The Nitish Kumar-led government prohibited liquor in the state on April 5 this year, making it the fourth dry state in the country after Gujarat, Kerala and Nagaland.
The Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of September 30 which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state.
Post-mortems of 16 more suspected hooch victims were conducted here in the last two days, raising their number to 87, but authorities on Wednesday kept the official death toll in tragedy pegged at 35.
After underperforming its peers in the consumer space in 2022-23, and experiencing a mixed bag in the 2023-24 (FY24) April-June quarter (first quarter, or Q1), brokerages are positive about the medium-term outlook for liquor stocks. Higher raw material costs, concerns regarding increased duties, regulatory changes, and competitive pressures weighed on performance returns in the past quarters. Analysts believe that the sector could experience a reversal of fortunes due to better demand and margin improvements.
The Bihar assembly passed an amendment bill that seeks to make the liquor ban less stringent for first-time offenders in the state.
A look at licensed distilleries shows that many have connections with politicians and influential business families. Among politicians, a minister owns a distillery. Two others are owned by ex-Congressman Venod Sharma and ex-Akali MLA Deep Malhotra.
Hundreds of kilometres of national and state highways in states like Maharashtra, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and others have turned into local, municipal or district roads, just a few days after a Supreme Court order banning liquor sale along highways.
Sebi on Friday barred fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya from the securities markets and restrained him from associating with any listed firm for three years in the matter of routing of funds to the Indian securities market using overseas bank accounts with UBS AG. The Indian government has been attempting to extradite Mallya from the United Kingdom to face fraud charges related to his now-defunct company Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya has been living in the United Kingdom since March 2016.
Experts are of the opinion that though the second half of this financial year will see some recovery, volume growth is likely to remain in single digit as compared to the double-digit rise recorded in past years.
'A 20 per cent equity allocation to ESG funds is a good start.' 'As more evidence on ESG performance builds, investors may increase allocations.'
This is the second liquor tragedy in this district in recent days.
The government has not divulged the amount of the fine to be imposed on first-time offenders.
Sale and consumption of alcohol was completely banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government in April, 2016.
A bill providing for up to capital punishment to those manufacturing or trading illicit liquor in the event of hooch tragedy was on Wednesday unanimously passed by both Bihar legislature which also adopted a resolution unanimously that its members will not consume liquor.
"Yoga is a natural treatment process but liquor addicts cannot perform it. Yoga would be irrelevant unless a ban is imposed on sale of liquor across the country," the Bihar CM said at meeting in Palamau district.
The Bihar assembly plunged into turmoil on Saturday when the opposition sought to raise the issue of alleged involvement of revenue and land reforms minister Ram Surat Rai in illicit liquor trade, forcing adjournment of the House around noon till lunch.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday reiterated that his government is committed to enforce liquor ban or prohibition in the state. M I Khan/ Rediff.com report from Patna.
The much-hyped liquor ban in the state has been widely seen as a failed attempt five years after its introduction.
Special Judge M K Nagpal fixed May 12 for consideration of the charge sheet after the CBI submitted that the prosecution sanction against Sisodia has already been procured from the competent authorities.
The ruling Congress is seeking to retain power in Chhattisgarh by banking on the welfare schemes of the Bhupesh Baghel government, while the Bharatiya Janata Party is hoping to corner it on the issues of alleged corruption, religious conversions and unfulfilled poll promises.
The CBI had arrested Sisodia for alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 following several rounds of questioning.
Kejriwal has been asked to be present at the agency headquarters at 11 am to answer queries of the investigating team.
Asserting that liquor consumption is a social stigma, Nitish said that prohibition would improve society.
The rush for prohibition and the Supreme Court's decision to ban liquor sales within 500 metres from highways have hurt companies.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of using agencies like the CBI and Enforcement Directorate to threaten liquor licensees and excise officials but the BJP alleged that the AAP government's 'rushed' move was an 'admission of violations and corruption' and it was 'scared' of the CBI probe.
The submissions were made by the CBI in a short written reply while opposing the senior Aam Aadmi Party leader's bail plea, which it said was devoid of any merit and was an attempt to misuse the intricacies of law to thwart the progress of investigation in the case.
The officials said the members of the South Lobby, which wanted to swing the policy in its favour with exorbitant profits for liquor wholesalers, had stayed in the hotel in the national capital from March 14 to 17 in 2021 and used its business centre to make photocopies of some documents.
National-award winning actor, producer, hotelier, ex-politician, cricket team owner, philanthropist, highest tax payer, reality show judge, animal lover and, above all, people's hero -- Mithun Chakraborty -- who has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award -- is truly a force of nature, notes Sukanya Verma.
The ED will probe if there were alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy unveiled in November last year.
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"We respect the Supreme Court order. We will take suggestions from legal experts to see whether there can be a middle path," Sharma said.
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Imported liquor is all set to become cheaper with the government likely to bring in a Bill in Parliament next month to scrap additional customs duty on wines and spirits
Sisodia's reaction came after the BJP shared the purported sting to claim that the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi framed its excise policy to help a select few and used the money earned through alleged corruption to fund its campaign in Goa and Punjab assembly polls.
The Aam Aadmi Party claimed on Wednesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party has approached four of its legislators in Delhi, asking them to switch sides and join the saffron party or else, face 'false cases, the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and the ED (Enforcement Directorate)'.
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A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking an independent probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into a recent hooch tragedy in Bihar, in which at least 30 people have lost their lives.
In order to stop the production and sale of illicit liquor, Maharashtra government is considering a proposal to amend the existing law.
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