Amul to sponsor Indian contingent for Rio Olympics

Will pay Rs 1 crore to the Indian Olympic Association for the sponsorship

Dairy major Amul today announced to sponsor the Indian contingent for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, to be held in August.

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells its product under the brand Amul, will pay Rs 1 crore to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for the sponsorship.

The agreement for the official sponsorship of the Indian contingent in 2016 Olympic games, was signed by IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta and GCMMF Managing Director R S Sodhi.

"Amul is committed to strengthening the Olympic movement in India and encourage young generation from all over the country to take up sports," Sodhi told reporters here.

Asked about the sponsorship amount, Mehta said, "Amul will pay Rs 1 crore for the sponsorship."

Explaining the reason behind this association, Sodhi said there is a synergy between Amul and athletes as milk is nature's original energy drink and plays a pivotal role in building the physical and mental strength of the athletes.

Sodhi added in the last edition of 2012 London Olympics games also, Amul had sponsored the Indian contingent.

Amul will launch a series of advertising campaigns for milk and various dairy products to promote this association in the coming months.

Rio Olympics will play host to the largest Indian contingent ever, with more than 100 sports persons taking part in the event.

Mehta said, "I am happy that Amul family is supporting Indian Olympic Association from past sometime."

The preparations for our athletes are in full swing and till date more than 100 athletes have qualified for Rio Olympics, this is the largest ever contingent we are sending, he said.

Amul had reported a turnover of Rs 23,005 crore for 2015-16. The cooperative has about 60 various processing plants and there are 17 member unions of GCMMF associated with more than 36 lakh farmers across 18,600 villages of Gujarat.