Delhi govt considers lowering legal drinking age for beer from 25 to 21; here’s why News24 –

The legal drinking age for beer may be lowered from 25 to 21 in the national capital. The Delhi government is considering this change with an aim to align with neighbouring states and curb the sale of unregulated alcohol. The proposal was discussed during a high-level review of Delhi’s excise policy this week. Currently, the legal drinking age for beer in Delhi is higher than in nearby cities such as Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Faridabad, where it is set at 21.

According to officials, reducing the legal drinking age in Delhi could help curb black market sales, which often involve unsafe or illicit liquor. It would also help to protect state revenue, as reported by NDTV quoting sources. The points were discussed in a recent meeting of the Excise Committee headed by Delhi Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh. Well, this is not the first time the government has considered lowering the legal drinking age. The previous AAP government, led by Arvind Kejriwal had proposed a similar change in the Excise Policy 2021.

Apart from this, bringing back private liquor shops was among the key issues discussed at recently held meeting of the Excise Committee. The committee, which also includes other ministers, was formed in August to formulate a “transparent and socially secure” excise policy.

Lowering the legal drinking age for beer has been considered to keep youngsters away from hard liquor, helping the government boost revenue. However, nothing has been finalised yet. After some more rounds of talks and consultations, the proposal will be sent for cabinet approval.

Moreover, according to officials, the government is also considering to bring back the old excise regime, which had both private and government liquor shops before 2021. Another point that has been taken into consideration is to limit liquor stores in densely-populated residential areas, while promoting outlets in malls and commercial complexes.

Four state-run corporations manage liquor stores across Delhi at present, each earning a fixed profit margin of Rs 50 on each unit of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor and Rs 100 on foreign liquor.