TTD asks KMF to supply more ghee to prepare Tirupati laddus
Bengaluru: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust has restarted sourcing the cow ghee ‘Nandini’, manufactured by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), following the recent outbreak of a controversy alleging the use of adulterated ghee containing animal fat in the Tirupati laddus.
While the trust had been using only ‘Nandini’ ghee produced by KMF for decades, the last few years had seen private dairies being awarded contracts to supply ghee to TTD to prepare the laddus. In the aftermath of the controversy, which affected the trust severely, however, TTD opted to restart the procurement of pure cow ghee from KMF, reports Times of India.
KMF was awarded tenders to supply 350 tonnes of ghee to TTD during the next three months and sent its first consignment from Bengaluru to Tirumala on September 20. As the TTD used up to 250 tonnes of the cow ghee in the production of laddus already, it has asked KMF to send an additional 250 tonnes of the ghee to Tirumala.
MK Jagadish, Managing Director of KMF, has confirmed that KMF received the request from TTD for ghee on Thursday and clarified that, as per the latest tender, the supply of additional ghee would be made at the same cost. The TTD was currently paying Rs 475 per kg of ghee to KMF. He also said that the corporation had a stock of about 7,500 tonnes of ghee and was equipped to supply as much as required to TTD at present.
To ensure the safe delivery of pure cow ghee to TTD, the KMF has installed GPS trackers on all its tankers transporting the product to Tirumala, the MD said.
The TTD Executive Oficer J Syamala Rao, who stressed that the trust would not compromise on the quality of ghee, said that the KMF would be asked for more ghee if necessary. The officer added that fresh tenders were being floated for additional ghee supply for preparation of the Tirupati laddus.
As the Karnataka state government has mandated the use of ‘Nandini’ ghee for preparation of the offering (prasada) and other food items given to devotees, KMF is now flooded with orders from several religious institutions and temples across the state. In addition, the KMF is supplying 2,500 tonnes of ghee for retail and other purposes, said KMF MD Jagadish. The Federation has additionally stocked up 6,000 tonnes of butter to cater to a possible hike in demand in the domestic market and is confident of not falling short of ghee supply at any point in time, the MD added.
KMF sources raw material only from the milk unions of the Kolar-Chikkaballapur region for Nandini ghee, which was popular on account of its viscous quality, purity, and distinct aroma. It had been the only choice of TTD used in the preparation of the Tirupati laddus, till the trust handed contracts to other firms too, recently.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
