The Tamil Nadu government will form a ‘not-for-profit’ special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to finance and manage the Amma Unavagam scheme that was launched with much fanfare in 2013 by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
The largely successful scheme has been hit by funding crunch over the years and the SPV will raise corporate social responsibility contributions from companies and other donations.
Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam in his budget said the focus on construction workers, who comprise the largest clientèle at Amma Unavagams, will be enhanced by establishing mobile units to transport food to work sites.
The government will continue providing subsidised foodgrains and grants to the SPV to cover the shortfall between expenditure and revenue, contributions and donations received. A provision of ₹100 crore has been made for this.
