Tirumala Annaprasadam Trust Donations Exceed Rs 2,200 Crore
The initiative, launched as Annadana Scheme in 1984 by former AP CM Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, was renamed as Sri Venkateswara Annaprasadam Trust in 2014.
Published : March 12, 2025 at 2:53 PM IST
Tirumala: The Sri Venkateswara Annaprasadam Trust, which provides free meals to devotees visiting the Tirumala temple, has received donations worth over Rs 2,200 crore.
The initiative, originally launched as the Annadana Scheme in 1984 by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, was renamed as Sri Venkateswara Annaprasadam Trust in 2014. Starting with just 2,000 devotees, the programme has now expanded to serve over one lakh devotees daily. The trust currently has 9.7 lakh donors, including 139 contributing Rs 1 crore or more. This apart, 249 donors fund a full day’s meals with Rs 44 lakh donations each.
The initiative aims to encourage philanthropic contributions while ensuring that lakhs of pilgrims receive free prasadam as part of the temple’s service tradition. The trust is being run with the donations received from devotees/donors from all over the world. The trust deposits all the donations in nationalized banks and the interest accrued on it is utilized to meet its expenditure. On February 18, the Trust had received a donation of Rs 11 crore from Mumbai-based Prasid Uno Family Trust. TTD Chairman BR Naidu expressed his happiness on X (formerly Twitter) over the milestone, acknowledging the generosity of devotees who continue to support this sacred cause.
A devotee, Tushar Kumar of the trust, met TTD additional executive officer Ch Venkaiah Chowdary at the latter's camp office in Tirumala. Kumar handed over the donation in the form of Demand Draft (DD). The contribution will significantly support the Annaprasadam programme, which provides free meals to thousands of devotees visiting the sacred Tirumala temple daily, a press release from the temple had said.
