Officials in India’s capital imposed a special tax of 70% on retail liquor purchases from Tuesday, to deter large gatherings at stores as authorities ease a six-week lockdown imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Taxes on alcohol are a key contributor to the revenue of many of India’s 36 states and federal territories, most of which are running short of funds because of the lengthy disruption in economic activity caused by the virus.
Police baton-charged hundreds of people who had flocked to liquor shops when they opened on Monday for the first time in a relaxation of the world’s biggest lockdown, which is set to run until May 17.
The Delhi state government announced the “special corona fee” in a public notice late on Monday.
“It was unfortunate that chaos was seen at some shops in Delhi,” said Arvind Kejriwal, the state’s chief minister.
“If we come to know about violations of social distancing and other norms from any area, then we will have to seal the area and revoke the relaxations there,” he added.
Other states, such as southern Andhra Pradesh, where people also violated social distancing measures to queue up in their hundreds for alcohol, also hiked prices.
The increases come as India reported 3,900 new infections on Tuesday for its highest single day rise, taking the tally to 46,432. The death toll stood at 1,568, the health ministry said.
Health experts said the daily increase shows India remains at risk despite a severe lockdown that has confined its population of 1.3 billion to their homes since late March, with all public transport halted and economic activity nearly frozen.
“The curve has not shown a downward trend. That is cause for concern,” said Dr Randeep Guleria, director of New Delhi’s premier All-India Institute of Medical Sciences.
India’s average daily increase in cases has been 6.1 over the past week, behind Russia and Brazil but higher than Britain, the United States and Italy.
The biggest spikes were recorded in the western states of Maharashtra, home to India’s commercial capital of Mumbai, and Gujarat as well as Delhi. These densely populated urban centres drive India’s economy, powered by armies of migrant workers.
Government officials said the lockdown had helped avert a surge of infections that could have overwhelmed medical services, however.
Now cases are doubling every 12 days, up from 3.4 days when the lockdown began, said Lav Agarwal, a joint secretary in the health ministry.
The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We specialize in industries such as Semiconductor and Electronics, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Manufacturing and Construction, Medical Device, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Chemicals and Materials.
Severity: Warning
Message: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
Filename: amp/news_details_amp.php
Line Number: 252
Backtrace:
File: /home/smartmarketnews/public_html/application/views/amp/news_details_amp.php
Line: 252
Function: _error_handler
File: /home/smartmarketnews/public_html/application/controllers/Amp_controller.php
Line: 41
Function: view
File: /home/smartmarketnews/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once
Smarter Decisions with Smart News
Smart Market News is committed to getting its readers the latest updates and insights on industries that help in making “smarter” business decisions. With insights and inputs from corporate decision makers, we bring you the stories of adopting innovative solutions and strategies that have been changing the world. Our editorial insights on products, solutions, companies, and adoption of best practices not only help in understanding the markets better, but also prove to be a complete package for your information needs.
media@smartmarketnews.com | sales@smartmarketnews.com
Contact Us