Live
- Over 7,600 Syrians return from Turkiye in five days after Assad's downfall: minister
- Delhi BJP leaders stay overnight in 1,194 slum clusters
- Keerthy Suresh and Anthony Thattil Tie the Knot in a Christian Ceremony
- AAP, BJP making false promises to slum dwellers for votes: Delhi Congress
- 'Vere Level Office' Review: A Refreshing Take on Corporate Life with Humor and Heart
- Libya's oil company declares force majeure at key refinery following clashes
- Illegal Rohingyas: BJP seeks Assembly session to implement NRC in Delhi
- Philippines orders full evacuation amid possible volcanic re-eruption
- Government Prioritizes Welfare of the Poor, says Dola Sri Bala Veeranjaneyaswamy
- Two Russian oil tankers with 29 on board damaged due to bad weather
Good news for Bacchus lovers
Telangana State, which ranks number one in the consumption of beer in south India, has come out with a proposal to sell light-content alcohol beer in shopping malls. Picking up a few aspects from the Karnataka’s excise policy, Telangana Excise and Prohibition Department proposes to make beer available in all supermarkets and big malls in the state capital.
Beer may be sold at malls
Hyderabad: Telangana State, which ranks number one in the consumption of beer in south India, has come out with a proposal to sell light-content alcohol beer in shopping malls. Picking up a few aspects from the Karnataka’s excise policy, Telangana Excise and Prohibition Department proposes to make beer available in all supermarkets and big malls in the state capital.
The government wants this new initiative to start from October, when the new Excise policy 2015-16 comes into effect. The government, which is flooded with representations from managements of the giant malls requesting permission for sale of beer, is contemplating changes in the policy in this direction.
Under the new policy, the malls will be allowed to open exclusive counter to sell beer manufactured by all permitted breweries in the Telangana State. The supermarkets will have to pay licence fee like wine shops for a period of one year. The malls should adhere to all rules that apply to the liquor outlets and will have to sell alcohol from 10 am to 10 pm only and also observe dry days on Independence Day, Republic Day and Mahatma Gandhi Jayanthi.
The officials of the Excise department informed The Hans India that the consumption of beer in Telangana State was 36 million cases per annum followed by Tamil Nadu (30 million), Karnataka (26 million), Andhra Pradesh (24 million) and in Kerala it was 18 million cases.
Hyderabad has emerged as a destination for global investments and a hub of the MNC establishments, consumption of liquor particularly beer increased multiple times in the recent years. Of the 36 million cases, 15 to 16 million cases of beer were sold in the Greater Hyderabad alone.
“The requests from the malls and to increase the revenue target from Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 12,000 crore have become the two main driving factors for the department to come up with this policy,” said a senior Excise official. The proposal would be forwarded to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who is holding regular review meetings with the top officials. The Chief Minister has been asking the officials to prepare a new policy within two months.
By:Patan Afzal Babu
