Made-in-Tihar Products Go Online 

Why is it in News?

• Delhi Prison Administration plans to sell Made-in-Tihar products on major e-commerce platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon.
• Marks a shift from offline-only sales (jail canteens, courts, exhibitions) to nationwide digital marketplaces.
• Aimed at improving inmate rehabilitation, skill utilisation, and post-release employability.

Relevance

• GS II – Governance & Social Justice
  • Prison reforms
  • Rehabilitation of convicts and undertrials
  • Reformative vs retributive justice

What Are “Made-in-Tihar” Products?

• Produced by inmates inside Tihar Jail, South Asia’s largest prison complex.
• Product range includes:
  • Food items: cookies, mustard oil
  • Handicrafts: bags, footwear
  • Household items: furniture, paper products
• Around 13 categories currently marketed.

Scale of the Programme 

• Inmate workforce:
  • ~5,000 inmates engaged daily in manufacturing and vocational work.
• Production units:
  • Multiple industrial workshops across Tihar Jail complex.
• Revenue generation:
  • ₹2.42 crore turnover in FY 2023–24.
  • Average inmate earnings:
    • ₹412 per day (credited to prison accounts).
• Skill coverage:
  • About 70 different products across food processing, carpentry, tailoring, and handicrafts.

Economic Dignity of Prison Labour

• Shifts narrative from:
  • “Prison labour” → “Correctional industry”.
• Supports constitutional values:
  • Article 21 (right to live with dignity).
• Reinforces Supreme Court guidance on:
  • Fair remuneration
  • Voluntary skill-based work.

Governance & Implementation Aspects

• Sales via:
  • Government-approved accounts on platforms.
• Branding:
  • “Made-in-Tihar” already has recall value due to:
    • Quality perception
    • Ethical consumption appeal.
• Oversight:
  • Delhi Prison Department ensures:
    • No forced labour
    • Wage crediting
    • Product quality control.

Comparative Context

• Similar initiatives:
  • Open prisons in Rajasthan
  • Prison handicraft programmes in Kerala & Maharashtra.
• Distinction:
  • Tihar is among the largest prison-based industrial ecosystems in India.

Challenges & Caveats

• Pricing competitiveness with private brands.
• Logistics and supply consistency.
• Ensuring:
  • Non-exploitation
  • Transparency in revenue sharing.
• Need for:
  • Skill certification linkage with NSQF
  • Post-release job placement pipelines.

Conclusion

• Taking Made-in-Tihar products online transforms prison labour into a scalable rehabilitation model.
• If implemented with safeguards, it can:
  • Humanise incarceration
  • Generate ethical livelihoods
  • Recast prisons as institutions of correction, not exclusion.