In Rajasthan, prisoners work at 6 fuel pumps for ₹249/day 'to make jail dept self-reliant'

In what can be described as a unique bid to aid skill development, over 100 prisoners in Rajasthan are working at six fuel pumps set up across the state. Elaborating on it further, Director-General (D-G) for prisons Rajeev Dasot on Monday said that the goal was to make the jail department self-reliant alongside promoting skill development. The DG for prisons revealed that the prisoners received a salary of Rs 249 per day, adding that the money was transferred directly into their bank accounts.  

"We'll open pumps at 12 locations in the next phase. Prisoners working here are trained & receive Rs 249 per day salary that gets transferred to their bank accounts. At Jaipur pump, we registered a sale of Rs 1 crore last month, target is Rs 3 cr per month", D-G Rajeev Dasot said. 

Fuel pumps operated by prisoners in Rajasthan 

Why rates of petrol and diesel are high

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had recently allayed concerns around the rising fuel prices in India calling them a ripple effect of the hike in international fuel prices. Asserting that it was only 'temporary', Pradhan remarked that taxes levied on fuels helped in reviving a nation's economy, especially post the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously as well, the Minister had explained the unprecedented rise in the rates of petrol and diesel said that the hike in the price of crude oil in global markets was affecting fuel prices in India. "International markets have reduced fuel production and manufacturing countries are producing less fuel to gain more profit. This is also one of the reasons that consumer countries are suffering. We have been appealing to the Organisation for the Petroleum manufacturing Countries (OPEC) to help stop this process. We hope there will be a change," said Pradhan. 

"Due to rise in international fuel prices, India also had to increase fuel prices but it's temporary, gradually they'll be brought down. Both Centre & State levy taxes on fuels as they're 'resources' that help in reviving the economy, especially post COVID," said Dharmendra Pradhan.