A Complete Information To Legal Drinking Age Across Indian States
When it comes to alcohol, India is no stranger to the booze-filled mania that thrives globally. With astounding statistics from BBC that claims India to be the largest consumer of whisky worldwide and reports of a 663 million litres of alcohol consumption, the cat’s out of the bag .
We are a nation of drinkers and the numbers don’t lie!
Delhi’s recent move of revising the legal drinking age in the capital, which was welcomed as a ‘pragmatic’ step forward towards boosting a contemporary India along with sustaining the economy, was a much-needed policy revision hailed by many. The permitted age for alcohol consumption varies from state to state which can prove to be confusing for the average drinker.
Delving into the alcohol policies of states all across, Homegrown provides you with a quick rundown of legal drinking age policies across the country.
Dry States
States like Mizoram, Nagaland, Bihar, Gujarat, and Lakshadweep have enforced alcohol prohibition. As per IndiaTV, a legislation called the Bombay Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2009makes Gujarat the only Indian state with a death penalty for the manufacture and sale of homemade liquor that results in fatalities. .
States In Which Liquor Consumption Age is 25 Years
Drinking is not allowed until the age of 25 in Haryana, Chandigarh, Meghalaya and Punjab. However, Maharashtra has allowed the consumption of beer and wine at the age of 21.
States In Which Liquor Consumption Age is 21 Years
Majority of the Indian states allow drinking at 21. The list includes Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
States In Which Liquor Consumption Age is 18 Years
While most states have set the drinking age at 21 and 25, there are a few exceptions that allow you to drink at 18 such as Andaman Nicobar Islands, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Mizoram, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh and Goa.
However, The state of Kerala stands out with its legal drinking age of 23 years.