More than half a million Indians are in prisons across the country, three in four of them are undertrials, of whom nearly half are aged between 18 and 30 years , according to the latest prisons data released by the National Crime Records Bureau for 2023.

Data from the Under Trial Review Committee, which was established based on a 2015 Supreme Court order , are more recent (April 2025), but the National Crime Records Bureau report shows deeper trends and allows for comparisons with previous years.

The proportion of undertrials has reduced from 76% in 2022 to 74%, the National Crime Records Bureau report shows. By April 2025 , the number of undertrials had reduced by 2.5% but the proportion remained the same, indicating a further drop in the number of overall prisoners.

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