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Zomato

Food delivery major Zomato wants to start delivering alcohol

Zomato

Foodtech major Zomato is looking to chart out a plan to deliver alcohol as liquor demand across the nation has been skyrocketing.

The government had tried to ease the process and recently started allowing alcohol shops in some states with certain conditions, but the mass gathering and violation of social distancing have forced them to shut shop again.

In this scenario, a company like Zomato hopes to start delivering alcohol and has lobbied for technology-enabled home delivery of alcohol, per a document accessed by Reuters.

According to the report, Mohit Gupta, Zomato’s CEO for food delivery, had written about the same in a business proposal to industry body International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI). The document submitted to ISWAI in mid-April further revealed that Zomato plans to target “areas that are relatively less affected by COVID-19.”

ISWAI’s executive chairman Amrit Kiran Singh also supported online delivery of alcohol via these platforms to help boost state revenues that have been significantly hit during the lockdown.

Currently, there is no legal provision for home deliveries of alcohol in India. In the past, hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo had started the delivery of alcoholic beverages, however, it had to discontinue the service, failing to comply with existing regulations.

To make it feasible, the government will have to take the initiative and frame a proper guideline so that the online delivery of alcohol can be done under compliance. 

On Wednesday, the Chhattisgarh government launched an online portal for home delivery of alcohol. For online orders, the state government has offered a link to the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL) website. Customers can also download an app on Google Play store to place online orders.

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