The IOA’s contention was that “as part of this, additional events granted to RIL in the renegotiated agreement—namely the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics and the 2026 and 2030 Youth Olympic Games—provide minimal visibility to sponsors compared to high-visibility events like the Summer Olympics, Commonwealth Games, or Asian Games.” Because of this, the IOA feels, the CAG’s report incorrectly equates the visibility of these events with the level of exposure available at the Summer Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games which is inaccurate.
Usha refuted allegations levelled by IOA treasurer Sahdev Yadav that she acted without the knowledge of the IOA EC. She claimed this frivolous and a deliberate ploy to tarnish her image. “Any further attempts to mislead the public or undermine the IOA’s efforts will be met with appropriate legal action,” she said. Usha also said that the renegotiation proposal was circulated to all EC members on September 9, 2023, and later forwarded by the Acting CEO in a letter dated 5 October 2023. One of the EC members, Rohit Rajpal, representing the Sponsorship Committee, was present at the meetings where the renegotiation was discussed.
Usha also said a reply has been sent to the CAG. According to the CAG reply, “The rights fee payable by RIL for CWG 2022 and CWG 2026 is `6 crore each, for AG 2022 and AG 2026 is Rs 3 crore each and for OG 2024 and OG 2028 is `8 crore each. A sum of Rs 1 crore is to be paid in 2027, thereby making a total rights fee receivable by the IOA as Rs 35 crore.”
The IOA had also said that the calculation by the CAG audit team assuming each of the six events where the rights were granted by the IOA to RIL in July 2022, would bring in a uniform sum of `6 crore per event to the IOA seems misleading. The IOA entered into an agreement with the RIL on December 23.
The CAG during its report in September 2024, issued a half margin and observed a loss of Rs 24 crore to IOA by giving away four additional events — the Winter Olympic Games 2026 and 2030 and the Summer Youth Olympic Games 2026 and 2030 in the revised agreement between IOA and RIL.
However, the IOA has replied saying “as can be seen above, the sponsorship fee payable for different types of events i.e. Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Youth Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games are not similar but are dependent on perceived visibility a sponsor may obtain by associating with the IOA.”
