Brand Amma: Products and Freebies Doled out in the Last 5 Years

This is the definitive list of Brand Amma’s bandwagon of products and schemes.

The one cornerstone of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s reign is freebies. As the Assembly polls are coming up, AIADMK is likely to ramp up Brand Amma. More products are lined up to help the poor, while reminding them of her presence anywhere they choose to look.

While a few initiatives are on the backburner, here are some of Amma’s best hits that have won over the people of Tamil Nadu.

Amma Canteen

Launched two years ago, Amma Unavagam (canteen) has unanimously been celebrated for successfully providing hearty meals at nominal rates, winning praise from the poor and daily labourers. An idli at Rs 1, a plate of curd rice at Rs 3 and sambar rice at Rs 5 – the prices have put a smile on many who can afford very little.

The Chennai Corporation runs canteens across the city through women’s self-help groups, and more are set to come up across the state. The target is to scale up to 1,000 canteens across the state.

Amma Water

Unavagam catered to the hungry, but what about the thirsty? Amma Kudineer (water) made its debut in 2013, with packaged water bottles priced at Rs 10 for a litre bottle and sold at bus stations in Chennai and other districts of Tamil Nadu. The bottles are also sold on government buses plying on lengthy routes.

Amma Laptops

Amma’s giveaways began keeping up with the time, with a free laptop scheme catering to students who couldn’t afford the technology, and a reported 11 lakh laptops are the target. Though of different brands, each laptop is equipped with a dual -core processor with 2GB RAM, 120 Hard Disk with WiFi facility. The original cost of the product is approximately Rs 26,000, a hefty price for the exchequer to pay. The laptops soon made their debut in the grey market at throwaway prices with some beneficiaries even selling them for Rs 10,000.

Amma Baby Kits

It is a reminder of the Finnish welfare schemes that gift each mother a starter kit of essentials on delivering a child. In September last year, the CM introduced a goodie bag for all mothers which has – and don’t hold your breath – a towel, clothing, mattress, mosquito net, baby oil, shampoo, soap, nail cutter, hand sanitizer, doll, soap, and a rattle.

Amma Salt

Amma Salt, made by the Tamil Nadu Salt Corporation (TNSC) for the benefit of the weaker sections was launched in 2014, in three varieties: Double Fortified Salt, Refined Free Flow Iodised Salt and Low Sodium Salt.

While the double fortified variety is priced at Rs 14 perkg, against the open market price of Rs. 21, the refined free flow variety costs Rs 10, against the market price of Rs 14 to Rs. 20. The Low Sodium Salt costs Rs. 21, against the private players’ price of Rs 25.

Amma Cement

Jayalalithaa is clearly cementing her place in state politics with this one. Amma Cement hit markets at Rs 190 per bag and is sold through 220 godowns of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) and 250 godowns of the Rural Development and Panchayat Department across the State. Consumers building houses will be issued 50 bags per 100 square feet, subject to a maximum of 750 bags for 1,500 square feet.

Amma Seeds

One of the latest entrants is the Amma Seeds Scheme, which provides certified quality seeds to farmers with a view to increase agricultural production in the state and is sold through Amma Service Centres at a reasonable price. Rs 5.37 crore have been allocated for this scheme.

Amma Home Appliances

This was one of Jayalalithaa’s first freebie promise to the public aside from goats, cows and sheep, and is now the most widely distributed.

Amma Pharmacies

In 2014, Jayalalithaa launched ten Amma pharmacies in Chennai, Erode, Salem, Cuddalore, Erode, Madurai, Sivaganga and Virudhunagar at a cost of Rs 1 crore to sell medicines at fair prices, and reportedly at10 percent less than market prices.

Amma Mobiles

To reach out to more women voters, ‘Amma Mobiles’ was launched in September 2015 to provide computerised mobile phones loaded with special Tamil software, which would be provided to 20,000 women’s self-help group (SHG) trainers at a cost of Rs 15 crores. The state has more than six lakh SHGs with 92 lakh members.

Amma Call Centre

‘Amma Makkal Sevai Maiyyam’ (Amma People’s Service Centre) is the latest in the Amma series of welfare projects. The service centre will be a one-stop-shop for availing services of urban local bodies like corporations and municipalities.

People can go to the zonal offices in the corporation area and municipalities to get birth and death certificate, commercial licences, water connection, commercial tax, property tax, building approval, name changes and other certificates.

Amma Cinemas

Corporation officials say they have finalised seven locations — T Nagar, Basin Bridge, Kotturpuram, Ramapuram, Pulianthope, Kodambakkam and Wall Tax Road — to set up Amma theatres in the first phase and are awaiting the state government’s approval.

In 2014, the civic body had announced Amma theatres to provide entertainment for residents at an affordable cost. The air-conditioned theatres will screen U-certified Tamil movies and offer tickets at less than Rs. 25.

Amma Vegetable Shops

To stem rising vegetable prices, Jayalalithaa has launched fair price vegetable shops to sell farm-fresh vegetables at substantially lower rates in Chennai and its suburbs. The government departments procure vegetables directly from the farmers for the shops.

With this step, the government has been able to keep the prices low by keeping the middlemen at bay. Reportedly, the outlets sold a whopping 13,000 kg of vegetables on the first day.