Forensic Audit of Sachin Tendulkar’s Mother-in-Law’s NGO ‘Give Foundation’ Ordered by Home Ministry

Ahmedabad: The Ministry of Home Affairs has ordered a forensic audit of the accounts of the NGO Give Foundation, which is registered in Ahmedabad. The NGO, which operates under the name Give India, has one of its directors, Annabel Anand Mehta, who is the mother-in-law of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. Annabel Mehta has been a director of Give Foundation since 2010.

The Ministry's order follows the possibility of illegal use of foreign donations received by the foundation. It is noteworthy that the Home Ministry rarely orders forensic audits for NGOs, indicating that there might have been serious complaints or misuse of foreign donations by the foundation.

The Home Ministry has appointed the Borhkar and Majumdar Chartered Accountant firm to conduct the audit. The firm will investigate the foreign donations received by Give Foundation in the financial years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22, as well as how these funds were utilized.

The audit firm has been given the authority under Section 20 of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) to seek information from individuals associated with the NGO. Additionally, Section 30 allows the firm to examine the accounts. These provisions are rarely invoked, which raises concerns about the possibility of large-scale irregularities at Give Foundation.

So far, there has been no official statement from Give Foundation regarding this matter, but the results of the audit may provide further clarity on the operations of the foundation in the coming days.