by control_zenuser | Feb 12, 2023 | In the news
As India does not have a central policy to reduce alcohol consumption and is among the few countries which do not have guidelines on safe consumption, there is an urgent need for the government to recognise this issue and introduce cost-effective actions, including increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages, said a consumer rights group.
Urging the government to consider a complete ban on the sale of alcohol in all forms of ultra-small packs or miniatures, sold in tetra, plastic or glass bottles, below a certain quantity, Consumer Voice said what is worrying is that consumption has increased among the age group of 15-30 years.Quoting the World Health Organization (WHO), Ashim Sanyal, the chief executive officer of the organisation, said that between 2005 and 2016, India’s per capita consumption of pure alcohol almost doubled from 2.4 litres to 5.7 litres.Most of this consumption was from beverages with high alcohol-by-volume content or hard liquor such as whiskey, vodka, rum, gin, IMFLs and country liquor, he added.
by control_zenuser | Feb 10, 2023 | In the news
An outfit called Consumer Voice, citing concerns about India’s high per-capita alcohol consumption, also urged a ban on ultra-small liquor bottles and a minimum unit price for alcohol to raise the cost of the least expensive alcoholic beverages
A consumer outfit on Thursday urged the Centre and states to revise excise policies to help curb alcohol consumption, saying current policies encourage intoxication through hard liquor such as rum, whiskey or vodka.
The outfit called Consumer Voice, citing concerns about India’s high per-capita alcohol consumption, also urged a ban on ultra-small liquor bottles and a minimum unit price for alcohol to raise the cost of the least expensive alcoholic beverages. It has asked governments to consult health departments to formulate alcohol control policies that would seek to moderate and reduce per capita consumption “instead of extreme steps like prohibition”.
High alcohol beverages such as whiskey currently attract the lowest duties which makes hard liquor, especially Indian-made foreign liquor, more affordable than low alcohol beverages such as beer or wine, Consumer Voice said. This duty structure, it said, encourages consumption of high alcohol beverages.
“India does not have a central-level policy to reduce alcohol consumption,” said Ashim Sanyal, the chief executive officer at Consumer Voice, a group of academics and volunteers campaigning for consumer rights through improvements in policies and rules.
The consumer group, citing a 2018 World Health Organisation report, said the per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages in India had more than doubled from 2.4 litres in 2005 to 5.7 litres in 2016.
After China, India is the second largest consumer of hard liquor like rum, whiskey, or vodka. India’s per capita consumption of hard liquor was 13.5 litres, the highest in the world, compared to 6.6 litres in Brazil, 4.8 litres in the US, or 3.2 litres in Germany. However, India’s per capita alcohol from beer was 1.1 litres, compared with 6.4 litres in the US or 5.3 litres in Australia.
Consumer Voice has used pricing data from 2021 and 2022 to cite examples of how liquor prices in several states increase the affordability of hard liquor and encourage its consumption by making possible higher intoxication levels at the same or lower price.
In Karnataka, the lowest priced Indian whiskey was available for Rs 56 for 180ml, while the lowest priced beer cost Rs 50 for a 330ml pint.
The consumer group has credited four states — Bengal, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh — for reducing taxes on beer to reduce prices and moderate the intake of high alcohol beverages.
by control_zenuser | Feb 10, 2023 | In the news
Even as average per capita consumption of alcohol has more than doubled from 2.4 litres to 5.7 litres between 2005 to 2016 in country, the Government is yet to wake up from its slumber to take note of this growing menace and take measures to regulate its intake at an individual level.
A report ‘Policy measures to reduce per capita consumption of alcohol in India’ released on Thursday flags the menace as it enlists several recommendations including policy measures aimed at disincentivizing consumption of high alcoholic beverages; and, creating consumer awareness to regulate intake at an individual level.
It is a known fact that excess of consumption of alcohol is not good for health and there is a need to regulate its consumption by creating awareness among people about its ill-impact, Ashim Sanyal, Chief Executive Officer, Consumer VOICE told reporters at a press conference held here to share details of the report prepared in collaboration with Gateway Consultancy.
It comes days after WHO warned that there is no ‘safe limit’ to alcohol consumption, and even a small amount may increase the risk of cancer and other NCDs. “Between 2005 and 2016, India’s per capita consumption of pure alcohol almost doubled from 2.4 liters to 5.7 liters.
Most of this consumption was from beverages with high alcohol-by-volume content or hard liquor such as whiskey, vodka, rum, gin, IMFLs and country liquor.
Sharing more details of study Sanyal said, “With alcohol consumption in India seeing its highest growth in 15-30 age group, we are concerned about excess per capita consumption of alcohol and its consequences.
India does not have a central level policy to reduce consumption and is among the few countries which does not have guidelines on safe consumption.”
Tushar Gandhi, Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Consulting added: “The report highlights the increasing per capita consumption of pure alcohol in India and highlights that high alcoholic beverages are most cheaply available and are consumed most. But, on the other hand, globally consumers are moving towards low alcoholic beverages.
Drinking patterns indicate that people drink to ‘get intoxicated’ and engage in excessive and binge drinking, added Hemant Uapadhyay, from Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education.
Heavy Episodic Drinking, which is defined as consumption of 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the last 30 days, declined in a total of 164 countries and remained unchanged in nine countries. However, India is amongst the few countries across the world where heavy episodic drinking has increased, he added.
With this background, it is imperative that the government considers broader social aspects to include higher healthcare and social care costs while making alcohol policies. The report aims to trigger a debate and engage stakeholders with an objective to moderate alcohol consumption through policy measures and awareness campaigns.
by control_zenuser | Jan 30, 2023 | In the news
By Rudra Saxena and Jiyen Khullar, 27 January 2023
In June 2022, India was able to achieve its ethanol blending target of 10 percent, also called E10, five months ahead of schedule. The government’s next target is to achieve a 20 percent blend or E20 by the end of 2025. To lessen India’s reliance on fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions and air pollution, ethanol has been identified as an essential biofuel.
Ethanol is a renewable fuel and burns cleaner than petrol1 , resulting in lower particulate matter (PM 2.4 and 10) and tailpipe emissions, contributing to reducing air pollution. According to a NITI Aayog report, an E20 blend leads to greater reductions in carbon monoxide emissions, which were 50 percent lower in two-wheelers and 30 percent lower in four-wheelers. Compared to regular petrol, ethanol blends have a 20 percent reduction in hydrocarbon emissions at a 20 percent blend rate.
In addition to contributing to the environment, ethanol has several other benefits. For instance, it provides additional income to farmers, reduces dependence on oil imports and benefits consumers as it naturally has a high-octane number.
Ethanol blends well with petrol and can be used in most gasoline engines without any alterations, at the current 10 percent blend levels. However, to achieve the ambitious blending of 20 percent, there are two key areas India will need to achieve – to increase ethanol production capacity from the current 700 to 1500 million liters and to ensure new and existing vehicles are compatible with a 20 percent blend.
Similar to Brazil, the Indian government plans to introduce FFVs, or Flex Fuel Vehicles, which can run on zero to E85 blended fuel (an ethanol-petrol blend that contains 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent petrol). This will go a long way in reducing emissions and saving on India’s crude import bill. Once the country achieves 20 percent ethanol blending, India will be the second-highest ethanol blending country behind only Brazil – which currently blends at 27 percent.
Rudra and Jiyen are students at the Ashoka University, majoring in Economics and Finance, and Computer Science.
by control_zenuser | Jan 30, 2023 | In the news
By Arnav Mehra and Manav Sharma, 25 January 2023
Biennially held in India, the Auto Expo is one of the largest automotive trade fairs in Asia which sees participation from automobile manufacturers, OEMs and stakeholders of the automobile industry from India and around the world. This year, the Expo featured a wide range of automobiles including cars, two-wheelers, trucks and buses, and new fuel technologies like electric, hybrid and flex-fuel vehicles.
Given the Indian Government’s focus towards higher ethanol blending, for the first time this year the Expo featured an Ethanol Pavilion to create awareness about ethanol as a renewable and reliable fuel for automobiles and promote its adoption and use. The Pavilion saw participation from stakeholders like The Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Praj Industries, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), UNICA – The Union of the Sugarcane and Bioenergy Industry of Brazil, Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association of the U.S.
Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, visited the pavilion and spoke about the benefits of ethanol, and reiterated India’s commitment to achieving a 20 percent blending mandate by 2025. Mr. Puri said that India had advanced from ethanol blending of 1.53 percent in 2013-14 to a 10.17 percent blending in 2022. That, this increased use of ethanol had translated into savings of ₹41,500 crore of forex (Over USD 5 billion), reduced greenhouse emissions by 27 lakh million tonnes and helped farmers with payments worth ₹40,600 crores (Approx. USD 5 billion) in the last 8 years.
In the Minister’s presence, Mr Vinod Aggarwal from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Mr Josh Miller from The U.S. Grains Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an objective to support higher domestic ethanol blending by creating awareness about its use, increase domestic production, ensure automotive compatibility, and create a favourable policy environment.
Ethanol is a biofuel that is made primarily from sources such as sugar cane, corn, and other food grains. It is a renewable fuel source that is domestically produced in the country and helps to reduce dependence on foreign oil as well as fossil fuels. Using ethanol as a blend with gasoline, in varying quantities like E10 (10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline), E15, E27 and E85 is a common practice in several countries like Brazil and the United States. One of the key benefits of using ethanol is that it reduces emissions and smog-forming pollutants, making it an environmentally friendly option.
With climate change being a priority globally, significance of ethanol has increased as it lowers the carbon content in petrol and helps reduce particulate matter emissions, contributing to better air quality. As Ethanol has a high-octane number of 113, it reduces engine knocking and helps improve fuel and engine efficiency. The high-octane rating of ethanol allows for higher compression ratios in engines, which potentially results in efficient combustion and more power.
Today many countries, such as Brazil, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, China and France, have integrated ethanol into their fuels. For instance, Brazil has a high ethanol blend of 27 percent with petrol while the U.S. has a mandate of 10 percent blend and provides consumers to choose from a variety of different blends like E15, E30 and E85 at the fuel stations. The Indian government achieved its 10 percent blending in June 2022, five months ahead of its November 2022 target, and aims to achieve a 20 percent blend by 2025.
Increased use of ethanol and India moving towards a 20 percent blend will not only contribute to India reducing its oil import bill but will also go a long way in reducing our carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels.
Arnav and Manav are students at the Ashoka University, majoring in Economics and Psychology.
