The legal age to buy liquor in Karnataka will not be reduced. The government has withdrawn the proposal to reduce the legal age of buying liquor from 21 to 18 years. The Karnataka government’s decision to reduce the legal age to buy liquor from 21 years to 18 years was creating a lot of ruckus.
In a statement issued by the Excise Department of Karnataka, it has been told that after raising objections from people and organizations, the proposal to reduce the age has been withdrawn.
Section 36(1)(g) of the Excise Act of the Government of Karnataka prohibits the sale of liquor to persons below the age of 18 years. However, according to Rule 10(1)(e) of the Karnataka Excise (General Conditions of Licence), liquor cannot be sold to people below the age of 21 years.
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What is the whole matter?
The government of Basavaraj Bommai of Karnataka issued a draft notification on 9 January. In this, it was proposed to reduce the legal age of buying liquor from 21 years to 18 years.
Objection was sought on this draft notification within 30 days. The protest against reducing the legal age had started. Opposition parties also surrounded the government.
After this, on January 19, the Excise Department told that the proposal to reduce the legal age from 21 to 18 years has been withdrawn.
What is the legal drinking age in the country?
There is a fixed legal age for drinking alcohol in the country. However, it is so much that liquor cannot be sold to a person below the age of 18 years.
The legal age for drinking and purchasing alcohol varies from state to state. The legal age for purchasing liquor in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Meghalaya is 18 years.
Whereas in West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, this age is 21 years. Whereas in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh the age is fixed at 25 years.
In Delhi too, earlier the legal age for drinking and buying liquor was 21 years. But due to the implementation of the old excise policy again in September last year, this age has increased to 25 years.
The legal age for drinking and purchasing beer and hard liquor varies in Maharashtra. To buy beer or wine in Maharashtra, the age should be 21 years and for hard liquor it should be 25 years.
Kerala is the only state in the country where the legal age for buying and drinking liquor is 23 years. And liquor is banned in Gujarat, Bihar, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. However, a slight relaxation has been given in prohibition in Manipur.
How many Indians drink alcohol?
The number of alcohol drinkers in India is increasing every year. According to a study by the science journal Lancet, the number of alcohol drinkers in India has increased rapidly in three decades.
Lancet’s study states that compared to 1990, the number of alcohol drinkers in India has increased by 26 per cent in 2020. Lancet estimates that in 2020, about 54 lakh women and 8 crore men in the age group of 15 to 39 years drink alcohol in the country.
At the same time, 29.50 lakh women and 3.88 crore men in the age group of 40 to 64 years drink alcohol. Whereas, 57.70 lakh men and women of the age of 65 years or more consume alcohol. Overall, the estimated number of alcohol drinkers in India is more than 13.27 crore.
Apart from this, according to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data, about 20 percent of Indians consume alcohol. That is, 20 out of 100 Indians drink alcohol. Of these, 19 percent are men and around 1 percent are women. The number of men who drink alcohol is more in villages than in cities. About 17 percent of men living in cities and 20 percent of men living in villages drink alcohol.
At the same time, the report of National Drug Dependent Treatment (NDDT), AIIMS in 2019 states that there are 16 crore people in India who are addicted to alcohol. There are also a large number of women in this.
It is estimated that at this time 5 billion liters of alcohol is being consumed every year in the country, which is estimated to reach 6.21 billion liters annually by 2024.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol consumption is increasing rapidly in India. In 2009, a common Indian consumed an average of 3.8 liters of alcohol annually. Whereas, in 2019 it has increased to 5.61 litres.