Tamil Nadu Minister for Finance and Human Resources Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Wednesday said the State was looking at revisiting its alcohol policy, and it is in active discussion.
He was speaking at the launch of the Chennai Chapter of National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) in Chennai.
Mr. Thiaga Rajan emphasised the need to attract investments and create jobs so that society gets rate of economic growth, which can be delivered to the best of [government’s] ability.
He pointed out that for a metropolis such as Chennai, while ‘livability’ and less pollution are important, night life, restaurants and bars are also important. “As a State government, we need to do a little bit more. I think it is very clear to all of us that our current alcohol and distribution policy leaves a lot to be desired,” Mr. Thiaga Rajan said.
Need to deregulate
So, it is already in active discussion that we cannot attract the kind of global talent we need to, unless we really deregulate at least some of the retail aspects of the alcohol industry, he noted. “It is not clear to me whether we are achieving any great reduction in either alcoholism or any of the ills to the society that could arise from alcohol with the current policy we have,” Mr. Thiaga Rajan said.
“I think in both ways there is very limited downside and significant upside. We need to do this right. Certainly we are looking at it. Hopefully in the near future we will make some changes,” he added. Japtej Singh Ahluwalia, NRAI Chapter Head, Chennai, and Co Founder and Executive Director-Pricol Gourmet and Kabir Suri, president NRAI and Co-Founder/Joint-CEO at Azure Hospitality Pvt Ltd also spoke at the event.
