In Andhra Pradesh, licenses for 3,396 liquor shops were distributed through a lottery on October 14, and they will be valid for two years. These shops are set to open on October 16, while government-run shops will close at 5 p.m. on October 15.
The new Excise Policy allows private parties to establish licensed liquor outlets, marking a shift from the previous system where only government stores sold alcohol. A total of 89,882 applications were submitted for the licenses, indicating strong interest.
Excise Department officials noted that some districts, like NTR and Eluru, saw over 30 applications per shop, with nearly half submitted online. Overall, this represents a significant increase from previous licensing cycles, both in the number of applications and in revenue.
While the total number of liquor shops has decreased from 4,380 in 2015-2017 to 3,396 in 2024-2026, revenue has skyrocketed. The government collected ₹1,798 crore from this latest round of licenses, a remarkable 700% increase from 2015.
Excise Principal Secretary Mukesh Kumar Meena emphasized that these results reflect the effectiveness of recent policy changes, which have improved transparency and efficiency in the licensing process.
