Kiran Bedi won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for her reforms in Tihar Jail

Kiran Bedi was appointed Inspector General of Police (IG) of Delhi Prisons in May 1993. The most renowned prison in India, Tihar Jail in Delhi, was the task this time; a nightmare for most policemen. The prison was a four-jail complex with a capacity of 2500 inmates, but it was housing around 9000 at the time. The vast majority of these detainees were facing charges of non-bailable offenses. The area had a meager budget of 15 crores, was plagued by violent incidents, and was deemed unmanageable. Bedi resolved to take up the challenge and make Tihar into a Model Prison.

While acting as the Inspector General of Prisons from 1993 to 1995, she implemented some important management improvements. Bedi provided for Certificated Prisoners to receive Vocational Training so that they might find work after their release. To improve the prisoners' mindsets, yoga and Vipassana Meditation classes were established, as well as other activities such as sports, prayer, and festival celebrations. A De-Addiction Center was formed, and employees who were implicated in drug distribution were severely punished. A bakery, as well as modest manufacturing facilities such as carpentry and weaving, were established. The proceeds from the sale of the products were donated to the Prisoners' Welfare Fund.

Bedi enlisted the help of outsiders such as NGOs, schools, civilians, and former convicts in his Prison Reform Program. She went on daily prison tours, monitoring the personnel, listening to the concerns of the inmates, verifying the food quality, and assessing the general management. The number of conflicts and disruptions in the jail decreased as a result of her initiatives, and the program went on to achieve worldwide praise. Kiran Bedi's brief stay in the prison is seen as a golden era in the institution's history. Her work in Tihar earned her the Ramon Magsaysay Award (also known as Asia's Nobel Prize) and the Jawahar Lal Nehru Fellowship in 1994. This is also considered one of the major achievements of Kiran Bedi.