make indian wine cheaper

The proposal by the agricultural minister Sharad Pawar to make wine more easily available has merit. While he has gone a step too far in calling the drink an enriched food - the argument gives Maharasthra an opportunity to get comfortable with the idea of drinking. In case of Shared pawar of course well he has a few of his own breweries and is likely to market them with Mallayya so there is a personal interest in making Indian wine available.There are compelling economic, cultural and health grounds for making wine far more easily accessible and at lesser cost. The case for the economic is obvious. India is one of the world’s largest producers of grapes. Much of this is wasted since the agro processing opportunities are lost given that the high taxation on wine makes their production uncompetitive. What is more, tariffs on foreign wine has come down over the last three years in keeping with GATT commitment making Indian wine even less comparative. Thus allowing greater access to wine at less will ensure that both the farmer and the wine yard owner gains. There is also endless scope in Wine tourism currently in its infancy which will no doubt get a boost with cheaper wine availability.The social case for cheaper wine is even stronger. The figures on wine consumption clearly state that India has in proactive left the Mahatma’s prohibition legacy far behind. Across strata social drinking is a reality. Wine drinking it can be argued is far less harmful then drinking sprites which have an alcohol content in the region of 50% and more. By making wine and indeed beer cheaper you crate an economic incentive that discourages the consummation of sprits.