 "Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addressing a press conference at Old Secretariat in Patna")
Bihar will join Gujarat, Kerala and Nagaland in banning the sale of all forms of alcohol. The decision, to take effect right away, was taken at a state cabinet meeting on Tuesday, covering what is termed Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), too.
The move has far-reaching implications for IMFL makers. Notably, the top three, the Diageo-owned United Spirits (USL), French major Pernod Ricard and Kishore-Chhabria-owned Allied Blenders & Distillers (ABD). The three control almost 70 per cent of the close to six million cases by volume Bihar market. Which in value terms is pegged at Rs 1,500-2,000 crore.
While USL and Pernod Ricard are estimated to have 30 per cent each of the Bihar IMFL market, ABD has 20 per cent. Popular brands include McDowell's No 1 and Bagpiper from USL, Imperial Blue and Royal Stag from Pernod Ricard and Officer's Choice from ABD.
Deepak Roy, vice-chairman, ABD, said: "We have crores worth of material at godowns, for which excise has already been paid. All this will become redundant with the ban. We were hoping to start the new financial year with a bang and look at what has happened." USL and Pernod could not be reached.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is fulfilling an election promise with the blanket ban and is unlikely to go back on his word. It was during the assembly elections last year that Kumar had said he'd start a people's movement against liquor.
Manufacturers say a blanket ban will fuel the illicit liquor trade, impacting the health of people. "I don't know how effective this is going to be, despite the state government's intention of curbing the drinking habit. I find the move counter-productive," said an executive from a liquor major.
