News India : State hikes liquor price to fund health schemes

The government will increase liquor prices to raise an additional Rs 200 crore to pay for Rajiv Arogyasri, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s pet health insurance scheme for the poor. The AP Bewerages Corporation Limited has been working out the new rates. The minimum hike will be Rs 2 per 180 ml of Indian Made Liquor. While the price of beer will be hiked by Rs 2 per bottle, the increase will be higher for premium liquor. Sources told this correspondent that the government had foreseen a shortfall of Rs 400 crore for the Arogyasri scheme, and the Dr Reddy had approved the idea of filling half the gap by hiking liquor prices. “We will get Rs 200 crore with the increase,” said a senior excise official. The government is been charging 2.5 per cent of the turnover on liquor sales for the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The revenue principal secretary, Mr G. Sudheer, and the excise commissioner, Mr Hiralal Samaria, handed over cheque of Rs 15 crore towards the monthly instalment for CMRF on Thursday.