Kerala govt changes liquor policy, allows IT parks to serve liquor
India Today
The Kerala government on Wednesday made changes to the liquor policy, allowing beer pubs in IT parks and permitting the opening of more retail outlets with better facilities.
The Kerala government on Wednesday made changes to the liquor policy allowing beer pubs in IT parks, permitting the opening up of more retail outlets with better facilities and introducing more low-alcohol brands.
There are three IT parks in the state, namely Technopark, Kochi Infopark and the Kozhikode IT park, where over one lakh professionals are employed.
According to a report published in The Indian Express, the new policy also facilitates the manufacturing of liquor and wine from locally available fruits. By giving a licence to manufacture fruit-based, low-alcohol content beverages, the government wants to give a boost to the cultivation of banana, pineapple, jackfruit, cashew and nutmeg in the state.
The liquor policy of the Kerala government is an annual ritual, when the rules are made for the new fiscal and become applicable from April 1 every year.
At present, there are close to 400 retail outlets of the state-owned Kerala State Beverages Corporation, which is the sole wholesaler of liquor and beer in the state and according to a source, more than 100 new retail outlets are expected to be opened.
The new policy also recommended the availability of liquor at tourism promotion centres and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) programmes.
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