India’s current review of alcohol laws is unlikely to lower the capital’s age limit despite industry opposition
Delhi’s legal drinking age is unlikely to be lowered from 25 years as the government prepares a new excise policy after nearly three years of uncertainty, senior officials aware of the matter have said, according to a Hindustani Times report.
In contrast, two of the Indian capital’s large satellite cities, Gurugram and Noida, have a lower limit of 21, which industry players maintain unfairly penalises Delhi, and is difficult to enforce leading to little real impact on younger age drinking. Delhi’s legal drinking age is significantly higher than many other major cities. In Mumbai, for example, only hard liquor is restricted at 25: wine and beer permitted at 21. Internationally, the drinking age in New York and London is 21 and 18 respectively.
Changing the Delhi age limit is coming under consideration as the Indian government currently conducts a review of liquor regulations across six states: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Karnataka. Whereas officials are impressed with Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan, which they describe as having “progressive policies that are efficient in revenue generation, regulation, and market management”, the excise frameworks of Karnataka and West Bengal are considered significant because they host the major metropolises of Bengaluru and Kolkata which can provide useful comparisons for Delhi.
Vinod Giri, director general of the Brewers Association of India, which represents India’s major beer manufacturers, believes the national capital’s current policy is obsolete. “Delhi’s current policy is outdated. It was created when the socioeconomic context of the Capital was drastically different. A lot has changed since then,” said Giri. “The number of retail outlets is too low, shop quality is poor, and a drinking age of 25 is archaic. The current licensing and retailing environment is incompatible with any modern city, especially a national capital.”
