What was Delhi’s now-scrapped excise policy trying to do? | In Focus podcast

Pranay Kotasthane speaks to us on Delhi’s recently scrapped new excise policy, and the options of coming up with a sustainable liquor policy that is fair to everybody involved. 

September 05, 2022 04:01 pm | Updated 04:01 pm IST

In November 2021, the Delhi government rolled out a new excise policy. The new policy effectively took the government out of the liquor retailing business and handed it over to private players. But within a few months, it came under CBI scrutiny following allegations of favoritism and corruption. The Delhi government withdrew the policy and announced that from September 1, the state would revert to the old regime for a period of six months until a fresh policy is in place.

The whole saga has thrown up interesting questions concerning public policy, regulatory principles, and public finance. For instance, what exactly was the logic of Delhi’s old liquor policy? What was the new one trying to do? And what ought to be the primary outcomes of a sustainable liquor policy that is fair to all the stakeholders? 

Guest: Pranay Kotasthane, deputy director of the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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