India's Mumbai raises drinking age

Indian state legislators have voted to raise the age limit for buying alcohol in the country's entertainment capital Mumbai, sparking fury among young people and concern from the drinks industry. Lawmakers agreed on Wednesday evening to change the minimum age for buying beer from 18 to 21 and spirits from 21 to 25 as part of moves to discourage under-age consumption and problem drinking. The measures -- which include fines for illegal drinking, a ban on serving alcohol at public functions and ceremonies and more "dry days" when the sale of alcohol is banned -- will apply in Mumbai and across the state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is often seen as India's most cosmopolitan city, with a vibrant nightlife centred around bars and nightclubs, most of which attract a younger, well-heeled Indian crowd. They have already been hit by a steep state government tax increase on foreign-branded liquor and beer manufactured in India. "The majority of people who go out are young and under 25," said one angry drinker, Russell Mascarenhas, who told the Mumbai Mirror newspaper that young people were already "agitated because of the increase in liquor prices". "It's like asking youngsters to stop celebrating," the 21-year-old said. Spirit-makers and the hotel and restaurant industry also reacted strongly against the decision, saying it would adversely affect business and even increase illicit sales. "Thirty percent of white spirits is consumed by people under 25," said Deepak Roy, vice-chairman and chief executive of Allied Blenders and Distillers (ABD), which makes the Indian whisky Officer's Choice. "I do not know what is the rationale of this decision, given that they are allowed to vote at the age of 18," he was quoted as saying by the Economic Times newspaper. The president and chief executive of Bacardi India, Mahesh Madhavan, also told the financial daily on Thursday that the industry would be hit. "Two hundred and twenty-two white spirits brands are consumed by people below 25 years. And it is the segment under 25 who spend the most," he was quoted as saying. Maharashtra's chief minister, Prithviraj Chavan, said problem drinking was a social issue and insisted the measures were not an attempt at moral policing. "Liquor consumption stresses the health system and destroys families," he told reporters. No age restrictions were imposed on drinking wine, which the Maharashtra government, controlled by a Congress and Nationalist Congress alliance, has been promoting. Many grape farmers and vineyards are based around Nashik and Pune, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) northeast and 100 kilometres southeast of Mumbai, where the ruling parties in the Maharashtra government are strong. Legislators have tried to control nightlife before in Mumbai and the state. In 2005, it banned dance bars -- places serving cheaper alcohol with entertainment from female performers dancing to Bollywood tunes -- branding them dens of iniquity and fronts for prostitution and the criminal underworld. But the following year, the Bombay High Court overturned the order, saying it violated sections of the Indian constitution guaranteeing "fundamental rights of livelihood". Closing times of nightclubs, however, are still tightly regulated. Vijay Chugh, a consumer analyst with Ambit Capital in Mumbai, said the impact of the new restrictions would be marginal and enforcement difficult. Anyone buying alcohol in Maharashtra in theory has to have a permit but the law is rarely applied. "The spirit of the regulation is right but I don't see much of an impact," he told AFP. "Policing it will be tough. Out of home consumption might fall but in-house consumption will increase."