Telangana govt rejects Adani Group’s Rs 100 crores towards Young India Skills University

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has announced that it was rejecting Rs 100 crores given by the Adani Group to Young India Skills University in the State.

The decision comes days after billionaire and Adani Group chief Gautam Adani was charged by US prosecutors for allegedly paying USD 250 million in bribes to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

On the instructions of chief minister A Revanth Reddy, special chief secretary Jayesh Ranjan has sent an official letter to Dr Priti G Adani, chairperson of Adani Foundation.

The decision was taken since Adani's announcement gave rise to "unnecessary discussions" that it may appear favouring the state government or the CM, if the donation was accepted, said CM Revanth Reddy addressing a press conference.

“I and my Cabinet colleagues do not want to be involved in unnecessary discussions and situations that would dent the image of the state government or my own. That is why, on behalf of the state government, our official Jayesh Ranjan wrote a letter (to Adanis). Due to the (present) situation and controversies, the Telangana government is not ready to accept the Rs 100 crore donation you (Adani) generously offered," CM Revanth Reddy said.

The state government's attempts to obtain Income Tax exemptions for the donations made to the varsity fructified recently, the CM said.

“We are thankful to you for committing Rs 100 crores to Young India Skills University on behalf of your foundation vide your letter dated 18.10.2024. We have so far not asked any of the donors for a physical transfer of funds since the university had not received the IT exemption under section 80G. Though this exemption order has now come recently, I have been instructed by the chief minister not to seek transfer of funds in view of the present circumstances and arising controversies,” read the letter.

The government has planned to set up the Young India Skills University to impart skill training to the youth to enhance their employment opportunities. Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra has consented to be the chairperson of the university and its board comprises top executives from reputed corporates. The amount proposed by Adani was part of the company's Corporate Social Responsibility activities.

Gautam Adani, and seven others, including his nephew Sagar Adani, have been charged with paying bribes to unidentified officials of the State governments in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to buy expensive solar power, potentially earning a profit of more than USD 2 billion over 20 years. According to the indictment by the US court, prosecutors claim that the Adani Group concealed this transaction from the US banks and investors while raising billions of dollars for its renewable energy projects. The renewable energy company is accused of raising over $3 billion in loans and bonds during this period by making ‘false and misleading statements.’

Adani participated in bids like every other company

Some forces have been accusing the State government of accepting funds from the Adani Group. As per the rule, everyone has been allowed to invest legally, said Revanth Reddy.

He mentioned about how Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made it clear that the company which won the bids as per the rules will get the opportunity to invest. Several companies have come forward to provide funds under the corpus fund for the Young India Skills University which has been set up by the Telangana government ambitiously. As part of that, Adani Group came forward and announced Rs 100 crores for the university.

"Till now, the Telangana government has not taken funds from any company including Adani," Revanth clarified.

CM Revanth’s trip to Delhi

Speaking about his visit to Delhi, he stated, "My visit to Delhi today is to attend the wedding of Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla’s daughter, it has no political significance. Tomorrow, we will discuss the issue which needs to be raised in the Parliament on behalf of the State government with Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs. We will chalk out an action plan to get funds and permissions which are due to the State. We will meet the available Union ministers tomorrow seeking to release pending funds and approval of the permissions,".

‘Telangana has the right to ask for funds’

Speaking to the media, Revanth Reddy said, "Telangana has suffered a lot in the last 10 years. It is our right to get funds from the Centre. The BJP is not giving funds to the State from the party treasury. It is given by the Central government treasury. The government will get funds only when we go and meet the Union ministers without showing political bias. We will go to Delhi regularly for funds and we don’t care about the allegations levelled against us,".