IPL 2015 has made a contribution of Rs 11.5 billion to India’s GDP, the BCCI said on Friday. The BCCI based its claim on a survey done by a Sports Advisory Group of KPMG, a leading audit company.
This is the first time that such a survey has been done. It comes at a time when the BCCI is under immense pressure to clean its image after the IPL betting-fixing scandal and when the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha Committee is set to give a report on BCCI’s reforms.
“The total economic output associated with IPL matches in India for 2015 is estimated at Rs 26.5 billion. This is the aggregate value of all transactions that took place as a direct, indirect or induced effect of the economic activity of the 2015 matches,” BCCI said in a statement. “Hosting an IPL match also adds value and revenue to the economy of the state.”
The BCCI further said, “The 2015 season, saw around 20% of attendees visiting from cities other than the host city. Also notable were international visitors primarily from the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa.”
The study also highlighted the impact to India, beyond economic impacts that are generally measurable in financial terms. The key benefits and opportunities identified were: employment generation across sectors; tourism development to ensure India maintains its position on the global sporting map; support of tier-two cities providing key media exposure and development of cricket and sport participation across India.
“It is inspiring to know that IPL has had such a positive impact on India’s economy; the contribution of INR 11.5 billion to India’s GDP through a 60-day event is surely testament to the tournament’s success. We look forward to redefine these benchmarks through the upcoming seasons of the IPL and empowering the nation’s economy through our future endeavours,” IPL governing council chairman Rajeev Shukla said.
BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said, “KPMG’s economic impact study highlighted not only IPL’s significant contribution to India’s GDP but also the positive effect on employment generation across various sectors, tourism development, upliftment of the tier 2 cities through media exposure and development of cricket and other sport participation across India.”