Use AI to Track Liquor Transport From Distillery to Shop: CM Naidu

Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed the excise officials to implement state-of-the-art technology like Artificial Intelligence to keep track of the movement of liquor from distilleries to liquor depots and then to the retail shops in real time.

This, he said, would help avoid any diversion or lapses.

Naidu chaired a review meeting on the excise department with principal secretary Mukesh Meena and other senior officials here on Monday.

The CM advised a real-time tracking mechanism for the liquor transportation from distilleries to the AP Beverages Corporation and then to the liquor retail shop. He proposed setting up of the GPS equipment to monitor the movement of such vehicles and encouragement to online payment or digital financial transactions.

Officials must be ready with estimates of the stock position on a regular basis by using data analytics. No unauthorised liquor retail outlet or belt shop should be allowed. There must be a system aided by drones to control brewing of cheap liquor and stocking of fermented jaggery wash, he said.

Underlining the importance to ensure transparency in the state’s liquor policy, Naidu directed the officials to act against sale of suspicious brands of liquor. “We must sell only national and international brands of liquor with high quality.

Officials must see to it that there’s no sale of illicitly distilled liquor and non-duty paid liquor.

Naidu asserted, “I accord top priority to safeguarding the health of the people.”

He said that as the government started implementing the new policy, it helped AP to earn good revenue. “Whatever the revenue diverted earlier to the neighbouring states in the past, under the YSRC rule, is getting recovered with the new liquor policy.”

The chief minister asked the officials how many brands of spurious liquor were sold during the previous government’s term and whether these were still available in the market. The officials said they eliminated all unknown brands from the market. These used to be having a share of 68 per cent in the market. Now, all the prominent brands of national and international companies were made available in the market for the benefit of the consumers.

They informed the CM that top 30 brands of liquor now being sold in AP were carrying low prices, compared with the prices in Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Naidu asked the officials to consider giving permission for a permit room at liquor retail outlets, after the cabinet sub-committee completed its study on this matter. The officials said the lack of permit rooms was resulting in people consuming liquor at parks etc, and cases were being booked against them. The officials suggested giving permission for permit rooms.

The CM also asked the officials to permit the setting up of micro-breweries in places having more tourism potential.