Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams also referred as TTD is an independent trust which manages the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple ), is a Hindu temple in the hill town of Tirumala, near Tirupati in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, South India. It is around from Chennai, from Hyderabad, and from Bangalore....

at Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

. The trust not only oversees the operations and finances of the richest and the most visited religious center in the world, it is also involved in various social, religious, literary and educational activities within Andhra Pradesh and India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. TTD employs about 14,000 people to maintain the 12 temples and sub-shrines under its control along with the execution of its social activities.

Establishment and legislative setting

The Beginning:TTD was established in 1932 as a result of the TTD Act of 1932. According to the act, administration of the temple was vested to a committee of seven members and overseen by a paid commissioner as appointed by the Madras Government. Advising the committee were two advisory councils - one composed of priests and temple administrators to aid the committee with the operations of the Tirumala temple and another composed of farmers for advise on Tirumala's land and estate transactions. The Act was revolutionary in that no specific qualification for temple administration was laid for the commissioner and the committee members. However the act was limited in scope in temple fund generation and usage for religious purposes.

Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act (1951) superseded the 1932 act and sections 80 to 85 of the act were devoted to administration of TTD. Section 80 laid that a Board of Trustees consisting of five members as appointed by the Madras state government will look after TTD with the members holding office for five years. The act provided for the appointment of an Executive Officer (EO) who would be responsible for the properties and operations of TTD, custody of records of jewels, estate, money and funds of TTD, arrange and record collection of income and payment of expenses as well as execute activities beyond budget sanctioned by board of trustees if it involved pilgrim safety or service and later justify his actions and obtain approval for his actions. According to section 85 of the Act, TTD was to utilize the funds for maintenance and operations of the temples, educational institutes, hospitals, choultries and rest-houses, veterinary hospital under the devesthanam control. Also provisions for water supply, sanitary arrangements, roads and communications, lighting and electricity were also included. Power to acquire land and immovable property was also added, provided TTD had state government permission. The Act also covered training of priests and religious training under devasthanam. Thus the 1951 Act gave more controls and mechanisms for fund usage.

Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institution and Endowments Act (1969) superseded the 1951 act with section 85 to 91 laying the provisions for TTD. Board of Trustees was expanded from five to eleven (11) with compulsory representation from certain communities. Three members from state legislative assembly, one person belonging to the scheduled castes and one woman member was made mandatory in the board of eleven whose term was fixed at three years. AP government was mandated with the appointment of EO and Deputy EO (DEO). Apart from the responsibilities defined in the previous Act, the major addition was that the devasthanam should promote study of Indian languages, should open and operate Sri Venkateswara University

Sri Venkateswara University

Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, is a state university, which was established in 1954, in the famous temple city of Tirupati, South India, under the auspices of Late Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, and with support of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams...

in Tirupati

Tirumala - Tirupati

Tirupati is a major pilgrimage city located in the Chittoor district and seventh biggest city of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located at the foothills of the Eastern Ghats at a distance of south of Hyderabad, the capital of the state, east of Bangalore, and north of Chennai.Tirupati is famous...

, should open and operate Hindu Dharma Prathishthanam. The objectives of Hindu Dharma Prathishthanam was promotion and propagation of Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

Dharma

Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

by research, teaching, training and literature creation. Thus this Act was an improvement because of the 2 reason - inclusion of minority interests in the board of trustees as well as broadening the scope of the devasthanams to include study and dissemination of religious practices and knowledge.

TTD Act (1979): Though the previous Act was path-breaking, it ended up making TTD equivalent to smaller temples in the state and the 1979 Act rectified this issue. The rank of EO was defined and additional posts of Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer (CAO) created. The Act further broadened the scope of Sri Venkateswara Sishatachara Vidya Samstha (renamed from Hindu Dharma Prathishthanam) to include promotion of Hindu culture.

A.P.Charitable & Hindu Religious Institutions & Endowments Act (1987) superseded the 1979 Act. The Board of Trustees was expanded from a maximum of eleven to fifteen while retaining previous minority and legislative representation (Section 96). The most controversial clause in the Act was abolishment of hereditary rights of temple priests as well as limited right to garner a share of the hundi proceeds.

After increased pressure from the priests over a long period of time, the AP government made an amendment to the Act in 2006 to discontinue these 2 controversial clauses.

Current TTD officers

Chairman, Board of Trustees:

Executive Officer (EO): L.V.Subramanyam I.A.S (June-2011-)succeeding, I.Y.R.Krishna Rao I.A.S.

Indian Administrative Service

The Indian Administrative Service is the administrative civil service of the Government of India. It is one of the three All India Services....

(July 2009 - June-2011) succeeding A.P.V.N. Sharma I.A.S. (February 2005 - April 2007)

Srinivas (AP MLA), Vijay Sai Reddy, O.V Ramana,Chintakunta Satyanarayana,Gokaraju Ramaraju, Dr. Chadalawada Sudha, T. Indira, Dr. I.V.Subba Rao I.A.S., P. Sundara Kumar I.A.S.

Facilities

TTD provides various services for pilgrims to Tirumala and Tirupati. It has arranged for buses between Tirumala and Tirupati with a frequency of every 2 minutes. Also, it has package tours to holy temples and religious sites from Tirumala and Tirupati to nearby places.
TTD has free and paid accommodation in Tirumala and Tirupati. It provides free meals, although donors can make a contribution. The canteen has a capacity to feed 20,000 pilgrims a day. It is also providing free mineral water through pipe lines and banned use of plastic bottles

It has built the Vaikuntam Queue Complex

Vaikuntam Queue Complex

Vaikuntam Queue Complex is a facility used in Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams for queue management. The complex serves as the entry point for all darshans and there are very few exceptions.-History:...

and recently rolled out the queue management system to ensure smooth movement of pilgrims. It maintains the walkway between Tirupati and Tirumala (Alipiri route) and Kalyana Katta where pilgrims fulfill their vow of tonsure

Tonsure

Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...

. TTD ensures that the practices of Angapradakshinam, Tulabharam (offering of one's weight in coins or food item) and Niluvudopidi (offering ornaments to Lord) is carried in the temple.

It sells prasadams outside the temple on the north west corner. Laddu

Laddu

Laddu or Laddoo is a ball-shaped sweet popular in South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh as well as countries with immigrants from South Asia. Laddu is made of flour and sugar with other ingredients that vary by recipe...

(small and big), Vada

Vada

Vada ; also known as wada or vade or vadai , is a savoury fritter-type snack from South India.-Description:Vada can vary in shape and size, but are usually either doughnut- or disc-shaped and are about between 5 and 8 cm across. They are made from dal, lentil, gram flour or potato.Vada is a...

, rice varieties and dosa are sold. Also, Seva and darshan prasadam are distributed here.Only Laddu and Vada prasadams are sold , rice varieties and dosas are not sold but distributed .
It runs Information centers in the major towns and cities of Andhra Pradesh and in major Indian cities including New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

, Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

, Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

, Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

and Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

.

It has constructed 125 Kalyana mandapams (marriage halls) in major towns and cities of Andhra Pradesh. Such Kalyana Mantapams are built and operated even inseveral foreign countries for benefit of Indians. These are rented to people for Marriage

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

or other major functions. Temples of Balaji are also built abroad by the TTD.

Schemes

TTD has various schemes where devotees can fund part of the spending on social causes.

Sri Venkateswara Jalanidhi Scheme: "Provide water for pilgrims" usage
Sri Venkateswara Pranadana Trust: Provide free medical treatment to poor patients afflicted with life-threatening diseases
Sri Venkateswara Nitya Laddu Danam Scheme: Provide free laddu (25 g) to all pilgrims
Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Nitya Annaprasadam Scheme: Provide free prasadam to pilgrims at Sri Padmavathi Temple
Sri Venkateswara Vanabhivruddhi Scheme: Protect and maintain ecological balance in Tirumala hills
Sri Balaji Institute of Surgery, Research and Rehabilitation for the Disabled (BIRRD) Scheme: Provide medical services at no charge along with distribution of artificial limbs, calipers and aids along with other hospitals and dispensaries like Central Hospital,S V Poor home,Free dispensary,Tiruchanoor and Aswini Hospital, Tirumala are rendering medical services for the employee working in the same trust and pilgrims visiting the pilgrimage.
Sri Balaji Arogyavaraprasadini Scheme: Medical services at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) for poor people
Sri Venkateswara Gosamrakshana Trust: Protection of Cow, a sacred animal in Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
Sri Venkateshwara Balamandir Trust Scheme: Home for Orphans and destitutes
Sri Venkateswara Information Technology Seva Trust: Provide IT enabled services to general public
Sri Venkateswara Heritage Preservation Trust: Preservation of temples and religious symbols

Making the Donation: Minimum donation for schemes is Rs. 1000 and multiples thereof. The donation can be made by cheque or demand draft drawn on scheduled bank in the name of 'The Executive Officer, name of scheme '. The cheque/demand draft has to be sent to ' The Secretary, , Office of the Chief Engineer, TTD, Tirupati 517 501.

Donor benefits

High value donors are classified under 3 categories and TTD provides uniform privileges to these donors. In addition, there might be privileges specific to each of the above schemes.

Rs 10 Lakhs and above: 3 Days accommodation in VIP Suite for family (5 or less) and admission for Archananantara Darsanam three times for a family (5 or less) in a year. 20 small laddus, 10 mahaprasadam packets and one vastra bahumanam once a year. One gold coin (5 g) and gold coated silver medallion during the first visit. The privileges apply during the lifetime of the donor or 20 years in case of companies. Income tax benefit is applicable under Indian law for these donations

Rs 5 Lakhs to Rs 10 Lakhs: 3 Days accommodation for ARP/VIP Suite for family (5 or less) and admission for darshan (Cellar Vaikuntam) three times for a family (5 or less) in a year. 10 small laddus, 5 mahaprasadam packets and one vastra bahumanam once a year. One gold coin (5 g) and gold coated silver medallion during the first visit. The privileges apply during the lifetime of the donor or 20 years in case of companies. Income tax benefit is applicable under Indian law for these donations

Rs 1 Lakh to Rs 5 Lakhs: 1 Day accommodation for ARP/VIP Suite for family (5 or less) and admission for darshan (Cellar Vaikuntam) for a family (5 or less) once in a year. 6 small laddus and one vastra bahumanam once a year. The privileges apply during the lifetime of the donor or 20 years in case of companies.

Cottages donation

TTD constructs cottages, guest houses, and choultries in Tirumala and donors can donate for the same. Enquiry needs to be made in Tirumala Information Center about current projects. TTD is also currently accepting donations for building choultries in Tirupati under Sri Sreenivasam Complex Donation Scheme.

Apart from the common benefits mentioned above for the appropriate sum, the donor can stay for a period of 30 days in a calendar year (not exceeding 10 days at a time). A tablet with donor's name and place is mentioned in front of the cottage. However donations are not entitled to Income tax exemption. The privileges apply during the lifetime of the donor or 20 years in case of companies.

For information related to the schemes, visit the website of TTD

Tirupati Laddu Prasadam and GI controversy

The grant of Geographical Indication

Geographical indication

A geographical indication is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin...

tag to Tirupati laddu by Indian Patent Office

Indian Patent Office

The Indian Patent Office is administered by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks . This is a subordinate office of the Indian government and administers the Indian law of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks....

in 2009 raised many eye brows, as it paves the way for enhanced commercialization of faith. The patent grant became a controversy soon. R.S. Praveen Raj

R S Praveen Raj

R S Praveen Raj is an Indian social activist and intellectual property rights expert. Born on 31 March 1979, he started his career as an electrical and electronics engineer...

, a scientist and IPR expert from Kerala filed a Public Interest Litigation

Public interest litigation

In Indian law, Public Interest Litigation OR जनहित याचिका means litigation for the protection of the public interest. It is litigation introduced in a court of law, not by the aggrieved party but by the court itself or by any other private party...

(PIL) in the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of GI tag to Tirupati laddu, but withdrew the same as a similar public interest petition was filed before the Madras High Court

Madras High Court

The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....

by another person. Later, Madras High Court dismissed the petition on the ground that there already existed an alternate and efficacious remedy, in the form of rectification plea before the Registrar of GIs or the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). The scientist, who had earlier filed the PIL in Supreme Court, then petitioned IPAB requesting it to initiate an action on its own will (suo motu) for the cancellation of GI status to the Tiruppathi laddu. But IPAB wrote back to him stating that it had no such power to act on its own volition. The Scientist was not in a mood to give it up. Of late, he has registered an application with the GI Registry seeking removal of the entry pertaining to ‘Tirupati Laddu' from the GI Register.

Education and research

TTD runs separate degree colleges, junior colleges and high schools for boys and girls, in and around Tirupati. It started with the establishment of Hindu High School in Vellore

Vellore

Vellore It is considered one of the oldest cities in South India and lies on the banks of the Palar river on the site of Vellore Fort. The city lies between Chennai and Bangalore and the Temple towns of Thiruvannamalai and Tirupati...

by Hathiramjee Mutt. TTD also runs a prestigious college in India's capital.

Professional Colleges
- SV Ayurvedic College, Tirupati
- SPW Polytechnic, Tirupati
- SV Yoga Institute, Tirupati
- SV College of Music and Dance, Tirupati
Oriental Colleges
- SV Oriental College, Tirupati
- SVVVS College, Secunderabad
Degree Colleges
- Sri Venkateswara College
  Sri Venkateswara College
  Sri Venkateswara College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi in India providing liberal art, science and commerce education at the undergraduate level...
  
  , New Delhi
- SV Arts college, Tirupati
- SPW College, Tirupati
- Sri Govindaraja Swami Arts College, Tirupati
Junior Colleges
- SV Junior College, Tirupati
- SPW Junior College, Tirupati
High Schools
- SV Higher Secondary School, Vellore
- SV High School, Tirupati
- SP Girls High School, Tirupati
- SGS High School, Tirupati
- SV Oriental High School, Tirupati
- SKRS (EM) High School, Tirupati
- SV High School, Tirumala
Elementary Schools
- SV Elementary School, Tirupati
- SKS Elementary School, Thatithopu
- SV Elementary School, Tirumala
- SV Elementary School, Tirumala

Library and Research Centre

Sri Venkateswara Central Library and Research Centre (SVCLRC), established by TTD in 1993, houses approximately 40,000 volumes of rare and valuable books, mainly on religion and philosophy. The Research Wing works towards studying and publishing material related to Hindu religion, produce authentic papers on original Sanskrit texts and provide translations of major Hindu works in regional languages, Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

Promotion of Hindu religion

Dharma Prachara Parishad: Established to propagate the Hindu dharma. DPP maintains two Veda Patasalas, one at Dharmagiri in Tirumala and the other at Keesara
Keesara
Keesara or Kisara is a mandal in Rangareddi district of Andhra Pradesh, India.The history of Keesara goes back to early Christian era. In fact it is the oldest inhabited place of Hyderabad city. The history of hyderabad starts from the history of Keesara.Keesara was once the capital city of...

gutta, Ranga Reddy district. DPP distributes selected reading materials and conducts an Epics Study examination for school-going children throughout Andhra Pradesh
Annamacharya Project: Established in 1978 with a view to propagate the tatwa and mahatwa of Lord Sri Venkateswara by 3 means: train musicians, research and publication and recording and sale of kirtans.
Dasa Sahitya Project: Propagates and popularises the literature of the saint composers of Karnataka, popularly known as Karnataka Haridasas, who enriched Kannada religious literature with their hymns
Alwar Divya Prabhanda Project: Started in 1991, the project aims popularise the life and works of the twelve Alwars and other Acharya Purushas who belongs to Srivaishnava Cult.
Sri Venkateswara Veda Recording Project: TTD has taken up the gigantic project of recording the rendering of Vedas available today, for posterity as the number of preceptors who can render the different sakhas of the vedas has dwindled.
Sri Venkateswara Video Audio Recording Project: Established in 1990, the project supports all TTD activities related to recording.
Sri Venkateswara Institute of Traditional Sculpture and Architecture: Preserve and promote the age-old cultural heritage of India, in the areas of traditional sculpture and architecture. The institute offers 2 courses of four years each and has 20 students enrolled into each programme.
Temple Renovation and Reconstruction: The Renovation sub-division of TTD was established to restore Hindu sculpture and architecture according to the Silpa Agama Sastra. It safeguards and promotes ancient Hindu architecture.

Financial highlights and Technology Used

The financial information of the TDD authority is not public and there is no transparency as to how the funds are used. The below are just estimates.

Donations given by devotees equal nearly $2 million every month
Complex queueing algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...

s and emerging technologies have been evaluated and implemented to manage the huge crowds with Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services Limited is a global IT services, business solutions and outsourcing company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It is the largest provider of information technology in Asia and second largest provider of business process outsourcing services in India...

designing and implementing the software and hardware infrastructure for queue management along with other companies.
Auctions of human hair fetched a revenue of $25 million in 2007.
Temple admission ticket sales fetched a revenue of $25 million in 2007
Laddu, a confectionery, is offered as Lord's prasadam. TTD has procured machines from MICO BOSCH
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...

to automate the manufacture of Laddus. Sale of laddus fetched a revenue of staggering $10 million in 2007
TTD approved an unprecedented $500 million budget for the fiscal year 2008 .
Significant measures are taken for beautification of the temple town and the musical fountain present in back side of the temple can be one of the key attractions

External links

TTD Temple Official Website
TTD E-Services
Voluntary Service at Tirumala
http://www.tirupaticityonline.com/ - Everything about Tirupati
Tirupati darshan booking chennai

Darshan of saligrama silas once worshiped by Sri Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan swamy author of famous venkateswara suprabhatam, stotram and prapatti along with rare sivanabha saligrama sila - visit divya salagrama kshetram, vijayawada, andhra pradesh http://maps.google.co.in/maps/place?cid=9813551820446248136&q=divya+salagrama+kshetram&gl=in&view=feature&mcsrc=photo&num=20&start=0

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