The Hindu

• The Airtel service covers four temples
• SMS gets updated immediately in the temple records

Mangalore, Jan 25: Devotion cannot get more hi-tech perhaps. Mobile service provider Airtel on Tuesday launched a new service that allows its customers to make donations to temples via SMS.

SMS offerings can now be made to four temples across the country — Mantralaya in Andhra Pradesh, Siddi Vinayak in Mumbai, Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala in Karnataka, and Jalaram temple in Bangalore.

Airtel intends to extend the service to Tirupati, Shirdi, Vaishnodevi and Mahalakshmi temples, according to a release from Deepak Mehrotra, chief executive officer, Bharti Airtel Limited, Karnataka.

Airtel customers just need to type the temple keyword and the amount they wish to donate, and SMS it to 64655.

To make a donation of Rs. 150 to the Sri Manjunatha temple in Dharmasthala, one should key in "SDM 150" and SMS it to 64655. The keyword for Matralaya temple is `SRS', Siddhi Vinayak temple `SVT' and Jalaram Temple is `JST'.

The SMS gets updated immediately in the temple records through software deployed at the temple. It records the amount donated, time, date and the number from which the SMS has been sent. The amount donated will be deducted from the customer's pre-paid balance, or debited in the bill for post-paid customers.

The customer gets an instant receipt via SMS, along with a message of blessing and a digital receipt number. The donations can vary from Rs. 10 to Rs. 150.