Speaking to The Financial Express, Mr Mallya said, "Its only fair that beerand wine are delinked from liquor. They do not qualify to fall underspirits. The present status is not only unfair on the industry but also onthe consumers." Mr Mallya said, "I have taken up this issue with thegovernment. Assurances and reassurances are not what I am looking forwardto. I need action and that is why I have decided to take up the cause of theindustry instead of relying associations and groups." He said, "Today, inmany parts of the country a bottle of beer is more expensive than a 180 mlbottle of whisky or rum. Therefore, the consumer is forced to buy hardliquor instead of beer, which has an alcoholic content of only 7 to 8 percent."

According to Mr Mallya, the current status of beer as spirits also affectsthe volumes of the manufacturers because of the consumer decision tilting infavour of hard liquor.

"Worldover, beer is sold alongside soft drinks and I have asked for the samestatus for this product in India. I have met senior government officials andexplained to them the necessity for doing so," he added.

A senior government official said, "Mr Mallya has pointed out that themarket size for beer in the country is very small and is estimated to be at70 million cases.

To expand the market, the government framework should be such that itshould de-link beer from liquor and put it on par with soft drinks. Theofficial said, "He has asked that liquor should be treated as high alcoholintoxicant and beer as a low alcohol refreshing drink - the way it isfollowed in the rest of the world."

Presently, the government wants the revenue on beer to go up six-fold. But,according to Mr Mallya, this is unrealistic as "policy framework need tochange". Mr Mallya is of the opinion that once the government does this,beer will become cheap as distribution will become wider and the taxation onbeer will become reasonable.