The Telangana Prohibition and Excise department is experiencing an extraordinary surge in applications for liquor shop licenses. As of Saturday evening (October 18), a remarkable 75,000 applications have poured in for the 2,620 available shops across the state, already generating a substantial ₹2,250 crore in revenue.
Officials anticipate that the total number of applications will likely reach around 90,000 by the end of the day. This influx is expected to boost total collections to approximately ₹2,700 crore, comfortably surpassing the ₹2,645 crore recorded during the last licensing period.
By Friday (October 17), the department had already registered 50,000 applications, with an additional 25,000 received by 6 p.m. on Saturday. However, this current licensing cycle has observed a decrease in overall participation compared to 2023, which saw 1,32,324 applications. Department sources attribute this drop to the increased application fee, which has risen from ₹2 lakh in 2023 to ₹3 lakh this year.
Applications for these new licenses were accepted between September 26 and October 18. Each interested individual was required to submit a demand draft or challan receipt for ₹3 lakh along with their application form. A key regulation permitted only one application per person, granting applicants the freedom to select any desired shop location.
The department is set to conduct a lottery on October 23 to allocate the 2,620 highly sought-after liquor shop licenses throughout Telangana.