The crucial meeting of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Board on Friday chaired by its chairman Y V Subba Reddy took another controversial decision.
The Board has decided to make long-term deposits of gold in nationalised banks. This is a departure from long tradition of making short-term deposits stretching between one to two years, going by the constant fluctuations in interest rates.
The TTD, which manages the affairs of the famous Sri Venkateswara Temple, has pure gold reserves of over 9,000 kg which is deposited in various nationalized banks under gold deposit schemes. The temple has over Rs 12,000 crore in fixed deposits in various banks.
The TTD also will take up with the RBI the issue of exchange of old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 worth nearly Rs 51 crore more than three-and-a-half years after the Centre had demonetised them.
TTD trust board chairperson YV Subba Reddy could meet Union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman in New Delhi to put forth the request of monetising the old currency notes offered by the devotees.
In another significant decision, the TTD Board also decided to bear the treatment cost of all the employees who tested positive for Covid-19.
As many as 743 staff of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) including including some priests of the Lord Venkateswara shrine at Tirumala have tested positive for COVID-19 and three have succumbed to the virus since June 11.
