Padmanabha Swamy temple treasure- 1 lakh crore and counting
Padmanabhaswamy Temple in the State capital of Thiruvananthapuram hit the headlines when a massive treasure that is valued at over 1 lakh Crore was discovered from its secret vaults, making it the richest temple in the world, displacing the world famous Tirupati Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh to the second position.
The treasure included ancient ornaments, crown, bow and utensils of various shapes and sizes made of pure gold. A statue of Krishna embedded with precious stones, which is priced at 5000 crores and a 18 feet gold chain of the deity were some of the other items found in the secret chambers (Nilavara) of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.
17 kg of gold coins dating back to the period of India East Company, gold in the form of strings, 2.5 kg gold collar, heaps of gem encrusted ‘aval’, thousands of pieces of antique jewellery studded with diamonds and gold vessels were some of the other items. The value of articles stocked in the vaults of the temple, managed by the royal family of the erstwhile Travancore princely state is beyond imagination. According to noted historian Dr M G S Narayanan, Padmanabhaswamy temple dating back to the 9th Century will have several centuries old priceless antiques.
The seven-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court of India has been entrusted of making an inventory of the assets that had remained hidden for over 150 years. The temple has six secret vaults and two of them had not been opened for the past one-and-a-half century. A major chunk of the estimated treasure was stored in the cellar, coded as A. The preparation of inventory of another chamber B will be taken up later and when the full list is compiled it is expected that the total worth of the valuables will reach unimaginable levels. The news has stirred up a lot of interest in both the social media and print media not only within the country but also in foreign countries where many newspapers like Khaleej Times have kept their readers updated on this treasure discovery.
Now that the hidden treasure is out in the open, debates are on as to what should be done with this humongous amount of wealth. The chief minister has said that the temple treasures will be preserved as it is and high tech surveillance and fool proof security measures will be provided to protect the wealth .Historians too opine that as the measureless wealth belongs to the Lord, it is legally and morally wrong to take the money out of the temple. However, there are apprehensions whether these priceless valuables that escaped the eyes of the marauding plunderers of the past will remain safe in its original abode and will be preserved for posterity? The lid of one of the best kept secrets is blown away and to safeguard this massive wealth from the greedy eyes all over will make it a Herculean task for all concerned!
Trivandrum ranked fourth in the list of popular IT destinations
The Kerala State capital, Thiruvananthapuram was listed 4th in the list of India’s 10 most popular IT destinations in a study conducted by Rediff. The report suggests that the economy of the city is benefited by contributions from professionals in the field of IT, medical and bio-technology and this city takes credit to over 80% of software exports from Kerala. From once being an NGO city with over 60% of the people depending on government services, things have changed drastically for Trivandrum since the last decade or so. The inception of Technopark, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), has added fillip to the IT development in this city.
State Information Technology Principal Secretary Ajay Kumar told Express on Saturday that the achievement of the State would attract more national and international IT companies to the State. “The report is an encouragement for the IT activities of the State Government. At present, over 27,000 IT professionals are working in Technopark while over 9,000 professionals are working in Infopark (Kochi),” he said.
In the list of the most sought after destinations in IT and ITeS segment,Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi have been selected as ‘challenge cities’,” in a study conducted by Nasscom in association with global management consulting firm the AT Kearney. Bangalore, as expected came first in the list. Home to many software giants like Infosys and Wipro, this city takes credit to over almost 34 percent of India’s total IT exports and has the largest number of households with an annual income of Rs 10 lakh or more. May be Trivandrum and Kochi can catch up with the ‘Silicon valley’ in the near future with some meticulous planning and ground work.
Kerala’s IT expertise transcending borders
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has achieved a remarkable feat yet again in the IT field to bring laurels to the Indian sub continent. IBS Group, a blue chip IT Company in Technopark, has inked an agreement with Tokyo international Air Cargo Terminal (TIACT) for the implementation of iCargo a new-generation Cargo Management System developed by IBS. President and CEO, of TIACT, Terutake Kato, opined that IBS was selected for their far-reaching experience and competence in the airline cargo industry.
The new cargo terminal of Tokyo international (Haneda airport) will be the first airport in the world to have the iCargo’s CTO module. This system would be used to manage the ground handling and warehousing of all cargo handled by the airport.The new cargo terminal spread over a staggering 170,000 sq. m would ensure the maximum optimization of the available site area.
In addition, this software module would greatly improve the quality of service levels and productivity. iCargo would be managing the cargo business of the leading carriers of Japan including Nippon Cargo Airlines and All Nippon Airways. This deal has indeed thrown open the doors of the prospective global market with Japan clearly emerging as one of the principal markets for the global air cargo business.
IBS Group is also going places in the domestic aviation sector. It has already been enlisted by the Airports Authority of India as the IT solution provider for the 30-odd airports expected to be modernized shortly. IT industry has always been the backbone of industrial Kerala, providing jobs to thousands of qualified hands apart from attracting the much desired foreign exchange.