Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, abbreviated as TTD, is an independent trust which manages the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh. The trust oversees the operations and finances of the second richest and the most visited religious center in the world. It is also involved in various social, religious, literary and educational activities. TTD is headquartered at Tirupati and employs about 16,000 people.

TTD was established in 1932 as a result of the TTD Act of 1932. According to the act administration of the temple was vested in a committee of seven members and overseen by a paid commissioner 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 advice on Tirumala's land and estate transactions.

The Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institution and Endowments Act (1969), sections 85 to 91, expanded the provisions of TTD. The number of trustees was expanded from five to eleven with compulsory representation from certain communities. Apart from the responsibilities defined in the previous act, Devasthanam was obliged to promote the study of Indian languages and propagate Hindu Dharma by research, teaching, training and literature creation.

The A.P. Charitable & Hindu Religious Institutions & Endowments Act (1987) superseded the 1979 act. The Board of Trustees' membership was expanded from a maximum of eleven to fifteen and the hereditary rights of temple priests and their right to garner a share of the hundi proceeds were abolished. After increased pressure from the priests over a long period, the AP government made an amendment to the act in 2006, to discontinue these two controversial clauses. It is mandatory for non-Hindus to sign a declaration form before entering the hill temple, stating that they have faith in the presiding deity, Lord Venkateswara.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust primarily manages the administration of Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala. It also manages many other temples in Tirupati and all around the world. The temples include both historical and new temples which were constructed by TTD itself.

TTD is a magnificent-complex organization. It has almost all the departments that would be in a government, including production (laddus), engineering (dams and roads), water supply, human resources, transport, procurement and marketing, finance and accounting, public relations, information technology, forest and gardens, educational institutions and hospitals, revenue and general administration.

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