Latest news with #HarshitaAttaluri
New Indian Express
12-08-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Bevco set to launch mobile app for pre-bookings
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the state government shying away from the proposal for online liquor delivery, the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) is preparing to launch a pre-booking facility. Customers will be able to book liquor at retail outlets through a mobile application. 'At present, customers have to wait in line for billing and delivery at outlets. The app will allow them to book products, which can then be collected from outlets,' said Harshita Attaluri, chairman and managing director of Bevco. The corporation plans to launch the app sometime after Onam. The app, which is under development, was originally meant to facilitate online sales. 'With government sanction, the same app can be used to make bookings for online delivery. Only those above the legal age of 23 will be able to make bookings,' she said.
Hans India
10-08-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Kerala beverages corporation pushes for online liquor sale in state despite government opposition
The Kerala State Beverages (Marketing & Manufacturing) Corporation Limited (BEVCO) has renewed its proposal for home delivery of liquor through online sales, despite the state government's repeated refusal to amend the Abkari Act to enable such a move. The proposal, submitted to the Excise Department by BEVCO Managing Director Harshita Attaluri was based on an offer from food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy to deliver liquor to customers' doorsteps. Attaluri said that if the state government approves the proposal, a tender process will be initiated and the lowest bidder will be awarded the contract. Customers aged 23 and above would be eligible to place orders, with mandatory ID verification to confirm age, and all products available at BEVCO outlets would also be offered online. The BEVCO Managing Director said that the primary reason for the proposal is to reduce crowding in front of liquor outlets, which is a common sight in Kerala and often causes traffic congestion. She noted that while Tamil Nadu operates around 4,700 liquor shops, Kerala has only 283 outlets, leading to long queues. The introduction of online sales, she said, could divert a significant portion of customers to the platform, easing congestion at physical stores. The corporation also hopes that home delivery will boost sales revenue. BEVCO's revenue in 2024–25 was Rs 19,700 crore, up from Rs 19,050 crore the previous fiscal. Attaluri expressed confidence that online sales could lead to phenomenal growth in these figures. However, Excise Department officials have said that the proposal faces legal challenges. Liquor sales in Kerala are regulated by the Foreign Liquor Rules, 1953, and introducing online sales would require amendments to the Abkari Act along with new rules, all of which must be approved by the state government. The officials confirmed that a similar proposal had been considered and rejected earlier. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Kerala had temporarily allowed online liquor sales through a virtual queue system, supported by a dedicated mobile application. BEVCO currently manages the sale and distribution of Indian Made Foreign Liquor, beer, wine, Foreign Made Foreign Liquor and Foreign Made Wine in Kerala, operating 26 warehouses and 283 retail outlets, of which 155 have self-service or premium counters. Liquor sales remain a major source of tax revenue for the state, with collections rising from Rs 8,778.29 crore in 2016–17 to Rs 15,170.82 crore in 2023–24. Despite BEVCO's persistence, the state government's opposition to amending the Abkari Act leaves the future of online liquor sales in Kerala uncertain.
New Indian Express
18-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Kerala beer sales losing fizz, decline 8.6 per cent in two years
KOCHI: Kerala, it seems, is no longer looking to beat the heat with a chilled bottle of beer! Over the 2023-25 period, consumption of the beverage in the state declined by a sharp 8.6%, or nearly 10 lakh cases. This downturn underscores Kerala's enduring preference for hard liquor, a characteristic of its traditionally brown spirits market that holds firm even during record-breaking heat, as data from the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) confirms. Bevco managing director Harshita Attaluri told TNIE that beer consumption has been on the decline over the past two years, and she attributed the slump to public preference. As per the Beverages corporation's data, beer sales slumped from 112 lakh cases -- both wholesale (to bars) and retail (Bevco outlets) — in 2022-23 fiscal to 102.39 lakh cases in 2024-25. Meanwhile, consumption of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) through the wholesale and retail routes surged by 9.74 lakh cases in the two-year period to 229.12 lakh cases. In contrast, beer sales increased year-on-year by 9% nationally during 2024-25, according to Brewers Association of India (BAI), the apex body of the Indian beer industry, representing India's leading beer manufacturers.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Warehouse fire: Loss estimated between 5cr and 10cr
Kottayam: Excise minister M B Rajesh on Wednesday said a comprehensive and serious probe will be conducted into the fire that broke out in the beverage outlet and warehouse in Pulikkeezhu near Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta fire caused a loss estimated between Rs 5 crore and Rs 10 crore to the Kerala State Beverages (M&M) Corporation Ltd (Bevco), its managing director Harshita Attaluri said on Wednesday. Around 45,000 cases of liquor were destroyed in the blaze, she added. The minister said steps will be taken to resume the functioning of the warehouse soon and added that the fire was unexpected and a matter of utmost seriousness. He also mentioned that a high-level meeting will be held to formulate a standard operating procedure. Safety arrangements will be strengthened in all shops and warehouses. A fire audit will be made compulsory, the minister minister was accompanied by Mathew T Thomas MLA and district deputy excise commissioner K R fire broke out on Tuesday night at the outlet and warehouse. The liquor to be supplied in Alappuzha, Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts was stored in the building that was part of the sugar factory in Pulikkeezhu. Officials from the beverages corporation, excise and police examined the place. tnn
New Indian Express
13-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Kerala: Amid protests, Bevco launches trial run of shift system for staff in outlets
KOTTAYAM: Amid strong protests from trade unions, including the prominent CITU-led union, the Bevco has initiated a trial run for the implementation of a shift work system for the employees in its outlets. The shift work has been introduced in its Piravom and Kanhangad outlets for the first time, with plans to expand it to more shops soon. Under the existing work pattern, the working hours of outlet employees are from 9.30 am to 9.30 pm, with employees being paid an additional allowance for extra duty of four hours from 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm. However, in the trial run started at Piravom and Kanhangad, there are four shifts - 9.30 am to 5.30 pm, 1.30 pm to 9.30 pm, and 12 pm to 8 pm as well as a break shift from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm (4 hours) and 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm (4 hours). In the break shift, the same employees have to work both four-hour shifts. The trial run plan also insists that the shop in-charge and shop assistant should work for 12 hours from 9.30 am to 9.30 pm and are eligible for additional allowances. Harshita Attaluri, CMD of Bevco, said that the primary goal of implementing the shift system is to alleviate the burden of extended 12-hour duties for employees, thereby fostering a more relaxed and productive work environment at Bevco outlets. 'The Bevco employees work under difficult circumstances with 12-hour shifts and they have to work even on Sundays. This leaves them with little time to spend with their families or attend to personal needs. Additionally, with day-care centres and play schools closing by 5 pm, their children have nowhere to go, causing a lot of hardship for many people. It is in this situation that we have started the shift system on a pilot basis in two outlets,' she said.
