 "Andhra Pradesh's nod to new liquor policy eyeing Rs 2,000 crore revenue")
The Andhra Pradesh cabinet on Wednesday approved a new liquor policy for the state, allowing retail sale by private players, availability of cheaper select brands, and expecting to generate revenue of Rs 2,000 crore a year.
The policy reverses the liquor approach pursued by the previous YSR Congress Party-led state government. A white paper that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu released earlier claimed that the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP government’s liquor policy caused a revenue loss of Rs 18,860.51 crore to the state from 2019 to 2024.
The previous policy, the white paper alleged, led to the non-availability of popular Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) brands, which in turn caused an increase in sales of poor-quality brands and spurious substances. The Reddy-led YSRCP had promised prohibition in Andhra Pradesh in 2019, a promise made during the Assembly elections to women in rural areas. However, it later imposed restrictions on the liquor trade instead of complete prohibition.
The new excise policy will be rolled out in the first week of October for a two-year period. It will also allow for the setting up of premium liquor stores and alignment of liquor prices with Telangana and Karnataka. In a series of white papers released after he took over as the Andhra CM in June, Naidu has complained that the state was under massive debt because of the previous government’s policies. He also sought funds from the Centre. Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party is a constituent of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.