AP Cabinet approves new liquor policy

A meeting of the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, has approved the new liquor policy. The Cabinet has decided to make quality liquor brands available to the people. It has also decided to fix the average price of liquor available at Rs 99, which was sold at Rs 120 by the previous government. The Cabinet also renamed Bhogapuram Airport as Alluri Sitaramaraju Airport.
The Cabinet meeting discussed the revival of the volunteer system. The volunteer system, which has to be renewed every year, was put on hold after August 2023 by the previous Jagan Mohan Reddy government. The ministers stated that even though the term of the volunteers ended in August 2023, they were not renewed. CM Chandrababu sought more information about the restoration of volunteers.
The Cabinet has cancelled the allocation of Rs 200 per month to volunteers and secretariats for purchase of daily newspapers. The Cabinet held a detailed discussion on the irregularities in the purchase of Sakshi newspaper by paying Rs 200 to the volunteers, spending crores of rupees. The ministers brought to the notice of the CM that Rs 205 crore was spent from the government exchequer for the purchase of Sakshi newspaper within two years. The CM ordered an inquiry into the payments made against the rules. Another key decision taken by the Cabinet was to entrust the construction of the Polavaram diaphragm to Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL). The Cabinet is of the opinion that the agency will be held responsible for any problems that arise due to allocating work to a single agency.
It was also decided to start ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) giving public health top priority. APAAR (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry) cards will be given to students in line with Aadhaar cards. The government will also form a new corporation in the Ministry of Home Affairs with a corpus fund of Rs 10 crore.