Andhra Pradesh’s new excise policy, notified on October 1, allowing private retailers to sell liquor was aimed at battling shrinking liquor revenue and maintaining funds in the exchequer to materialise the six welfare schemes which Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had promised before coming to power.
Stocktaking by the excise department has revealed that Andhra Pradesh has been losing out a huge chunk of the liquor revenue over the past few years.
Between 2014 and 2019, the revenue gap between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in terms of liquor sales was Rs 4,186 crore. In 2014, Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated and Telangana was formed. Interestingly, after the split, Chandrababu Naidu had become the CM. From 2019-24, when Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was the CM, the state government had taken over liquor trade in an attempt to reduce liquor consumption, a move which did not yield the expected results.
However, from 2019 to 2024, the excise revenue difference between the two states went up exponentially by almost 10 fold to Rs 42,762 crore, an excise department official said. This was one of the factors Andhra Pradesh decided to formulate Excise Policy 2024-26.
The revenue generated will go into funding welfare schemes in Andhra Pradesh, a source in the government said. “With the easing of the liquor policy we are expected to match the revenue generated by states like Telangana and Haryana,” the source said.
The excise department official said, “Even if we had continued with the liquor policy of 2014-19, the state would have earned an additional Rs 18,860 crore in revenue. But the new liquor policy will make sure that we match Telangana’s revenues in the next two years.”
According to excise department officials, the state saw a decline in liquor sales because of the huge inflow of illegal liquor into the state. According to government records, over the last five years, an estimated 1.78 crore litres of illegal liquor was seized. But the amount of liquor seized was just “10% to 20% of the existing inflow of illegal liquor”, excise department officials explained.
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“Moreover, as the state was selling liquor it failed to generate revenue through application and licence fees. With the new liquor policy, we have already raked in Rs 1,800 crore in application fees and Rs 2,000 crore in licence fees,” an excise official said.
Under the new policy, private retail operations have restarted with 3,736 shops notified across Andhra Pradesh. “The state has also invited different known brands to trade in the state,” excise department officials said.
The government has also decided to introduce low-cost brands — to be sold at Rs 99 per quarter of a bottle as per the policy — to prevent people from turning to adulterated liquor. For expensive brands, the state has also decided to allow liquor malls. The model, an excise official said, has been adopted by many states, including Haryana.
Nikhila Henry is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Hyderabad. With a career spanning 17 years, she has established herself as an authoritative voice on South Indian affairs, specialising in the complex intersections of politics, education, and social justice.
Experience & Career: Nikhila commenced her journalism career in 2007 as an education correspondent for The Times of India in Hyderabad,where she gained recognition for her coverage of student politics. Her professional trajectory includes a four-year tenure at The Hindu, where she focused on minority affairs and social welfare. In 2019, she took on a leadership role as the South Bureau Chief for The Quint, where she directed regional coverage across all five South Indian states. Her expansive career also includes a tenure at the BBC in New Delhi and contributions to prestigious international outlets such as The Sunday Times (London) and HuffPost India.
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Nikhila’s reportage is marked by a deep-seated understanding of grassroots movements and institutional policy. Her core focus areas include:
Regional Politics: Comprehensive analysis of the socio-political dynamics across South India.
Education & Student Movements: Chronicling the evolution of Indian academics and the rise of youth activism.
Minority Affairs: Rigorous reporting on the welfare, rights, and challenges facing marginalized communities.
National Beat: Elevating regional stories to national prominence through investigative and on-ground reporting.
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A respected figure in Indian media, Nikhila is not only a seasoned reporter but also an accomplished author and editor. She authored the critically acclaimed book The Ferment: Youth Unrest in India and edited Caste is Not a Rumour, a collection of writings by Rohith Vemula. Her dual background in daily news reporting and long-form authorship allows her to provide readers with a nuanced, historically-informed perspective on contemporary Indian society.
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