Odisha’s prison authorities have sought a hike in the minimum wages of convict prisoners from ₹40 per day, one of lowest wage rates in the country. Semi-skilled prisoners are engaged in cooking, hair-cutting, gardening, dairy and farms, while unskilled prisoners do the sweeping and the guarding of the internal gates. Only Andhra Pradesh has lower wage rate for unskilled convict prisoners at ₹30. In February this year, Jharkhand increased minimum wage for convict prisoners to ₹91 and skilled prisoners in its jails are getting ₹144. Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Nagaland are other States where minimum wage of convict prisoners is above ₹100.

Source: The Hindu June 30, 2019 16:18 UTC