From cells to shelves: Telangana prisons turn skills of inmates into enterprise

Published 9 August 2026 · health

Steel furniture, hospital beds, classroom benches, wooden tables, soaps, floor cleaners, honey and even products made from discarded tyres and temple flowers are among the

Steel furniture, hospital beds, classroom benches, wooden tables, soaps, floor cleaners, honey and even products made from discarded tyres and temple flowers are among the goods being produced inside Telangana’s prisons, with the department increasingly turning its workshops into a showcase of quality, affordability and sustainability. The prison industries currently manufacture a diverse range of products, with steel and carpentry emerging as the most prominent production units. Their output includes classroom benches, hospital beds, office tables, iron cots, double-bunker cots, computer tables, chairs and mobile stands. Director General of Prisons, Soumya Mishra, said government departments, hospitals, courts and educational institutions are among their regular customers, apart from the regular public. The range extends well beyond furniture. “Prison workshops manufacture black and scented phenyl, floor and toilet cleaners, hand wash, liquid soap, dish wash, bath soaps and herbal bath powder, while inmates also make durries, door mats, bed sheets, towels, notebooks and paper bags,” the officer said. The inmates are given a wage for their work, with payments linked to their skill level.

Under the latest Government Order (GO), highly skilled inmates earn ₹200 a day, skilled workers ₹150, semi-skilled workers ₹125 and unskilled workers ₹100. Half of the wages are deposited into the inmate’s bank account and can be withdrawn after release, while the remaining 50% is credited to their Personal Prison Cash account and can be used during imprisonment or sent to their families. The department says the products have developed a reputation for durability and competitive pricing, with demand extending beyond the prison system. The Telangana Prisons Department’s stall at Numaish-2026 was awarded the Best Government Stall, a recognition officials say reflected public acceptance of products made by inmates. For the department, the Numaish platform has become an important public-facing marketplace. Customers return to the prison stall each year to buy its products, giving the inmates’ work a direct connection with consumers rather than limiting production to internal government requirements. Besides its annual ‘My Nation’ stall at Numaish, the Prisons Department operates permanent outlets at Chanchalguda and Cherlapalli outside the jail premises.

“The quality of the products is monitored through a dedicated Quality Control Committee headed by senior prison officers at the IG and DIG levels. The committee oversees the process from procurement of raw materials through manufacturing and final inspection,” explained the officer. The department has also adopted a standardised procurement system across the State to ensure that raw materials meet uniform specifications. Prison-industry instructors are given regular industrial training to maintain consistency in manufacturing standards and improve the quality of finished products. Alongside conventional manufacturing, prison industries are increasingly experimenting with products that put discarded material to use. A ‘Waste to Wealth’ unit converts old tyres, oil drums and plastic wire into lamp stands, furniture and other utility products. The paper-bag unit uses old newspapers, turning material that would otherwise be discarded into an alternative to plastic bags. Another initiative uses flowers collected from temples to manufacture agarbattis. The idea combines product manufacturing with a method of putting floral waste to productive use. The department has also recently introduced apiculture, or beekeeping, for the production of raw honey.