Tihar masala to spice up your food

Soon, food items and condiments made by Tihar inmates will occupy your kitchen shelves. What's more: you can buy detergents, biscuits, namkeen and even jute bags made by the inmates. The largest prison complex in south Asia is also set to become a competing brand in grocery shops across the city. And, when you visit the trade fair at Pragati Maidan this time around, you can even spot brand TJ's (Tihar Jail's) stall at the fair. With 15 new distributors appointed by the Tihar authorities for the National Capital Region (NCR), soon the TJ's products will be available in every nook and cranny, say Tihar officials.

"In the last fiscal year, our turnover was Rs 14 crore. This year, we have expanded our range of products and aim to have a turnover of Rs 20 crore. The products made by our inmates are of good quality and competitively priced. It gladdens the heart of the inmates to know their products are in demand outside the jail premises," said Sunil Gupta, Tihar law officer and PRO.

Tihar has recently launched its own spice manufacturing unit. Now, they also plan to open a blanket manufacturing factory in jail 8 and 9. "Each year, we float tenders in Panipat to provide us with blankets for our inmates. Each of the 12,500 prisoners is entitled to four blankets. We plan to save government money by starting this unit. We will first meet our own requirements and then put the extra blankets up on sale. We are also launching TJ's soap and detergent powder," said a senior Tihar official.

Presently, Tihar Jail products can be found in all court complexes in Delhi including high court. Around 20 branches of Kendriya Bhandaar and Khaadi Bhandaar also stock TJ's products.

With the new distributors in the fray, these products will soon be available at grocery shops as well.

The products include handloom and textile, apparel, furniture, pure mustard oil, recycled hand-made paper products, paintings, designer candles and lamps, jute bags, herbal products.

"TJ's is a brand developed with a non-commercial and non-profit objective. Tihar jail factory provides an opportunity to reform and rehabilitate the inmates by channelizing their energy in a positive direction," said a senior jail official.