With Rs 1,623, Telangana has highest per capita expenditure on liquor; Andhra second

Telangana: With an average spending of Rs 1,623 per annum, Telangana has the highest per capita expenditure on alcoholic beverages in the nation.

Andhra Pradesh ranks second with an average spending of Rs 1,306.

The data was released by by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi in its working paper, `Revenue Mobilization from Taxes on Alcoholic Beverages’. The study draws attention to the notable geographical differences in India's alcohol consumption patterns.

As per the data, Telangana's alcohol-related spending increased sharply from Rs 745 in 2014–15 to Rs 1,623 in 2022–2023. During the same time frame, Andhra Pradesh too spending increased from Rs 365 to Rs 1,306.

Telangana topped in state excise collection per capita per year, with Rs 4,860 during 2022-23. Karnataka comes second with Rs 4,432, while Andhra Pradesh ranks third with Rs 2,788.

Some of the states that showed a drop in alcohol expenditure are Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.

New liquor policy in Andhra

The new liquor policy, which the Andhra Pradesh government will introduce on October 1, will end spurious brands.

Andhra Pradesh Excise Department is studying good liquor policies to make quality brands available in the state. The state is to replace local brands with popular companies.

During its rule from 2014 to 2019, the TDP government treated liquor as a private business, enabling the availability of all brands across the country. However, it is alleged that the previous YSRCP government in 2019 saw liquor as a source of income.

During the YSRCP tenure, many popular whiskey, and beer brands were unavailable in the state. Brands with interesting names, such as Block Buster, Boom Boom, President Medal, Governor Choice, Legend, Power Star 999, Seventh Heaven, and High Voltage, were made available in the wine shops. These were popularly called J-Brands (Jagan brands) in social media.

TDP and BJP parties alleged that all these liquor brands being sold are from the YSRCP leaders.