Amma Unavagam ''(

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

: அம்மா உணவகம்)'' is a food subsidisation programme run by the Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies,

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Under the scheme,

municipal corporations Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally ow ...

of the state-run canteens serving subsidised food at low prices. The genesis of the scheme could be traced to the concept of rural restaurants promoted by

Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) is an Indian non-governmental organization and non-profit research and development institute in Phaltan, Maharashtra. NARI undertakes research and development in the fields of agriculture, renewabl ...

About the name

The literal meaning of the name of the scheme Amma Unavagam is Mother's canteen. ''Amma'' translates to ''mother'' in Tamil, but is also a reference to the former

chief minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the head of government, chief executive of the Indian Federated state, state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the Governor (India), governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de ...

J. Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016), popularly known as Amma, was an Indian actress, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. She ...

, who introduced this restaurant chain as part of government schemes aimed at aiding economically disadvantaged sections of society.

About the scheme

The scheme requires municipal corporations in the state to establish canteens at multiple places in cities and sell subsidised food at very low prices. The first canteens were opened in several localities of Chennai, and later in other corporations of the state. Three of the ten canteens in

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

are partially solar-powered.

Menu and prices

The food chains primarily serve South Indian food including ''

idli Idli, iddena, iddali or idly (; plural: idlis) is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from South India, popular as a breakfast food in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented de-h ...

'', ''saambar'' rice,

curd rice Curd rice or yogurt rice is a dish originating from India. The word "Dahi (Curd), curd" in Indian English refers to unsweetened plain yogurt. It is most popular in the South India, South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana an ...

, ''pongal'', lemon rice, curry leaf rice and also chappathi. The dishes are offered at low prices: 1 for an ''idli'', 5 for a plate of ''sambar'' rice, 5 for a plate of "Karuvapellai Satham" (Curry leaves rice) and 3 for a plate of curd rice.

Controversies

It has been reported that massive losses are incurred by corporations by offering food at very low rates. As an example, the

Coimbatore Municipal Corporation The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation is the civic body that governs the city of Coimbatore in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu after Greate ...

reported a loss of approximately 2.64 for an idli, 9.73 for a unit of ''sambar'' rice and 4.44 for a unit of curd rice, incurring a total loss of about a year. There was opposition in

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

to the appropriation of governments funds to this scheme. Concerns were also raised about the effects subsidised canteens can have on pushcart eateries, importantly that small business ventures may not be able to withstand competition from government subsidised low-cost canteens on a long-term basis.

List of Amma Unavagams

* In Chennai *Kanchipuram District / * Thiruvallur District / Gummidipoondi

References