Reliance Industries Executive Director Anant Ambani visited the Tirupati Temple on Sunday dressed in white traditional attire, a dhoti and a white shawl with a golden zari border. He participated in the early morning Suprabhata Seva and had darshan of the deity. He then underwent the temple’s traditional tonsure ritual, donating his hair as part of the mundan tradition observed by millions of devotees who visit Tirumala annually.
The donation
Following his prayers, Anant Ambani announced a donation of 25 electric buses to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. The total value of the donation is Rs 27.5 crore with each bus priced at approximately Rs 1.1 crore.
The contribution goes beyond the vehicles. Reliance will fund the salaries of 50 bus drivers and set up electric vehicle charging stations within the temple complex. The donation covers three components that are often treated separately in EV fleet expansions: the vehicles, the manpower to operate them, and the infrastructure to keep them running.
What TTD already has
Sunday’s donation is the largest single private contribution to TTD’s electric mobility programme. The trust has been building its EV fleet over several years. The addition of 25 buses from Reliance represents a significant single-day addition to that existing fleet.
No specific figure for the total size of TTD’s current EV fleet was available at the time of reporting.
The goshala pledge
Anant Ambani also pledged support to modernise the TTD goshala. He said the effort would be modelled under Vantara, Reliance’s wildlife and animal care initiative based in Gujarat. No specific financial figure for the goshala contribution was announced alongside the bus donation.
The broader picture
The donation addresses two of the most persistent operational challenges in scaling an EV fleet: trained drivers and charging infrastructure. Many EV programmes stall at the vehicle acquisition stage because the supporting ecosystem, including charging points and trained operators, is not built alongside the fleet. Reliance’s commitment to fund driver salaries and install charging stations attempts to close both gaps at once.
Tirumala receives millions of pilgrims annually. The temple complex operates a large number of vehicles to manage the movement of devotees across the hill. An expanded electric fleet reduces both fuel costs and emissions in an area that has religious and environmental significance.