Due to government-imposed lockdown, businesses and services halted their operations but earlier this month, alcohol shops were allowed to start operating. This posed a great problem for the states as people started defying social distancing norms and gathered in large queues outside the shops. The situation reached a level where the shops were again shut down within 2 days of opening in Mumbai and Delhi Government levied a 70% tax on alcohol to stop people from overcrowding.
Indian Food delivery company Zomato now is looking into expanding its services to alcohol delivery according to the reports. With the crisis situation, they had already adapted their platform for grocery delivery to keep the revenue generation on. International Spirits and Wine Association of India (ISWAI) is planning to alter the provision of home delivery of alcohol with the help of Zomato and other hyperlocal delivery platforms.
According to reports, Zomato has proposed the delivery in less affected areas in their proposal to ISWAI. Amrit Kiran Singh, executive chairman of ISWAI has said that states should allow the delivery of alcohol to keep the inflow of revenue for them. The legal age of drinking in states vary from 18-25 and online delivery can lead to underage drinkers. It should be a concern that the authorities should address and a solution that delivery services should come up with if they go ahead with the plan.