Mumbai: The cash-strapped Maharashtra government has approved the manufacturing of grain-based liquor in the state for the first time, while also reviving closed and underutilised potable liquor licensee (PLL) units and allowing them to operate at full capacity. The state excise department issued an order to this effect on Thursday.
The state government has also introduced a new category of liquor, Maharashtra Made Liquor (MML), to go along with Indian Made Liquor (IML) and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). MML will be an exclusive brand of Maharashtra, with the government restricting its manufacturing to the state, according to the order.
With this move, the state expects to generate additional revenue of up to ₹3,000 crore. Reeling with an expected state debt of ₹9.32 lakh crore for FY 2025-26, the Mahayuti government has been trying to find new avenues to increase revenue and bear the burden of populist schemes such as the Ladki Bahin Yojana.
The suggestion to introduce MML came from a committee set up by the Devendra Fadnavis-led government in January, headed by the additional chief secretary at the time, Valsa Nair. The committee’s report, submitted in April, was approved by the state cabinet on June 10.
According to the government order, based on the committee’s recommendations, MML brands made from grains will cost a minimum of ₹148 for 180 ml, with the aim of bridging the price gap between country liquor and IMFL. The alcoholic strength of MML has been restricted to 42.8% v/v (volume by volume) or 25 UP (under proof). For vodka and gin products, the permissible alcoholic strength will range from 37.5% v/v to 42.8% v/v (or 35 UP to 25 UP).
The state government wants MML to be an exclusive brand and has banned its manufacturing elsewhere in the country. It also cannot be manufactured in any other liquor category, such as country liquor, IMFL, beer and wine, among others, according to the order. The registered head office of the PLL licensee must also be in Maharashtra.
“The PLL licensee company must have no direct or indirect foreign investment; at least 25% of the promoters or license holders of the company must be permanent residents of Maharashtra; if the registered licensee is manufacturing IMFL in Maharashtra and in other states, then the said licensee shall not be eligible for an MML license,” the order says.
The state excise department has allowed only self-owned brands to be eligible for production under the MML category. “Brands owned by any third party or company shall not be permitted for production under MML,” said a senior excise official. “It has been made mandatory to print, ‘For Sale In Maharashtra State Only,’ along with the MML logo on the labels of MML products sold within Maharashtra. For labels of MML products meant for export, printing the MML logo shall also be mandatory,” the official added.
The move will come as a boost for the 70 PLL units in Maharashtra, out of which 22 are entirely defunct, while 16 do not manufacture and renew their licence only for permission to sell liquor through their shops. The remaining 32 manufacture liquor, out of which 10 produce 70% of the IMFL manufactured in the state.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time a Maharashtra government has attempted to manufacture grain-based spirits. In 2007, the Vilasrao Deshmukh-led Congress-NCP government launched a scheme called Food Grain-Based Distillery and Integrated Unit Financial Aid to promote grain-based distilleries.
However, the scheme was short-lived as it raised the hackles of activists, who questioned the logic of diverting food-grains for producing liquor in a state with a food deficit, endemic malnutrition and drought. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) then red-flagged lacunae in the scheme. In June 2010, the Bombay High Court also stayed the disbursement of funds, almost ₹50 crore each to the 23 distilleries licensed to make alcohol from coarse cereals under the scheme.