have charged more money when they added the four new events. According to the CAG, IOA should have asked for an extra Rs 24 crore, making the total Rs 59 crore.

Because of this, the IOA (Indian Olympic Association) did not protect their own interests. The total payment of ₹35 crore remained the same, even though four more games were added to the Sponsorship Agreement signed on December 5, 2023, with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL),” the audit report, dated September 12, mentioned.

The CAG said each of the new events should have cost Rs 6 crore. But since IOA didn’t charge extra, they lost Rs 24 crore.

PT Usha Summoned for Explanation

Because of this loss, IOA President PT Usha has been called by the CAG to explain why IOA did not ask for more money when adding the extra events.

Ajay Kumar Narang, executive assistant to IOA president Usha, explained that the agreement had to be renegotiated because of a mistake in the tender process.

“When the agreement was signed, and the naming rights were given, it was under the sponsor name ‘Reliance India House.’ In 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed sponsors to include their name along with the country’s name. However, in 2023, the IOC changed the rules, stating that sponsors couldn’t use their name anymore, and it would have to be named as a ‘country house,'” said Narang.

IOA treasurer Sahdev Yadav disagreed, saying that the executive council and sponsorship committee were not informed when the agreement was changed.

“RIL (Reliance Industries Limited) gained from this change, and the executive board, finance committee, and sponsorship committee were unaware. The president should explain why the agreement was altered and who approved it. This change has caused a ₹24 crore loss to the IOA, which should not have happened,” said Yadav, who is also the president of the Weightlifting Federation of India.