Beer, wine at office cafeterias in Gurugram allowed under new excise policy

Although Twitter's headquarters is now described as a gloomy place with bad coffee under Elon Musk's watch, it used to be known for its cafeteria with free lunch. Videos of Google's cafeteria also justified its position as one of the world's best places to work, before it had to cut down cafe opening hours to save money.

But as big tech premises lose their charm, corporate employees in Gurugram are in high spirits after the news of a policy change, that allows beer and wine to be served in offices.

Which offices can get a license?

• A new excise policy approved by the council of ministers in Haryana, states that any corporate firm with more than 5,000 employees and a office space of one lakh square feet, can store and consume alcohol.

• The Beer Cafe's Rahul Singh is already working with corporate firms to set up the infrastructure for keeping alcohol at their premises.

• Licenses will be granted to canteens spread over a minimum area of 2,000 square feet, for a yearly fee of Rs 10 lakh.

What's more in store?

• Apart from alcohol at workplaces, the reduced license fee for bars in restaurants has also been hailed by alcoholic beverage sellers.

• Under the new policy, tax on beer and other beverages with lower alcohol content will be lower than that on hard liquor.