Uttarakhand adopts UP’s ‘One Jail One Product’ model to reform inmates and build vocational skills

Uttarakhand will follow Uttar Pradesh’s ‘One Jail One Product’ model to develop jail-specific products, reform inmates, and equip them with vocational skills. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the state prisons authorities to ensure that prisoners are trained in suitable trades with the help of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

Dhami instructed the officials of the Jail Department to develop prisons across the state under the ‘One Jail One Product’ model so that inmates can earn better and acquire adequate skills. His directions came during the meeting of the Jail Development Board held on Thursday.

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“Regular programmes must be organised for the skill development of prison inmates across all jails in the state. Adequate arrangements should be made to train prisoners in different vocations with the support of ITIs. The ‘One Jail One Product’ scheme must be nurtured as a distinct model for the development of Uttarakhand’s prisons,” the Chief Minister said.

He further ordered that goods manufactured in jails should be used in government offices, with surplus products to be released in the market. Dhami also asked officials to periodically inspect the quality of food in jails.

It is notable that the Uttar Pradesh government pioneered the ‘One Jail One Product’ scheme to create and promote jail-specific branded products manufactured by inmates. Launched by the Yogi Adityanath government in 2022, the scheme aims not only at reforming prisoners but also equipping them with skills and vocations they prefer.

Currently, a large number of inmates in nearly 30 jails of Uttar Pradesh are engaged in producing various jail-specific branded products, generating substantial revenue for the prison department and for themselves.

It was decided in the Jail Board meeting that laundry machines will be installed at the Central Jail Sitarganj, District Jails in Almora, Pauri and Tehri, and Sub Jails in Haldwani and Roorkee. The decision follows positive results observed in the District Jails of Dehradun and Haridwar.

The meeting also reached a consensus to set up a ‘Kachchi Ghani’ mustard oil plant in Sitarganj Open Jail, along with introducing mushroom farming in Sitarganj and Haridwar Jails. Additionally, bakery units will be established in Haridwar and Almora District Jails, Sitarganj Central Jail, and Sub Jail Haldwani.