Nandini's move to sponsor Ireland and Scotland teams raises criticism

Former Infosys CFO, Mohandas Pai has questioned the brand's move to sponsor foreign teams.

'Nandini', the Karnataka Milk Federation's dairy brand will sponsor Scotland and Ireland cricket teams for the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup. The KMF managing director MK Jagadish said that the teams will display the ‘Nandini’ brand during the matches.

The move is aimed at strengthening the brand's international presence that has stores in the United States, Middle East and Singapore, says Jagdish.

However, the move has received some criticism. The former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Infosys, TV Mohandas Pai, criticised the sponsorship in a post on X.

Why not sponsor the Karnataka Ranji team , Karnataka sports persons, Karnataka artists? Farmers children, scholarship for poor? Kmf is funded by Kannadiga tax papers money, subsidy and investments from budget but chooses to spend on foreign teams whom nobody knows! @siddaramaiah… https://t.co/i8DFYl3Pcl

— Mohandas Pai (@TVMohandasPai) April 21, 2024

“Why not sponsor the Karnataka Ranji team , Karnataka sports persons, Karnataka artists? Farmers children, scholarship for poor? Kmf is funded by Kannadiga tax papers money, subsidy and investments from budget but chooses to spend on foreign teams whom nobody knows!,” Pai wrote on X.

In response to Pai’s criticism, KM Jagdish defended the sponsorship decision and clarified that 85 % of the federation’s revenues directly benefit farmers in India.