Andhra Cabinet approves new liquor policy, adopts private retail system

Andhra Pradesh State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, unanimously approved several key decisions during its meeting on Wednesday, including the introduction of a new excise policy that will take effect on October 1.
While briefing the media on the Cabinet’s decisions, Minister for Information and Public Relations, Kolusu Parthasarathi, announced that the Cabinet has opted for a private retail system for liquor sales, which aims to improve management efficiency. He also mentioned that 10 per cent of the 3,736 retail outlets in the state would be reserved for the toddy-tappers community.
The Chief Minister directed excise officials to ensure that quality liquor is available in the market at reasonable prices, with retail outlets being allocated through a transparent lottery system.
The Cabinet also approved a proposal to provide 33 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in legislative bodies. Additionally, plans were made to establish an Artificial Intelligence (AI) university and a Skilling Academy in the state.
During the meeting, another crucial decision was made to revoke a Government Order (GO) that provided Rs 200 payments to village volunteers and secretariats, as it resulted in an annual loss of Rs 102 crore to the state.
Other decisions made during the meeting included renaming Bhogapuram Airport as Alluri Seetharamaraju International Airport and establishing the Andhra Pradesh Ex-Servicemen Corporation with a corpus fund of Rs 3 crore. The meeting also decided to rename the Vision Document Vikasitha Andhra-2047 as the Swarnandhra@2047 and also release the Swarnandhra Vision Document on November 1.
The Cabinet approved filling 58 temporary posts in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to strengthen the official machinery for managing the Chief Minister Relief Fund (CMRF) and complaints. To support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), a Rs 100 crore corpus fund for the 2024-25 financial year was approved.