Nitish Kumar announces liquor ban in Bihar from April 2016

Bihar will will ban sales of alcohol starting April 1, 2016,Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced on Thursday.

The chief minister made the announcement at an official function to mark Prohibition Day here. The Bihar liquor ban was a key campaign promise Nitish Kumar had made in the run-up to the Bihar elections.

He said the poorest of the poor had been consuming liquor, badly hitting their families and their children's education.

Increasing liquor consumption was also a major cause for domestic violence, particularly against women, and had contributed to a rise in crimes.

"Women are suffering more than anyone else due to increasing liquor consumption," he said.

An official at the chief minister's office said Nitish Kumar took the decision after a high-level meeting with officials here In July, Nitish Kumar had declared that prohibition would be imposed if he retained power in the Assembly elections.

Bihar Excise and Prohibition Minister Abdul Jalil Mastan had earlier said that the state government would soon take steps to impose a liquor ban.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday vowed to support a liquor ban.

The decision is expected to derail the government's financial health.

The excise department went into an overdrive in 2007 following a new policy and started issuing licences for marketing liquor across the state.

The revenue collection of excise department registered a more than 10-fold jump, from Rs.319 crore in 2005-06 to Rs.3,650 crore in 2014-15.

Article Source: Business Standard.

NDA defeat in Bihar no setback to economy: Jaitley

The Finance Minister also attributed NDA's defeat in Bihar to 'huge index of opposition unity'

Attributing the NDA's defeat in Bihar assembly elections to 'huge index of opposition unity', Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said it will not impact the economic reforms process.

"I don't see it as a setback to the economy... Structural reforms will continue. They should continue at a rapid pace," he said.

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1. Bihar Admitting that some irresponsible statements by certain BJP functionaries during the course of elections did change the narrative, Jaitley said the "index of opposition unity" was one of the biggest factors that led to the victory of the Mahagathbandhan in the Bihar assembly elections.

While the ruling NDA managed to get 58 seats (BJP 53) in the 243-member Bihar assembly, Mahagathbandhan got 178 seats.

The alliance comprises JD(U), RJD and Congress.

On whether Bihar election was a referendum on the policies of the Centre, Jaitley, in an interview to ET Now, said, "The word referendum is loosely used... Every election is not a referendum. A state election is not a referendum. You are not contesting on one issue."

He further said that the vote share of BJP has not come down and the victory of the Mahaghatbandhan was on account of different opposition forces coming together.

About reforms, Jaitley said government would continue them by taking executive actions and also in the Budget, which would be announced in February next year.

On the specific question of the pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, he hoped that Bihar, which is a consuming state, would support the legislation.

"I don't see (Bihar election outcome) as a setback to the economy at all. If under Nitish Kumar, Bihar grows and grows well, we have already announced economic package for the state, certainly we are going to help.

"Our commitment is the states which need to develop more we have to help them more," Jaitley said.         


Article Source: Business standard