All individuals employed in dry state Gujarat’s GIFT City and authorised visitors will be allowed to consume alcoholic beverages within the designated area, according to a Report in TOI. However, hotels and restaurants will not be allowed to sell liquor bottles.

“Liquor Access Permit will be given to all the employees/owners working in the entire GIFT City. Apart from this, a provision has been made to allow authorised visitors of each company to consume liquor in such hotels, restaurants and clubs having temporary permits in the presence of permanent employees of that company,” reads the notification.

This will be facilitated through an FL- 3 license. The decision has been taken to provide a “global business ecosystem” at GIFT City.

Gujarat has had a prohibition law since its formulation in 1960, but that hasn’t stopped residents from consuming alcohol. In fact, the high level of consumption is perhaps the state’s worst-kept secret. Currently, visitors to Gujarat can buy alcohol from authorised outlets by obtaining a temporary liquor permit.

Reacting to the announcement, NSE CEO Ashish Chauhan said GIFT City has “got a leg up” with this development. “Interesting development – Gift city in Gandhinagar Gujarat – International Finance Services Center (IFSC) – has got a leg up today. The Government of Gujarat has given exemption from alcohol prohibition to certain entities including visitors and residents by issuing a notification,” Chauhan said on X (formerly known as Twitter).

According to the notification, a Liquor Access Permit will also be given to all the employees or owners working in GIFT City through which they will be able to consume liquor in hotels/restaurants/clubs offering “Wine and Dine” in GIFT City.

Moreover, a provision has been made to allow authorized visitors of each company to consume liquor in such hotels, restaurants or clubs having temporary permits in the presence of permanent employees of that company.

GIFT City project was established in 2008. It is considered to be India’s first Greenfield smart city and International Financial Services Center (IFSC). The area accommodates offices of several multinational companies, including Oracle, Cyril, Bank of America, Citi Bank and others. It functions as a tax-neutral financial center and seeks to position itself as a competitive alternative to hubs like Singapore.

As of June 2023, it is home to 23 multinational banks, 35 fintech entities; two international stock exchanges with average daily trading volumes of $30.6 billion; as well as India’s first international bullion exchange with 75 jewelers on board, according to Wikipedia.

With the opening of the first campuses of two Australian universities on 7 November 2023  GIFT City is also beginning to establish itself as the center of foreign universities in India.

While, it may be immature and too early to predict what future holds regarding prohibition in Gujarat but it could be a sign of thawing for things to happen in distant future. Gujarat is notorious to be a State with maximum bootlegging; it is estimated that the government has lost a potential revenue of $2 billion so far.

The authorities are hush-hush about even discussing prohibition in public since Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation was born in this State and was anti-alcohol and pro-prohibition. He is believed to be behind Article 47 of the Constitution giving individual and independent powers to States while exhorting them to enforce prohibition. Unfortunately, the States decided to talk prohibition but enforce higher and higher taxes as Sin Tax to fill the coffers to run their States.

Previously, Surat’s DREAM City, home to the recently inaugurated diamond bourse, also sought an exemption from the state’s prohibition. Former Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela had earlier advocated for lifting the ban on liquor in the state.

As expected, the opposition Congress Party has criticized the move.

Subhash Arora