IOA ignores 'own interest' in RIL agreement, loses Rs 24 crore: CAG report

The latest report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) uncovered that the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) incurred a loss of Rs 24 crore due to the national federation's 'faulty' sponsorship agreement with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

The CAG stated that the IOA overlooked its 'own interest', allowing RIL to claim the agreement's benefits.

The agreement, signed on August 1, 2022, granted the RIL the right to be the Official Principal Partner of the Indian contingent's campaign in the Asian Games (2022, 2026), Commonwealth Games (2022, 2026), 2024 Paris Olympics and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, reported Hindustan Times.

As per the report, the deal also granted RIL to display its 'India House' brand during these events.

The CAG report also stated that the agreement was renewed on December 5, 2023, ensuring the RIL marks its presence at the Winter Olympic Games (2026, 2030) and Youth Olympic Games (2026, 2030).

“In view of the above the IOA did not watch their own interest as there was no change in consideration amount, Rs 35 crore, which was set in the Sponsorship Agreement signed on December 5, 2023 after giving the rights of four additional games to RIL,” the audit report, prepared in September, stated.

The CAG also suggested that the IOA should have raised the consideration amount from Rs 35 crore to Rs 59 crore as the consideration amount of rights of six games was Rs 35 crore, calculated on an average of Rs 6 crore per game.

“Thus, there was loss of Rs 24 crore to IOA due to faulty agreement with RIL and undue favour to RIL,” the report noted. “The reason for not enhancing the amount by Rs 59 crores may be intimated to audit," the CAG noted further.

The CAG, meanwhile, sought the IOA president PT Usha's response about the loss to the IOA.