NEXT CENSUS TO BE HELD DIGITALLY: SHAH IN ASSAM

GUWAHATI: The next census held in the country will be carried out through a digital platform which will be ready by 2024, home minister Amit Shah said on Monday. Shah, who is on a twoday visit to Assam, said that the 2021 census process, which had been stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will be an e-census (electronic census), which will help draw the development map of India for the next 25 years.

“Though Covid-19 has slowed us down, I am confident that by 2024, we will complete modernisation of the Registrar General of India’s work and develop a software which will address several tasks under one platform,” he said, adding that the new software will be linked with registration of births and deaths.

Alok KN Mishra

NEW DELHI: The Delhi excise department has proposed the state government legalise home delivery of liquor and stop regulating discounts offered by vendors in the Delhi Excise Policy 2022-23, which is in the final stages of being drafted, officials said. The Delhi cabinet is likely to take a decision on the proposals this month.

Though the Delhi Excise (Amendment) Rules, 2021 allowed the home delivery of liquor, vends need the government to operationalise the provision by issuing appropriate

THE PROPOSALS orders and notifications, which has not been done so far.

As per the 2021 rules, shops with an L-13 licence will be permitted to deliver Indian and foreign liquor to private homes, but only if the order is received through an app or online portal.

An official of the excise department said the 2022-23 excise policy is in the final stage of preparations, and will be notified soon. “The department has submitted some proposals... It will not be a new policy but a revised one which will try to address the challenges identified during the implementation of the existing policy. There is a significant potential for revenue augmentation and providing a decent standard of customer experience at part with the stature of the national capital.”

Both moves may face stiff resistance from the BJP’S Delhi unit, which has been against the new excise policy.