The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), India’s richest religious trust, for violating the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). TTD chairman Y V Subba Reddy confirmed that the RBI imposed the penalty because the TTD did not adhere to FCRA norms while depositing foreign currency dropped by devotees in ‘Hundi’ into its bank accounts. The TTD’s FCRA licence lapsed in 2018 and has not been renewed yet, causing problems in depositing foreign currency. The TTD has paid the RBI penalty of Rs 3 crore in two installments and has requested the renewal of the FCRA licence. The TTD currently has foreign currency amounting to Rs 30 crore, which was dropped anonymously by devotees in ‘Hundi’ at Tirumala temple.
The TTD manages the affairs of Sri Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala, considered one of the world’s richest Hindu temples, and some other shrines in different parts of the country. The TTD has reviewed the arrangements made at Tirumala for the summer season and decided to issue Divya Darshan tokens from April 1 for devotees who walk up to the hill shrine. During the summer break, recommendation letters will be reduced, and the TTD will tighten the rules for allotment of rooms in Tirumala. With the introduction of face recognition technology, accommodation will be provided to devotees transparently.
Last week, the TTD announced that it has passed a Rs 4,411 crore budget for 2023-24, a big jump of 43% over the previous year. The increase in budget size was attributed to the phenomenal rise in Hundi collections or devotees’ offerings at the ancient temple. For the current year, the lion’s share of revenues totalling Rs 1,591 crore are anticipated from Hundi and other capital receipts. Similarly, interest receipts are expected to generate Rs 990 crore, while Rs 500 crore is expected to be realised from laddu and other ‘prasadam’ sales.
