The Tirupati Balaji Temple, one of the world’s richest and most popular shrines, is giving a run to the COVID19-hit conglomerates in reporting revenue losses during the countrywide lockdown. The officials of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the temple trust that runs the Sri Venkateswara Temple, reported that the lockdown has incurred a whopping revenue loss of INR 400 crore since March 25. A severe cash crunch that the revenue loss has resulted in makes it difficult for TTD to afford salaries, pensions and various daily expenses.

Picture Credit: Telangana Today (right)

Recently, there was a call for the richest temples of India to save Indian economy with their gold reserves in the aftermath of the COVID19 pandemic that brought the world’s second most populous country to a standstill. The crisis that TTD is facing now despite its eight tons of gold reserve and fixed deposits worth INR 14000 crore in various banks has thrown non-religious sectors out of gear, where manufacturing and production activities were completely halted. Whether India should save the economy of temples or temples should save the economy of India, is a hot debate now.

The Tirupati Temple authorities are exploring ways to tide over the revenue crisis while leaving the gold reserve and fixed deposits untouched. TTD allocates a budget of nearly INR 2500 crore for fixed annual expenses. There has been zero income since the lockdown was imposed all over the country. On top of that, the obligation of paying salaries and pensions, and meeting daily fixed expenses during the lockdown has already incurred the trust a spending of INR 300 crore.

All the major sources of revenue inflow to the temple trust, including the sale of laddus and the auction of human hair donated by devotees at the Sri Venkateswara Temple, are currently closed. Proceeds from the round-the-year sales of the Tirupati laddu prasadam add a few hundred crores to the annual revenue for the Tirumala temple trust. Nearly 100 million laddus are sold to devotees in a year. During the lockdown, TTD paid salaries to about 700 people who are employed for the daily making of more than 300,000 laddus and other prasadam. TTD also earns a few hundred crore rupees from the auction of human hair.

With the temple being closed to devotees during the lockdown, TTD has made an estimated loss of INR 150-175 crore in the hundi collection – a major source of revenue for the Tirupati Balaji Temple. Though congregations of devotees at any religious place are prohibited across the country, expenses for daily rituals and festive ceremonies which are being observed indoors cannot be escaped.

Besides, TTD has had the obligation of providing additional financial support to its healthcare institutions. TTD has given a special grant of INR 400 crore to the institutions during the COVID19-induced lockdown. However, the Tirupati Balaji Temple trust can manage to reduce the strain of cash crunch and monthly revenue loss with a substantial income from the fixed deposits of INR 14000 crore that might be generating INR 900-1000 crore at the annual interest rate of 6 to 7 per cent.

Also Check: Here’s How Major Indian Airports are Planning to Exit Lockdown

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No more VIP darshan at the Tirupati Tirumala Temple! The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam’s resolution to end the discriminatory practice – VIP Break Darshan – against non-VIP devotees came into effect last week (July 18, 2019), making the Tirupati Balaji Temple equally accessible to all. YV Subba Reddy, who was appointed Chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam in June 2019, has announced to replace the VIP Break Darshan system with a non-discriminatory one which will give ‘VIP privilege’ to common devotees.

“In front of the deity, everyone is an equal devotee,” said Subba Reddy. Until July 18, 2019, the VIP Break Darshan at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple had been a privilege for VIPs to get quick access to the sanctum avoiding the serpentine queues where ordinary devotees stand for hours and get a quick access. The ticketed entry of some devotees, which were objected to several times, has been abolished to simplify the VIP Break Darshan at the Tirupati Balaji Temple.

The ticketed entry to the sanctorum for a VIP darshan of Lord Venkateswara is one of the revenue sources for the Tirupati Balaji Temple. Reportedly, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) earned about Rs 250 crore every year from the ticketed entry of devotees, which gave rise to discrimination against multitudes of non-ticketed devotees who stand in long queues to catch a fleeting glimpse of the deity.

Earlier, the VIP Beak Darshan system at the Tirumala temple classified VIPs into List 1, List 2 and List 3. VVIPs like judges, top bureaucrats, high-rank government officers and sitting ministers are on List 1. The L2 list includes TTD members and their families, and low-rank government officials. Those with recommendation letters from ministers, MPs, legislators and TTD employees are considered List 3 VIPs. These VIPs with special darshan allowance, a preferential treatment to the affluent devotees, could see the aarti performed to the deity.

Also Check: Amazing Facts about Tirupati Temple’s Laddu Prasadam 

The VIP lists under the VIP Break Darshan system have been abolished in response to the petition that lawyer Umesh Chandra filed with Andhra Pradesh High Court, seeking to end the discrimination against common devotees at the Lord Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati. Regular devotees criticized the VIP darshan system, too, on several occasions in the past.

TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy plans to limit VIP visits to the Tirupati Balaji Temple to once a year, so that the inconvenience caused to other devotees can be prevented or reduced. Putta Sudhakar Yadav, former TTD chairman, has supported the complete or partial abolishment of the Tirumala temple’s VIP Break Darshan system.

TTD is planning to bring common devotees within the purview of VIP darshan by linking donations to the ‘VIP privilege’. VIP darshan tickets would be issued to those who donate, at least, Rs 10,000 to the Srivani Trust, a new scheme for preservation and construction of Lord Venkateswara temples all over the country. The new system will not only curb demand for VIP darshan at the Tirumala Balaji Temple, but also be the bane of middlemen who befooled devotees to cough up a lump sum for a VIP darshan ticket.

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The Tirupati Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh is known as one of the richest Indian temples and the highest-earning Hindu shrines in the world. Speculations about the Tirupati Tirumala Temple’s annual revenue or monthly income or daily earnings are always high. The hundi at the Tirumala shrine of Lord Venkateswara attracts cash offerings worth up to Rs. 3 crore on a daily basis, except during the 6-day Vedic ceremony, Astabandhana Balalaya Maha Samprokshanam, when restricted entry of devotees into the shrine brings daily cash offerings down to Rs. 73 lakh.

Recently, a demigod of the global IT industry has surfaced to beat the Tirupati Balaji Temple’s income from devotees’ cash offerings to the hundi. The demigod is none other than Google CEO Sundar Pichai whose salary is another interesting subject of curiosity among netizens. “Is Sundar Pichai a billionaire?”, “Sundar Pichai net worth”, “Sundar Pichai vs Mukesh Ambani net worth”, “Sundar Pichai income” are some of the most searched topics in Google.

One of the richest Indian American CEOs, Sundar Pichai who hails from the temple town of Madurai in South India has earned Rs. 1470 crores in the US fiscal 2018, as per the available reports. It means that a daily average earning of Rs. 4 crore totals up Sundar Pichai’s income in the FY 2018 and thereby making him beat the Tirupati Balaji Temple’s income from cash offerings by a few crores in Indian currency.

In the fiscal 2019, Sundar Pichai’s annual income would have been more than Rs. 1470 crores if he had not turned down a grant of unvested stock worth $58 million / Rs. 405 crore from Google Alphabet in 2018. The reason he gave for refusing to take an additional Rs. 405 crore is that he was already being paid enough. He got stocks worth $250 million in 2014 when he wore the hat of Google CEO.

“What does he think of himself? How could he outdo Lord Venkateswara in daily income and become the highest earning South Indian icon? Last month the Padmanabhaswamy Temple tried to surpass the Tirupati Balaji Temple’s income, but failed,” said some residents of the temple town.

However, if the Tirupati Tirumala Temple’s revenue is taken into account in its totality from several different sources, such as sale of laddu prasadam, accommodation of devotees, sale of hair from devotees’ tonsured heads and interest on gold deposits in banks, other than cash offerings to the hundi, it is double of Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s annual income.

A little more than Rs. 3 billion of the Tirupati Balaji Temple’s annual income comes from the sale of laddu prasadam and the auction of hair donated by hundreds of thousands of devotees at the hilltop shrine. Notably, many Indian American businesspersons and CEOs catch flights to Chennai from USA for a visit to the Tirumala Balaji Temple in Tirupati and donate to the temple hundi.

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Good news for tens of thousands of NRIs who visit the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh every year! Tirupati Airport is gearing up for direct international flights. Overseas Indians will no longer need to travel to Tirupati on domestic flights from Chennai, Hyderabad, or Bengaluru.

Once the international terminal, which was inaugurated in 2015, is ready for international services, Indians from abroad can directly fly to Tirupati via the Gulf region instead of booking flights to Hyderabad or Chennai or Bengaluru.

The Middle East is a major connection between South India and other countries including the USA. Many US to India flights for Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi and Hyderabad transit through the Middle East airports. Direct flights to Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh via Abu Dhabi or Doha or Dubai will make the journey shorter and easier than it is now.

Whether direct air travel to Tirupati via the Gulf will be as pocket-friendly as cheap flights to Chennai and other major South Indian cities, is a question to be discussed later on. Usually, Indians abroad book cheap air tickets to Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Chennai and catch domestic flights to Tirupati from the arrival city, since Tirupati is a short flight away from these cities.

Indian government accorded international status to Tirupati Airport in June 2017. The airport’s international terminal is currently being equipped with facilities for immigration and customs. Once the hurdles for land acquisition are removed, the existing runway will be expanded for Boeing 777, which the runway should be 12,500 feet long for. The existing 7,500-foot runway is suitable for aircraft with 180 seats.

Also Check: Vizag to Get India’s Longest Ropeway for Thrilling Rides over Sea

Andhra Pradesh Tourism has an all-inclusive package for international tourists and overseas pilgrims including NRIs on visit to the Tirupati Tirumala Temple. The package comprises a special darshan of Lord Swami Venkateswara, decent hotel accommodation, airport transfer to and from hotel, and a trip to religious places around Tirupati like Kalahasti, Kailasakona and Kanipakam.

With the Tirupati Tirumala Balaji Temple and Vishakhapatnam (Vizag) beaches drawing footfalls in increasing numbers, Andhra Pradesh has become the most popular tourist destination in India. Many times more tourists visit the Tirumala Temple than the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Gateway of India in Mumbai, the Ajanta-Ellora in Maharashtra and the centuries-old forts in Rajasthan.

Also Check: What You don’t Know about Tirumala Temple Laddu Prasad 

Once Tirupati Renigunta Airport is operational for direct international flights, the current number of tourists will shoot up.

Indian Eagle is a leading international travel organization booking cheap flights tickets to India for NRIs. Indian Eagle’s community portal, Travel Beats publishes the latest travel, tourism, visa and immigration news alongside inspiring stories of Indians worldwide. 

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The Union Ministry of India Tourism held the most awaited event, National Tourism Awards 2012-2013, in New Delhi today. The event is organized to felicitate the Indian states, cities, airports, hotel groups and tour operators with awards on the basis of their contributions to the growth of Indian travel & tourism in different categories. Indian Eagle shares with you who won the best award and in which category.

The first prize for the Best State in the category “Comprehensive Development of Tourism” has been awarded to Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Kerala and Gujarat are at the second and the third place in the same category, respectively. Moreover, Andhra Pradesh has been titled the Best Film Promotion Friendly State.

Tirupati, the largest pilgrimage spot and the fourth largest city in Andhra Pradesh, bagged the Best Heritage City Award. Tirupati is known for its scenic hilly beauty and the Lord Venkateswara Temple. The 2000-year old temple is the apex of pilgrimage which fetches around 2 crore visitors from the world over and generates an annual income of approximately 2,250 crores.

Among the Indian capital cities, Hyderabad is in the spotlight of the National Tourism Award this year. The award for the Best Airport in India has gone to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Hyderabad International Airport won the prestigious title for the second time. Golkonda Fort, a jewel in the crown of Hyderabad tourism, stole the limelight as the Best Maintained and Disabled-friendly Monument in the country. Leonia International Centre for Exhibition & Conventions in Hyderabad is the best standalone convention center.

Among the states of north and north-east India, Jammu & Kashmir is conferred on the award in the category the “Best State for Comprehensive Development of Tourism”. It is the second time that Jammu & Kashmir won the title. The Kerala Tourism is shining with the “Most Innovative Information Technology Website” award. The Kochi Muziris Biennale Project, an initiative by Kerala Tourism, is declared the Most Innovative Tourism Project in India, at the National Tourism Awards function today.

The Best Responsible Tourism Award, one of the most coveted recognitions in the tourism sector, has gone to Ladakh, the land of high passes in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Several eco-tourism projects are underway in the Leh District. Ladakh is one of the sustainable tourism centers in India.

The state to have won the award for implementation of rural tourism projects is Sikkim in northeast India. Bhim Dhungel, Tourism Minister of Sikkim, received the award. An ambitious project worth a whopping 140 crore has been launched to develop infrastructural facilities including view points, conference centers, halting points, retiring units and likes for the convenience of tourists in Sikkim.

In the absence of Dr K. Chiranjeevi, the Minister of Union Tourism; and Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India, Dr Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, played the host and addressed the attendees at the Indian Tourism Awards event. Dr. Tharoor sounded eloquent about the need of a strict policy to ensure absolute security of tourists, which is one of the bottleneck issues to be dealt with in the travel & tourism industry of India.

We at IndianEagle.com convey our hearty congratulations to the winners of Indian Tourism Awards.

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