Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has instructed officials to sell only quality liquor in the state. Conducting a review of the Excise Department, he instructed officials to stop the sale of all suspicious brands. He said that steps should be taken to ensure that only national and international brands and quality liquor are sold.
He said that the state’s revenue has increased with the new liquor policy and the revenue that had previously gone to neighboring states has now been recovered. He cautioned that nothing is more important than public health and that non-duty paid liquor and natu sara should not be sold under any circumstances.
Officials explained to the CM on this occasion that anonymous liquor brands were sold indiscriminately in the past and that with the implementation of the new policy, those sales have completely reduced. They said that previously, 68 percent of the liquor of anonymous brands was available in the market.
They brought to the CM’s attention that prices have decreased by Rs. 10 to Rs. 100 compared to the past. He said that the prices of top 30 brands of liquor are lower in the state compared to neighboring states. Officials explained that due to the lack of permit rooms, people are drinking alcohol everywhere, which is causing problems.
They said that if permission is given to permit rooms and only then, it will be effective. Later, the CM said that the government should not act in a way that robs the pockets of the poor. He said that with that intention, the prices of alcohol have been reduced in a way that has never been seen anywhere in the country. He gave orders to allow micro-breweries in areas where there is potential to boost the tourism sector.
CM Chandrababu instructed the officials to implement modern technology like artificial intelligence in the excise department and implement the trace and tracking system strictly. He suggested that a real-time tracking system be set up on the movements of vehicles from distilleries to the Beverages Corporation and shops. They should be monitored with GPS devices.
He said that online cash transactions should be encouraged and that there should be no compromise on digital payments anywhere. He said that data analytics should be used to assess the stocks in the stores from time to time. Mukesh Kumar Meena, Principal Secretary, Excise Department, and other senior officials participated in this review.
