Temple Reforms Aim To Restore Heritage, Livelihoods: Minister
The state government’s reforms aim to ensure ritual continuity, economic security and cultural pride
By : Pathri Rajasekhar
Update: 2025-12-31 22:01 GMT
Nellore: Endowments minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy has unveiled an ambitious roadmap to deepen and widen Andhra Pradesh’s temple reforms, announcing a major expansion of the Veda Rakshana Mission between 2025 and 2027.
The plan includes 12 new sub-programmes aimed at supporting Dalit pandits, encouraging women Vedic scholars, documenting temple heritage, creating digital temple archives and strengthening priest training—steps that together signal a decisive shift toward inclusive and sustainable temple governance.
In what is being described as one of the most comprehensive revitalisation drives of the state’s temple ecosystem in recent decades, the minister outlined a series of reforms designed not only to strengthen temple administration, but also to restore economic dignity of traditional communities that have sustained religious practices for centuries.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Ramanarayana Reddy said the government’s vision goes far beyond routine administration. “Temples are not just places of worship; they are cultural universities. Protecting them means protecting livelihoods, knowledge systems and heritage passed down through generations,” he pointed out.
A major relief for young Veda scholars awaiting employment has come in the form of monthly financial assistance of ₹3,000 for those who have completed formal Vedic education. Around 600 Veda pandits have already been identified under the scheme. As part of the initiative, beneficiaries are being attached to nearby major temples, where they recite Vedas for an hour each day, ensuring continuity of sacred traditions while receiving steady livelihood support.
Payments are being routed through seven prominent temples—Simhachalam, Annavaram, Dwaraka Tirumala, Vijayawada, Srikalahasti, Kanipakam and Srisailam.
The minister said the programme simultaneously addresses unemployment among trained scholars and strengthens daily ritual practices in temples.
Another significant reform focuses on Nayee Brahmins, engaged in tonsuring services. Following a review by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the government has raised their minimum assured monthly commission from ₹20,000 to ₹25,000. The revised support applies to 44 temples, where tonsuring services are conducted for more than 100 days a year.
The move, Ramanarayana Reddy said, recognises the Nayee Brahmins devotional role, while providing greater financial security to their families.
Under the Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam Scheme (DDNS), the monthly honorarium for priests has been doubled from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 with effect from 2024, benefiting 5,821 archakas at an annual cost of ₹69.85 crore.
“Supporting those who safeguard temple rituals is not an expense—it is an investment in cultural preservation,” the minister asserted.
He underlined that the Endowments department has accelerated infrastructure development through the Common Good Fund. During 2024–25, works costing ₹595.75 crore had started on 492 temples, while 1,098 projects worth ₹893.57 crore are in progress.
Summing up, he said the state government’s reforms aim to ensure ritual continuity, economic security and cultural pride, marking a transformative phase for Andhra Pradesh’s temple ecosystem.
In what is being described as one of the most comprehensive revitalisation drives of the state’s temple ecosystem in recent decades, the minister outlined a series of reforms designed not only to strengthen temple administration, but also to restore economic dignity of traditional communities that have sustained religious practices for centuries.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Ramanarayana Reddy said the government’s vision goes far beyond routine administration. “Temples are not just places of worship; they are cultural universities. Protecting them means protecting livelihoods, knowledge systems and heritage passed down through generations,” he pointed out.
A major relief for young Veda scholars awaiting employment has come in the form of monthly financial assistance of ₹3,000 for those who have completed formal Vedic education. Around 600 Veda pandits have already been identified under the scheme. As part of the initiative, beneficiaries are being attached to nearby major temples, where they recite Vedas for an hour each day, ensuring continuity of sacred traditions while receiving steady livelihood support.
Payments are being routed through seven prominent temples—Simhachalam, Annavaram, Dwaraka Tirumala, Vijayawada, Srikalahasti, Kanipakam and Srisailam.
The minister said the programme simultaneously addresses unemployment among trained scholars and strengthens daily ritual practices in temples.
Another significant reform focuses on Nayee Brahmins, engaged in tonsuring services. Following a review by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the government has raised their minimum assured monthly commission from ₹20,000 to ₹25,000. The revised support applies to 44 temples, where tonsuring services are conducted for more than 100 days a year.
The move, Ramanarayana Reddy said, recognises the Nayee Brahmins devotional role, while providing greater financial security to their families.
Under the Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam Scheme (DDNS), the monthly honorarium for priests has been doubled from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 with effect from 2024, benefiting 5,821 archakas at an annual cost of ₹69.85 crore.
“Supporting those who safeguard temple rituals is not an expense—it is an investment in cultural preservation,” the minister asserted.
He underlined that the Endowments department has accelerated infrastructure development through the Common Good Fund. During 2024–25, works costing ₹595.75 crore had started on 492 temples, while 1,098 projects worth ₹893.57 crore are in progress.
Summing up, he said the state government’s reforms aim to ensure ritual continuity, economic security and cultural pride, marking a transformative phase for Andhra Pradesh’s temple ecosystem.