Economic and Productive Aspects of the Prison Inmates

September 17, 2015

Author: Surendra

There are various aspects of the life of prison inmates. Some of the aspects that are more significant have been considered in this study. The study focuses on economic, financial and productive aspects of the prison inmates.

The study analyses the various datasets and information relating to the economic, financial and productive aspects of the persons incarcerated in the prisons across the country. The main datasets/information used for this analysis are as follows:

• Prison inmate population by sex and age-group at the end of the reference year during 2013
• Educational standard of inmates at the end of the year 2013
• Details of educational facilities provided to prisoners during 2013
• Prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings
• Details of wages payments of prisoners
• Kinds of goods/vocational activities and gross value of goods produced by inmates during 2013

Moreover, various visualisations related to the important aspects of the prison inmates’ life and their productive activities during their incarceration period in the prison, also vividly depict the economic and productive aspects of prison inmates.

The Population of the Prison Inmates:

The number of prison inmates in India at the end of 2013 was 411992. Out of these, the number of males was 393804, while the number of females was 18188. Thus, the percentage of male prison inmates was 95.59%, while the percentage of females was 4.41%.

 

The details of prison inmates population are as under:

State/UT	Male	Female	Total
Andhra Pradesh	13414	899	14313
Arunachal Pradesh	90	2	92
Assam	7957	306	8263
Bihar	30159	1100	31259
Chhatisgarh	15019	821	15840
Goa	495	28	523
Gujarat	11481	577	12058
Haryana	16814	830	17644
Himachal Pradesh	1903	96	1999
Jammu & Kashmir	2265	87	2352
Jharkhand	17370	850	18220
Karnataka	13534	584	14118
Kerala	7205	190	7395
Madhya Pradesh	33622	1086	34708
Maharashtra	25841	1559	27400
Manipur	625	35	660
Meghalaya	839	11	850
Mizoram	804	66	870
Nagaland	475	12	487
Orissa	13832	641	14473
Punjab	25985	1464	27449
Rajasthan	18631	662	19293
Sikkim	222	8	230
Tamilnadu	14014	707	14721
Tripura	876	25	901
Uttar Pradesh	80206	3312	83518
Uttaranchal	3663	182	3845
West Bengal	21385	1393	22778
A & N Islands	1141	8	1149
Chandigarh	637	24	661
D & N Haveli	35	0	35
Daman & Diu	55	1	56
Delhi	12937	615	13552
Lakshadweep	0	0	0
Pondicherry	273	7	280
All India	393804	18188	411992

https://data.gov.in/catalog/prison-inmate-population-sex-and-age-group#web_catalog_tabs_block_10

Uttar Pradesh was leading among the States/UTs of India. The top 5 States/UTs besides Uttar Pradesh in terms of number of prison inmates at the end of the year 2013 were: Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Maharashtra.

The number of prison inmates in Uttar Pradesh at the end of 2013 was 83518. Out of these, the number of males was 80206, while the number of females was 3312. Thus, the percentage of male prison inmates was 96.03%, while the percentage of females was 3.97%.

The number of prison inmates in Madhya Pradesh at the end of 2013 was 34708. Out of these, the number of males was 33622, while the number of females was 1086. Thus, the percentage of male prison inmates was 96.87%, while the percentage of females was 3.13%. The number of prison inmates in Bihar at the end of 2013 was 31259. Out of these, the number of males was 30159, while the number of females was 1100. Thus, the percentage of male prison inmates was 96.48%, while the percentage of females was 3.52%.

The number of prison inmates in Punjab at the end of 2013 was 27449. Out of these, the number of males was 25985, while the number of females was 1464. Thus, the percentage of male prison inmates was 94.67%, while the percentage of females was 5.33%. The number of prison inmates in Maharashtra at the end of 2013 was 27400. Out of these, the number of males was 25841, while the number of females was 1559. Thus, the percentage of male prison inmates was 94.31%, while the percentage of females was 5.69%.

Educational Qualifications of Prison Inmates:

There were many prison inmates who were well qualified and a good number of them had even post-graduate or technical qualifications.

The total number of the prison inmates having the qualification of post-graduate at the end of the year 2013 in whole of India was 7173. Out of the 7173 post-graduate prison inmates, the number of males was 6937 (96.71%) and number of females was 236 (3.29%).

 

Top 20 State/UTs in terms of the prison inmates having the qualification of post-graduate at the end of the year 2013 were: Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat, Orissa, West Bengal, Kerala, Uttaranchal, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

Among the top 5 State/UTs in terms of the prison inmates having the qualification of post-graduate, the ratio of males was more than 90%. The number of post-graduate prison inmates in Uttar Pradesh at the end of 2013 was 1944. The number of males was 1903 (97.89%) and number of females was 41 (2.11%). The number of post-graduate prison inmates in Punjab at the end of 2013 was 924. The number of males was 871 (94.26%) and number of females was 53 (5.74%). The number of post-graduate prison inmates in Maharashtra at the end of 2013 was 782. The number of males was 768 (98.21%) and number of females was 14 (1.79%). The number of post-graduate prison inmates in Rajasthan at the end of 2013 was 753. The number of males was 751 (99.73%) and number of females was 2 (0.27%). The number of post-graduate prison inmates in Madhya Pradesh at the end of 2013 was 402. The number of males was 386 (96.02%) and number of females was 16 (3.98%).

The details of educational qualifications (Higher/Technical Education) of prison inmates are as under:

STATE/UT	Graduate	Post-Graduate	Holding technical degree/diploma etc.
Andhra Pradesh	646	204	205
Arunachal Pradesh	6	1	0
Assam	232	14	16
Bihar	1432	222	103
Chhatisgarh	531	244	84
Goa	27	7	15
Gujarat	659	181	143
Haryana	973	184	217
Himachal Pradesh	85	18	15
Jammu & Kashmir	98	19	3
Jharkhand	969	231	222
Karnataka	523	243	335
Kerala	102	27	102
Madhya Pradesh	1232	402	142
Maharashtra	1450	782	459
Manipur	23	7	2
Meghalaya	8	0	1
Mizoram	20	0	0
Nagaland	8	0	0
Orissa	613	160	25
Punjab	3030	924	598
Rajasthan	1573	753	372
Sikkim	6	0	0
Tamilnadu	883	307	483
Tripura	21	2	2
Uttar Pradesh	5440	1944	471
Uttaranchal	192	24	15
West Bengal	825	72	78
A & N Islands	14	5	11
Chandigarh	51	9	3
D & N Haveli	5	2	3
Daman & Diu	1	1	0
Delhi	702	184	124
Lakshadweep	0	0	0
Pondicherry	5	0	1
All India	22385	7173	4250

https://data.gov.in/catalog/educational-standard-inmates#web_catalog_tabs_block_10

Educational Facilities provided to Prison Inmates:

Prison Authorities also arranged facilities for providing various types of education to the prison inmates for increasing the competence and the betterment of their life inside prison and afterwards, outside the prison.

The following visualisation shows the top 10 states/UTs providing elementary education to prison inmates:

 

The following visualisation shows the states/UT wise higher education facilities provided to prison inmates in 2013:

 

The following visualisation shows the states/UT wise computer education facilities provided to prison inmates in 2013:

 

The details of educational facilities provided to prison inmates are as under:

State/UT	No. of Inmates benefitted by Elementary Education	No. of Inmates benefitted by Adult Education	No. of Inmates benefitted by Higher Education	No. of Inmates benefitted by Computer Course
Andhra Pradesh	9480	13758	672	170
Arunachal Pradesh	0	0	0	0
Assam	676	750	14	30
Bihar	1693	3013	125	1417
Chhatisgarh	1664	1803	192	103
Goa	7	0	6	88
Gujarat	2310	3133	875	966
Haryana	1131	774	1112	243
Himachal Pradesh	33	80	26	0
Jammu & Kashmir	102	124	33	34
Jharkhand	3008	2595	138	574
Karnataka	633	568	170	12
Kerala	156	96	24	250
Madhya Pradesh	1978	9574	301	151
Maharashtra	346	2743	882	1330
Manipur	0	0	0	0
Meghalaya	1	30	0	0
Mizoram	0	25	18	0
Nagaland	0	0	0	0
Orissa	622	613	277	384
Punjab	325	606	112	168
Rajasthan	1050	237	64	38
Sikkim	0	0	0	0
Tamilnadu	68	1664	757	478
Tripura	15	13	4	2
Uttar Pradesh	7876	8093	1353	212
Uttaranchal	205	42	29	72
West Bengal	2023	1889	123	460
A & N Islands	167	45	11	0
Chandigarh	0	265	85	0
D & N Haveli	0	0	0	0
Daman & Diu	0	0	0	0
Delhi	1458	1187	908	174
Lakshadweep	0	0	0	0
Pondicherry	0	0	0	0
All India	37027	53720	8311	7356

https://data.gov.in/catalog/details-educational-facilities-provided-prisoners#web_catalog_tabs_block_10

 

The following visualisation shows the states/UT wise vocational education facilities provided to prison inmates in 2013:

 

The total number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings during the year 2013 in India was 65471. Punjab was leading among the States/UTs of India. The top 5 States/UTs besides Punjab in terms of number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings during the year 2013 in India were: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Gujarat.

The total number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings during the year 2013 in Punjab was 10352. Thus, prison inmates of Punjab accounted for 15.81% of the total number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings during the year 2013 in India (i.e. 65471 prison inmates).

The total number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings during the year 2013 in Madhya Pradesh was 9944. Thus, prison inmates of Madhya Pradesh accounted for 15.19% of the total number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings in India. The total number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings during the year 2013 in Rajasthan was 6475. Thus, prison inmates of Rajasthan accounted for 9.89% of the total number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings in India.

The total number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings during the year 2013 in Delhi was 5666. Thus, prison inmates of Delhi accounted for 8.65% of the total number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings in India. The total number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings during the year 2013 in Gujarat was 4714. Thus, prison inmates of Gujarat accounted for 7.2% of the total number of prison inmates trained under different vocational trainings in India.

Wages paid to Prison Inmates

The following visualisation shows the states/UT wise average wages provided to unskilled convicts in prisons in 2013:

 

The average wages paid per day to unskilled convicts vary amongst various states/UTs. The average wages paid per day to unskilled convicts in India in 2013 was Rs. 42.71.

The top 10 states/UTs paying the highest wages to the unskilled convicts were: Himachal Pradesh with Rs. 150 (which was 351.21% of the all India average wage paid to unskilled convicts i.e. Rs. 42.71); Puducherry with Rs. 150 (which was 351.21% of the all India average wage); Bihar with Rs. 80 (which was 187.31% of the all India average wage); Karnataka with Rs. 70 (which was 163.9% of the all India average wage); Delhi with Rs. 70 (which was 163.9% of the all India average wage); Tamil Nadu with Rs. 60 (which was 140.48% of the all India average wage); Arunachal Pradesh with Rs. 55 (which was 128.78% of the all India average wage); Assam with Rs. 55 (which was 128.78% of the all India average wage); Goa with Rs. 50 (which was 117.07% of the all India average wage) and Madhya Pradesh with Rs. 50 (which was 117.07% of the all India average wage).

The 5 states/UTs paying the lowest wages to the unskilled convicts were: Rajasthan with Rs. 20; Tripura with Rs. 18; Jharkhand with Rs. 14; Mizoram with Rs. 10 and Manipur with Rs. 8.

The state-wise details of wages of prison inmates are as under:

State/UT	Wages paid per day to Skilled convicts (in Rs.)	Wages paid per day to Semi Skilled convicts (in Rs.)	Wages paid per day to Unskilled convicts (in Rs.)
Andhra Pradesh	70	50	30
Arunachal Pradesh	75	0	55
Assam	75	0	55
Bihar	121	87	80
Chhattisgarh	30	0	25
Goa	80	60	50
Gujarat	35	30	25
Haryana	40	25	20
Himachal Pradesh	0	0	150
Jammu and Kashmir	24	24	24
Jharkhand	46	28	14
Karnataka	90	80	70
Kerala	53	35	21
Madhya Pradesh	55	0	50
Maharashtra	40	35	25
Manipur	12	10	8
Meghalaya	70	60	50
Mizoram	15	12	10
Nagaland	0	0	0
Odisha	40	0	40
Punjab	35	30	25
Rajasthan	40	30	20
Sikkim	40	30	30
Tamil Nadu	100	80	60
Tripura	25	21	18
Uttar Pradesh	40	30	25
Uttarakhand	45	40	30
West Bengal	35	30	26
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	37	0	28
Chandigarh	60	50	40
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	0	0	0
Daman and Diu	0	0	0
Delhi	99	81	70
Lakshadweep	0	0	0
Puducherry	170	160	150

 

https://data.gov.in/catalog/details-wages-payments-prisoners#web_catalog_tabs_block_10

Goods Produced by Prison Inmates

The total gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in India was Rs. 14432.93 Lakhs.

Gross Value of Goods Produced by Prison Inmates during 2013 is shown below:

 

Delhi was leading among the States/UTs of India. The top 5 States/UTs besides Delhi in terms of total gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in India were: Kerala, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

The gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in Delhi was Rs. 2792.86 Lakhs.  Thus, prison inmates of Delhi accounted for 19.35% of the total gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in India.

The gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in Kerala was Rs. 2509.72 Lakhs.  Thus, prison inmates of Kerala accounted for 17.39% of the total gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in India.

The gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in Bihar was Rs. 1423.06 Lakhs.  Thus, prison inmates of Bihar accounted for 9.86% of the total gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in India.The gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in Tamil Nadu was Rs. 1293.55 Lakhs.  Thus, prison inmates of Tamil Nadu accounted for 8.96% of the total gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in India.

The gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in Maharashtra was Rs. 1248.06 Lakhs.  Thus, prison inmates of Maharashtra accounted for 8.65% of the total gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from various vocational activities of the prison inmates during the year 2013 in India.

The details of the top 20 vocational activities in terms of total gross value of sale proceeds/earnings from amongst various vocational activities of the prison inmates are as under:

Vocation/Activity	Sum of Gross Value of Sale Proceeds / Earning (In Rs.)
Industrial	250211335
Chappaty And Food Products	222855245
Carpentry Unit	180132075
Jail Industries	141919000
Agriculture	122503916
Tihar Baking School	55415502
Weaving	43540000
Handmade Paper	40290000
Steel Unit	33069399
Small Industries	27008733
Carpentry/Canning/Welding	19507089
Chemical Unit	18143111
Manufacturing Department	16074119
Power Loom Industry	15224577
Boot	14658000
Paper Unit	13800981
Industry	12866000
Weaving Unit	12694386
Soap Phenyl Industry	10141370
Jail Manufactory	9940367

 

https://data.gov.in/catalog/kinds-goodsvocational-activities-and-gross-value-goods-produced-inmates#web_catalog_tabs_block_10

Conclusion

It is apparent from the above analysis that prison inmates are not only producing various goods but also preparing themselves, in terms of skills acquisition or productive activities, to pursue gainful employment after they are released from prison.This will not only help them in earning their livelihood in the outside open economy but also facilitate their integration with mainstream workforce in the country. It will also help in restricting the recidivism of the prison inmates if they become unproductive and lose all skills to gainfully engage in some economic activity once they are free from prison.