Tihar Jail products find their way to more shelves

It started out in 1995 as a venture to multiply loaves of bread and feed the multitude in Tihar Jail. With convicts at the vanguard. And it succeeded handsomely - no mean feat considering there were more than 9,000 inmates in the jail at the time (today there are over 12,000). That enterprise has evolved into a brand that more and more Delhiites are getting to know. TJ's - the label has been derived from the jail's name - is a brand with a diverse product portfolio. The mix includes everything from bread, apparel, furniture and mustard oil to paper products, soaps, blankets and disinfectants. And it is now looking to hit the big time through tie-ups with mainstream retail stores.

"In 2006, brand TJ'S was earning a turnover of Rs 2 crore. Last year that had increased to Rs 18 crore," says Pradeep Sharma Deputy Superintendent of Jail No. 2, which houses many of the prison's production units. He hopes to take the turnover up to Rs 20 crore this year.



Initially, the TJ'S products were sold to prison inmates and their visitors, who could buy them at a store just outside the jail. Soon they began to appear in stalls located in court premises around Delhi. In all, Tihar Jail has 16 such stalls around Delhi. In addition, TJ'S supplies its products to government offices, educational institutions and even Parliament House, among other institutions. It is even sold through local kirana (grocery) shops. Since last year, the products have also been sold through a small, rent-free kiosk in the upscale Select Citywalk mall, in South Delhi. "They have sales of around Rs 25,000 a day, which is a small start, but not bad," says Arjun Sharma, director at the mall. The products also feature in the mall's monthly bazaars.

But by far the biggest breakthrough into mainstream retail came when the Jail tied up with retail chains Reliance Fresh and Vishal Mega Mart recently. "With this we are taking TJ'S to a higher class of shoppers," says Sunil Kumar Gupta, Law Officer (Jails) Delhi Prisons, who handles public relations.

Reliance, which tied up with the jail in July, has already received three consignments of TJ'S food products. According to the store manager of the Reliance Fresh store in Delhi's Zamrudpur locality, the response to the brand has been good, especially for its masala chips. "Whatever has come has been sold." Vishal Mega Mart got its first consignment of goods, including soaps, cookies and housekeeping products, last month. "We give them (retailers) a 15 per cent discount on the total price of an order," says Gupta. The food products are about 25 per cent cheaper than the popular Haldiram's brand, he adds.

TJ'S even has its own website, detailing the enterprise's activities, products and store locations. For a while, the brand was promoted over local radio stations. "We were giving 30-second spots on Big FM and Radio City for two months last year," says Gupta. Well-known police officer Kiran Bedi (now retired) was the brain behind the bakery that started it all in 1995, when she was in charge of the jail. Ajay Aggarwal, who was director general of the jail between 1999 and 2004, took the initiative further and launched the TJ'S brand, selling namkeen (snacks). "Every successor has added more products," says Bedi. She believes that as long as the products are of good quality, they will sell well. The jail's various units are managed by the prisoners themselves with technical experts guiding them. Wages are paid at rates decided by the Delhi government.

While unskilled workers earn around Rs 70 in a day, skilled ones get Rs 99. Twenty-five per cent of this amount goes to a fund to compensate crime victims and their families. Female convicts, housed in Jail No. 6 make candles, pickles and mehndi, and also run a beauty parlour. The money earned is used to pay prisoner wages and buy raw material, among other things. Only convicts are allowed to participate in this non-profit initiative (undertrials are barred). With 3,207 of them, Tihar Jail does not face a labour shortage. Currently, 900 are involved with the programme.

In addition to his duties as deputy superintendent, Sharma also doubles up as the CEO of the units in Jail No. 2, which includes the bakery, carpentry and textiles units. When prisoners are first transferred to the jail, he interviews them, digging out details about their work experience, interests, and job preference. Initially, a prisoner is placed in a unit based on immediate manpower requirements. When an opening crops up in the prisoner's preferred unit, he is transferred. The prison-work initiative has today evolved into a programme that schools inmates with skills so they can find jobs after leaving prison. When needed, prisoners are even allowed to work overtime and paid extra wages. "If they do double the work in eight hours I pay them double," says Sharma.

Ajay Singh is one of the workers behind the TJ'S brand. The convict, who has been incarcerated in Delhi's Tihar Jail for nearly 14 years, is a valued employee in the bakery. His day begins at 7.30 am and ends at 5 pm. And over those hours he does everything from kneading dough and frying namkeen to baking biscuits and packing the day's products. Singh, whose parole hearing will come up next year, is hoping the skills he has acquired will enable him to make a fresh start with a confectionery. "This experience will help me in the outside world," he insists. In jail, he earns about Rs 3,500 a month.

Over the years, the programme has expanded. "When I came here in 1999, there used to be just four machines and now there are around 20," says Nirmal Singh, 55, who fixes power looms. Before he was imprisoned, Singh worked as a bus and truck mechanic in Delhi's Azadpur Mandi locality. Day by day, TJ'S is becoming more popular. Some day, if Asia's largest jail can ramp up production and widen its distribution to target more consumers, it could even become an irritant for mainstream companies.