Overview
- Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to focus on public health rather than revenue as the policy takes effect on September 1
- Annual bar licences will be allocated by lottery with fees of ₹35 lakh for towns below 50,000 residents, ₹55 lakh for those under 500,000 and ₹75 lakh for cities above that threshold
- Ten percent of all bar licences have been reserved for underprivileged castes to promote social inclusion
- The Excise Department projects approximately ₹700 crore in revenue from application and licence fees
- Twelve districts have already been declared illicitly distilled liquor-free and eight more are expected to follow within a month