Tamil Nadu leads the nation in income generated from jail merchandise; over 67cr. collected

Tamil Nadu has topped the nation in incomes revenue from jail product gross sales. The State has reported the very best gross worth of sale proceeds, to the tune of ₹67.08 crore, because of the educated workforce of inmates.

According to official sources, the persevering with programme for coaching prisoners in vocational trades has resulted within the manufacturing of articles with substantial market worth. While Tamil Nadu led the nation in worthwhile jail enterprise, different States carefully following had been Telangana and Kerala with ₹55.71 crore and ₹24.44 crore respectively in 2023.

Going by National Crime Records Bureau knowledge, the worth of products produced per inmate was the very best in Telangana, with ₹95,187, adopted by Tamil Nadu (₹33,984), and Chandigarh (₹32,325). Prisoners engaged in labour are paid a nominal wage primarily based on their abilities. Tamil Nadu pays ₹300 for expert staff and ₹270 for semi-skilled staff per day.

Rehabilitation

As a part of the reformation and rehabilitation programmes of the State authorities, the jail trade was geared up with infrastructure to make textile, leather-based, aluminium, wax and paper merchandise. The facility has been established at eight Central Prisons, one Special Prison for Women, and one Borstal School.

Even as many of the jail merchandise are bought by authorities departments, the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services arrange ‘Prison Bazaars’ in all Central Prison complexes to promote their in-house merchandise to members of the general public at nominal costs.

The merchandise, reminiscent of ready-made clothes, leather-based footwear, rain coats, bakery objects, and soaps, are offered underneath the model title of ‘Freedom’; 20% of the revenue is credited to the account of the prisoner who labored to make the product.

Fruitful PATTAM

The Personality Attitude Transformation Therapeutic Assistance Management (PATTAM) programme, launched to cut back recidivism and facilitate reintegration of petty, first-time offenders (aged 18-24) into society as productive and accountable residents has yielded the specified outcomes. Of the entire 9,370 younger offenders who had attended the programme in prisons from August 2018 to December 2023, solely 18 had been re-arrested. The price of recidivism was solely 0.2%.

The NCRB has additionally reported that colleges are functioning, with certified lecturers, in all of the Central Prisons, Special Prison for Women, and district jail and the Borstal School in Pudukkottai.

Prisoners are allowed to pursue levels/diplomas supplied by the Tamil Nadu Open University and write exams at authorities value. In 2023, 8,844 prisoners studied numerous programs in prisons. A sum of ₹2.08 crore was spent on upgrading libraries in all prisons.

Videoconferencing

Tamil Nadu additionally tops in videoconferencing in prisons. Of the 1,332 prisons within the nation, 1,156 have been geared up with the ability. The State has 126 prisons geared up with videoconferencing, adopted by Madhya Pradesh (123), Rajasthan (92), Odisha (84), and Andhra Pradesh (80).