Delhi lowers legal drinking age to 21 yrs

New Delhi: The Delhi government on Monday formally declared its exit from the liquor business — announcing the state government's new Excise Policy, according to which the legal age for drinking alcohol has now been brought back to 21 from 25.

Both Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia hailed the reform as a move to end the liquor mafia in the city and provide a safer and better consumer experience for women.

Millennium Post had first reported on March 1 that the Delhi government had accepted a recommendation to reduce the legal age for drinking back to 21 so that it can be at par with that in Noida and Gurugram. In addition to this, the report also revealed that the government had decided to privatise all government liquor vends.

Sisodia confirmed the same at Monday's press conference, where he said: "New rules to be introduced to make sure that people who are under the age of 21 cannot get access to the establishment that serves liquor without supervision. This means below 21-year-old children will not be allowed inside the restaurants where liquor is served if they are coming alone or in a group of underage children," he said.

The international concept of 'Age Gating' will be introduced, which filters consumers at the door of the establishment.

The new policy will likely increase the Delhi government's revenue by 20 per cent, resulting in a Rs 1,500-2,000 crore revenue increase within a year, Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia said.

Kejriwal took to social media to declare that the AAP government had ended the mafia Raj in many sectors like education, water, electricity, health and is committed to reforming the liquor sector too. The changes in the existing Excise Policy aim to omit all the factors which are the fundamental reasons behind the existence of liquor mafias, the government maintains.

This, as a result, will also lead to a smoother purchase experience for residents, safety upgrades for women consumers and quality control of products being sold.

The Delhi government had received around 14,00,700 suggestions from citizens on how to reform liquor trading in the city. Following this, the government constituted a group of ministers to study the report of the expert committee, public suggestions and other factors.

The suggestions given by the group of ministers which includes Satyendra Jain, Kailash Gahlot and Sisodia himself were approved by the Cabinet on Monday.

"Within three months, the New Liquor Policy will be implemented with equitable distribution of liquor shops across the city and shutting down of government-run liquor shops, you will see the end of the liquor mafia," Sisodia told Millennium Post.