Delhi Liquor Policy | Legal drinking age reduced to 21 from 25

Today (22Mar'21) Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced the new liquor policy of the Delhi AAP Government. The government has reduced the minimum age for consumption of liquor to 21 years from 25 years. Previously Delhi had the highest legal drinking age compared to other metro cities. 

• What's the Story?  

Delhi Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Monday announced that the legal age to drink in Delhi will now be 21 instead of 25. He also said that there will be no government liquor stores in Delhi. With the new policies in place, the government aims to increase its revenue by 20%. 

As per the AAP government, this is done considering the reports submitted by Committee. The government aims to remove the liquor mafias who currently control a large chunk of the liquor sale in the capital. The government-owned liquor shops are believed to be highly corrupted and cause a large amount of revenue loss for the government. While Delhi has close to 60% government-owned liquor shops, revenue collected from the 40% private shops remains higher. 

• What's Next?

With this new rule in place, the illegal sale of liquor is believed to come down. With the legal drinking age now being 21, Men & Women will now be more comfortable purchasing liquor online as well as through retail counters directly. Also industry-wise the idea of not owning a liquor store and privatizing it will also be welcomed as brands now can market their products in a more organized channel. As liquor consummation is a debatable social topic it will be interesting to see how people react to these changes.