Kerala raises legal drinking age to 23

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has decided to increase the legal drinking age from 21 to 23. The government will make necessary amendments to the existing liquor policy and will also bring out an ordinance.
 
After coming to power in 2016, the CPI(M)-led government had eased the previous government's stringent liquor policy which led to closer of most of the liquor shop, although only five star hotels were permitted to serve India made foreign liquor. This led to conversion of many liquor outlets into wine and beer parlour.
 
But after the Supreme Court's ban on liquor sale near highways, most of them were shut down.
 
The LDF government eased the norms for four star and five star by reducing the mandator offset from 200 metres to 50 metres from the places of worship and educational institutions.
 
Kerala has the second highest per capita liquor consumption followed by Andhra Pradesh and the liquor trade in the state accounts for one fourth of the government's Rs 40,000 crore annual revenue.