EMPOWERING PRISONERS

There's no bar to learning

Suresh P. Iyengar

Tech-savvy: Jail inmates are trained in basic computer operations under the ‘Vedanta Umeed' programme.

A prisoner working on a computer may be a strange sight, but for nearly 12,000 inmates of 14 jails across the country, this is a dream come true.

Having spent a major part of their liveswith guns and goons, they are now more than eager to turn over a new leaf.

Vedanta Foundation, part of mining and metals major Vedanta Group, has trained these inmates in basic computer operations, for four hours a day over four months, through its ‘Vedanta Umeed' programme.

The success of the training programme could be gauged from the fact that a Haridwar-based company, NRS Softtech, has awarded a data-entry contract worth Rs 2.5 lakh last month, and has promised to come back with a similar contract in July. The earnings from the job are shared by the participating inmates and handed over to their family members.

The Foundation now plans to include another seven jails in Orissa and three in Rajasthan under the initiative , to benefit 1,000 jail inmates.

The training programme has given new hope for the jail inmates.

“Earlier, I always had tension and negative thoughts in my mind, but now, I spend one hour to learn computer. I feel positive because of this one hour. I have some hope in my life. When I will complete my term, I will definitely start my life in a new way,” said Jaswant Rampal (name changed), a prisoner lodged in Asia's largest jail, Tihar, in a letter addressed to the Vedanta Foundation.

“I will definitely give computer education to my children. I understand it's important,” he wrote.

Mr Ravi Kishan, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Foundation, said, “We initially tried to get some BPO jobs for inmates but had to drop the plan as telephone access was not allowed inside the jail.”

Finding jobs

Though not binding, the onus has now shifted to the Foundation to find suitable data entry work for the trained prisoners, just to keep their hopes alive, he said.

The prison programme was first launched in Tihar and expanded to include jails in Delhi, Dehradun, Amravati, Vadodara, Ajmer, Bhopal and Haridwar and the Model and Women Jail in Lucknow.

The Foundation, which has allocated around Rs 1.50 crore a year for social empowerment programmes, has spent Rs 30 lakh on the ‘Umeed' initiative.

Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line