Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) is a government scheme launched by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in 2000. The main objective of the scheme is to provide highly subsidized food grains to the poorest of the poor families in the country.

Eligibility Criteria:
To be eligible for the scheme, a household should satisfy the following conditions:
- The family should belong to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category.
- The family should not have any regular income or a stable source of income.
- Senior citizens and disabled persons should be given preference.

Benefits of the Scheme:
Under this scheme, eligible families are provided with 35 kg of food grains per month at a highly subsidized rate. The scheme covers both rural and urban areas of the country. The food grains are provided through the Public Distribution System (PDS) of the government. The government also provides additional subsidy to the states for the transportation and handling charges.

Implementation of the Scheme:
The scheme is implemented by the state governments in coordination with the central government. The state governments are responsible for the identification of eligible households, issuance of ration cards, distribution of food grains, and monitoring of the scheme. The central government provides financial assistance to the states for the implementation of the scheme.

Conclusion:
Antyodaya Anna Yojana is a welfare scheme aimed at providing food security to the poorest of the poor families in the country. The scheme has been successful in improving the nutritional status of the beneficiaries and reducing poverty. However, there are challenges in the implementation of the scheme, such as identification of eligible households and leakage in the distribution of food grains. The government needs to take steps to address these challenges and ensure the effective implementation of the scheme.