As per the guidelines issued by the Government, the AAY families are to be identified by States/Union Territories (UTs) as per the following criteria:

(i)  Landless agriculture labourers, marginal farmers, rural artisans /craftsmen, such as potters, tanners, weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters, slum dwellers and persons earning their livelihood on daily basis in the informal sector like porters, coolies, rickshaw pullers, hand cart pullers, fruit and flower sellers, snake charmers, rag pickers, cobblers, destitute and other similar categories in both rural and urban areas;

(ii) Households headed by widows or terminally ill persons/disabled persons/ persons aged 60 years or more with no assured means of subsistence or societal support;

(iii) Widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years or more or single women or single men with no family or societal support or assured means of subsistence;

(iv) All primitive tribal households;

(v) All eligible Below Poverty Line (BPL) families of HIV positive persons.

Foodgrains under Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) are given family wise, hence, a statement giving States/UTs wise number of families covered under AAY are at Annexure-I.

Requests have been received from few State Governments to increase the number of families covered under AAY, but it could not be acceded to as the number is fixed for every State/UT. However, States/UTs are advised from time-to-time to review the existing list of AAY families and remove the ineligible households so as to include only the most eligible.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri C.R. Chaudhary in Lok Sabha today.

                                                                      *****

APS

ANNEXURE