Patanjali Under Fire: Baba Ramdev’s Firm Faces Scrutiny Over Financial Deal

According to a media report, the Centre is seeking an explanation from Patanjali Ayurved Ltd on a number of financial transactions that federal economic intelligence services have identified as suspicious.

The company has received a notification from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which is also looking into possible fund diversion and corporate governance violations.

Yoga guru Ramdev's company's flagged transactions were judged "abnormal and dubious"; however, exact numbers have not been made public because the probe is still in its early stages. Patanjali has around two months to reply to the notice from the ministry.

Patanjali Going Through a Challenging Time

Patanjali Ayurved and its affiliates are facing an increasing number of legal and regulatory issues as a result of this most recent investigation. A division of the business was given show-cause notifications last year for alleged tax infractions and false refund claims.

The company that sells traditional medicines also came under heavy fire for advertising false items that promised to cure serious illnesses like cancer. The Supreme Court cited violations of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, and ordered the corporation to stop marketing its products as remedies for different illnesses.

The Kerala Drugs Control Department stated in February 2025 that Ramdev and Patanjali were the subject of 26 pending cases under the same advertisement legislation in different state courts.

A number of newspapers are also being sued for publishing the contentious ads. Although Patanjali Ayurved is still privately held, Patanjali Foods Ltd., a listed business, has been impacted. So far this month, the stock has fallen by almost 10%.

Patanjali’s Financial Outlook of 2024

According to the company's RoC filing, Patanjali Ayurved's overall revenue increased by 23.15% to INR 9,335.32 crore in 2023–2024 thanks to other revenue from Patanjali Foods (formerly known as Ruchi Soya) and other group companies.

Financial data obtained through the business intelligence platform Tofler shows that Patanjali Ayurved's other income in FY24 was INR 2,875.29 crore, compared to INR 46.18 crore in the same period last year.

For the fiscal year that concluded on March 31, 2024, its operating revenue—which is primarily derived from net sales—dropped 14.25% to INR 6,460.03 crore.

The July 1, 2022, transfer of Patanjali Ayurved's food business—which includes biscuits, ghee, cereals, and nutraceuticals—to Patanjali Foods had an effect on revenue. In FY24, their total profit increased fivefold to INR 2,901.10 crore.

For the fiscal year that concluded on March 31, 2023, Patanjali Ayurved reported a total profit of INR 578.44 crore on revenue of INR 7,533.88 crore. In FY23, Patanjali's Ayurved, a non-listed company, earned INR 7,580.06 crore in total revenue, including other revenue.

In FY24, Patanjali Ayurved's advertising and promotional costs increased by 9.28% to INR 422.33 crore. The Haridwar-based company Group stated earlier this year in July that it will be selling its whole home and personal care division from Patanjali Ayurved to Patanjali Food for INR 1,100 crore.