Hyderabad: Targeting a turnover of Rs 100 crore by the end of the current fiscal, the Telangana state prison authority has appointed sales consultants for its ‘My Nation Products.’
As per the guidance of consultants, prison industries are concentrating on products which have demand. Major revenue sources of prison industries are petrol bunks followed by wood and steel furniture, weaving and other products. The wood and steel furniture workshops have been turned into wood-cum-steel furniture manufacturing units to meet market requirements.
Cherlapalli central prison got orders worth Rs 71.82 lakh for dual desks, chairs, teachers’ tables, steel almarahs, computer tables, library tables etc., from BHEL, JNTUH, Mahbubnagar KV, NTPC, IOC, TS Residential School and other agencies.
Cherlapalli jail Superintendent Kolan Venkateswar Reddy told DC that there was tremendous response as products made by prisoners were better and cheaper. Mr Reddy said products like phenyl, toilet cleaner, hand sanitizer and floor cleaner have good response from customers and the prison authority is planning to market it online.
"We are planning to approach popular e-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart for promoting products manufactured by prisoners. We are targeting a turnover of at least Rs. 10 crore for the current financial year," he said.
Prisons? DG, Vinoy Kumar Singh told DC that the turnover of industries in prisons across the state had reached Rs. 32 crore in FY 2015-16. "Now, we are targeting Rs. 100 crore by the end of the current financial year. We are adopting new techniques and are planning to increase industries in prisons," he said.
