According to a report issued by the World Health Organization, the alcohol industry has grown by 95% from 2004 to 2016, but the legal alcohol industry has grown by only 50%, he said. However, the state minister emphasized that the report shows that the growth of illegal alcohol production has increased by 300%.
Soft liquor licenses have been issued to 211 places under the Soft Liquor Licensing Program, which is being implemented with the aim of promoting tourism. There are around 2800 licensed liquor stores in the country, but there is an informal placement of those stores. This situation can be clearly seen in the North and East regions and in some areas there is no sale of alcohol until about 80 km.
The Minister of State said this while presenting several Excise Notifications and Import and Export Regulations for Parliament’s approval.