Legal Drinking Age in India
Legal Drinking Age in India

The legal age for drinking in Delhi, India, has been brought down from 25 to 21, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia informed.

“There will be no government liquor stores in Delhi,” deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said. He also announced that no new liquor shops will be opened in the national capital.

Announcing a new liquor policy, Sisodia further said that the policy is aimed to check the “liquor mafia” and the excise from the sale of alcohol is expected to grow at 20 per cent annually instead of the five per cent, the current annual growth.

India has 29 states and 7 union territories. Each of these states and UTs have different laws and restrictions about drinking.

In India, Gujarat forms a case study where drinking alcohol is prohibited since 1960s. Many states have legal drinking age as 18 years and some start with 25 years of age. Age plays a crucial role while deciding drinking laws in a country.

Among other metropolitan cities, hard liquor is banned for those under 25 in Mumbai allowing only wine and beer. While nearly 60 per cent of the 28 states and eight Union territories in India allow the sale of liquor to those above 21 years old, Delhi is among the five states and Union territories that banned the sale to people below 25 years of age. The others being Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Below is a list of different states in India and the legal drinking age in each of them:

List of the states and UTs along with the legal drinking age limit

1. Delhi - 25

2. Haryana - 25

3. Punjab - 25

4. Chandigarh (UT) - 25

5. Uttar Pradesh - 21

6. Uttarakhand - 21

7. Himachal Pradesh - 18

8. Rajasthan - 18

9. Jammu and Kashmir - 21

10. Ladakh - 21

11. Maharashtra - 21 (for beer/wine), 25 (for hard liquor)

12. Madhya Pradesh - 21

13. Sikkim - 18

14. Meghalaya - 18

15. West Bengal - 21

Kerala is the only state in India where the legal drinking age is 23. Sale of alcohol is banned in five states namely, Gujarat, Bihar, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

Illegal Drinking in India

Bihar – Drinking has been illegal since 4th April 2016

Gujarat – Illegal since 1960

Lakshadweep – Illegal

Maharashtra – 18 yrs for wine, 21 yrs for beer and 25 yrs for other alcoholic drinks.

Manipur – Illegal. partial prohibition since 2002

Mizoram – 21 yrs. A special case where ban on alcohol consumption had been lifted after seventeen years in 2014

Nagaland – Sale and consumption Illegal since 1989

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