PM Modi’s vocal for local clarion call appears to be hitting veterans in a way they didn’t realise. According to a report in Reuters, Pernod Ricard and Diageo have stopped receiving orders from India’s defence canteens.
Pernod Ricard, whose brands include Chivas Regal and Glenlivet hasn’t received orders from in May for imported spirits, while earlier they would get 4500-5000 cases per month for defence sources.
One case has either six, nine or 12 bottles. Diageo India, which makes Johnny Walker Black Label and Talisker single malt, also hasn’t received orders.
A government official was quoted saying: “We want to encourage indigenous products ... with the PM’s campaign, it gets more priority.”
While a bottle of Johnnie Walker costs Rs 3600 in Maharashtra’s defence canteens, it costs Rs 5,500 MRP.
One retired veteran lamented that it would hit pockets. Canteens sell around $17 million worth of foreign liquor and $450 million worth of Indian liquor.
An executive told Reuters that one couldn’t make ‘scotch in India’ and that this will signal an unfriendly business environment and called it ‘protectionism when there is nothing to protect’.
While there are various attempts at making whiskies in India, by international standards they are categories as rum. Most IMFL (Indian-made foreign liquor) based on neutral spirits are distilled from fermented molasses.
According to the Scotch Whisky Association: "There is no compulsory definition of whisky in India, and the Indian voluntary standard does not require whisky to be distilled from cereals or to be matured. Very little Indian 'whisky' qualifies as whisky in the EU owing to the use of molasses or neutral alcohol, limited maturation (if any) and the use of flavourings. Such spirits are, of course, considerably cheaper to produce than genuine whisky.”
Incidentally, alcohol hasn’t been available in canteens for a while. A Navy recruit told Free Press Journal that canteens hadn’t sold liquor since the lockdown. Amid demand, various state governments had started online delivery of liquor.
Earlier, the vocal for local campaign led to the usual bureaucratic bungles when several iconic Indian brands were deemed to be ‘foreign’ by some over-enthusiastic babu.
Read: Other Nonsensical Nemo columns
Ever since he was a kid, Nirmalya Dutta always dreamt he would be the new Bob Dylan. Sadly, he soon realised, he was only a freewheeling brat asking his dad for freebies.
The author is the Web Editor the Free Press Journal and tweets at @nirmalyadutta23.
The views expressed are his own.
