The lovely tale of Liquor
during Lockdown and before
At every stage, addiction is driven by one of the most powerful, mysterious, and
vital forces of human existence. What drives addiction is longing —
a longing not just of brain, belly, or loins but finally of the heart.
Cornelius Platinga
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The use of alcohol in India for drinking purposes dates back to somewhere between 3000 and 2000 BC. An alcoholic beverage called Sura which was distilled from the rice was popular at that time in India for common men to unwind at the end of a stressful day. . Yet the first mention of Alcohol appears in Rig Veda (1700BC). It mentions intoxicants like soma and prahamana. Although the soma plant might not exist today, it was famous for delivering a euphoric high. It was also recorded in the Samhita, the medical compendium of Sushruta that he who drinks soma will not age and will be impervious to fire, poison, or weapon attack. The sweet juice of Soma was also said to help establish a connection with the gods. Such was the popularity of alcohol. Initially used for medicinal purposes, with time it evolved and became the beverage that brought life to social gatherings, and eventually consuming alcohol has become a habit for many.
With such a rich history of not just humans but also of the gods,
what is a worldwide pandemic to stop anybody from drinking?
. . .
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According to a report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2018, an average Indian drinks approximately 5.7 liters of alcohol every year. In a population of casual and excessive drinkers, with the shutters of liquor stores down, it must have been extremely difficult for “certain” people to survive lockdown. In the first two phases of lockdown, the desperation had quadrupled prices of alcohol in the Grey Market of India. Also, According to Google Trends, online searches for “how to make alcohol at home” peaked in India during the fourth week of March, which was the same when the lockdown was announced. As a consequence, a few people died drinking home-brewed liquor. People committed suicide due to alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Owing to the worsening situation and to reboot the economy, some states decided to open licensed liquor stores in the third phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown in India. This decision was the worst best decision the state governments could take. The kilometer-long queues in front of liquor stores were evidence that a pandemic can turn your life upside down yet your relationship with alcohol cannot move an inch.
The love in the hearts of those who are addicted was explicit. We might have seen addiction, we might have witnessed desperation but what happened in the month of May was madness, not just in terms of the way people pounced but also in the way the government earned. According to a report by Hindustan Times, on the first day of the third phase of Lockdown, the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh recorded a sale of over Rs 100 Crore from liquor. On the second day of the reopening of Liquor stores, Karnataka reported sales of 197 crores in a single day which was the largest ever. Eventually, the prices of Liquor were hiked to 100% to discourage people from drinking.
. . .
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There was a special corona fee that was imposed in Delhi by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. A 70% corona fee was imposed in Delhi, yet the sales did not drop. The entire situation was a disaster for the law enforcement officers, social distancing was easily abandoned and a basic code of conduct was happily violated. Despite the chaos created, the states continued to collect revenues. Home delivery of alcohol was allowed in Maharashtra and e-tokens were sold in Delhi.
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Demand for liquor is inelastic which means that
the sale of alcohol is not much responsive to change in prices.
In general, since alcohol policy is a state subject in India, revenue from Liquor is a cash cow for state governments. In 2018 and 2019, four states collectively collected about 20,000 crores in taxes from the sale of liquor. As much as the state earns from the sale of Liquor it is undoubtedly, a threat to the Economy. Consumption of alcohol has dire health consequences. When a person consumes an alcoholic beverage, there is a rise in BAC because of which there is a gradual and progressive loss of driving ability because of an increase in reaction time, overconfidence, degraded muscle coordination, impaired concentration, and decreased auditory and visual acuity. This is known as drunken driving. (V. M. Anantha Eashwar, 2020) Drunken driving is the third biggest cause of road accidents and over speeding in India. Road accidents are not it; alcoholism causes sleep problems, heart, and liver issues. Also, it is not about an individual’s life, it ruins the lives of all people concerned.
Addiction also causes economic loss. In 2000, Vivek Benegal and his team assessed 113 patients admitted to a special de-addiction service for alcohol dependence. They found that
the average individual earned a mean of ₹1,661 but
spent ₹1,938 per month on alcohol, incurring high debt.
They also found that 95% did not work for about 14 days in a month. They concluded that it led to a loss of ₹13,823 per person per year in terms of foregone productivity. A more recent study, Health Impact and Economic Burden of Alcohol Consumption in India, led by Gaurav Jyani, concluded that alcohol-attributable deaths would lead to a loss of 258 million life-years between 2011 and 2050. The study placed the economic burden on the health system at $48.11 billion, and the societal burden (including health costs, productivity loss, and so on) at $1,867 billion. “This amounts to an average loss of 1.45% of the gross domestic product (GDP) per year to the Indian economy,” the study said. (Mint, 2020)
Setho ka Gaon
With each passing day, the ‘curtain of separation’ weighs down on the women of Afghanistan, paving the way for tyranny to thrive.
Arth
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Webinar on Wealth Management
The Department of Economics organised an enriching webinar on Wealth Management on 21st September 2021, with the support of Dr Nidhi Dhamija, Teacher-in-Charge, and Dr Puja Saxena Nigam, Associate Professor, of the Hindu College. The honourable speakers were some of the most knowledgeable personalities in the field of finance - Mr Vikram Sengupta (M.A. in Economics, MBA from IIM-C, and 18+ years experience in the Indian Capital Market) and Mr Sujoy Das (featured amongst top debt fund managers in India and with 25+ years experience).
Mr Vikram commenced the webinar by explaining in-depth what wealth management means. His usage of easy-to-understand terms and layman language helped the audience absorb all the information effectively, including the students who were non-finance majors. Mr Vikram repeatedly stressed that one need not necessarily possess a degree in finance to have a sound career in wealth management; instead, what matters is that one puts one's mind to it and puts one's aptitude to use.
It was mentioned how being a wealth manager involves accomplishing a certain client’s financial goal and that these goals change as life progresses. He stated how the wealth management industry in India is a booming one as India steadily grows to become a 5-trillion economy. With the growth of such a big economy, it is quite natural for residents’ wealth to grow at a fast pace as well. In fact, the wealth of Indians is now eight times of what it used to be two years ago. This results in a dire need for wealth managers in the country.
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Who Can Manage Wealth?
Through a beautiful story of a woman who took action at the right time and went from a front desk job at a hotel to becoming a successful wealth manager, it was asserted that emotional intelligence plays a huge role in determining one's success in the field.
Thus, it goes without saying that, though people with a background in finance and economics may have a certain edge over others, it does not ascertain the probability of one's success. In fact, many of the successful wealth managers have come from various fields such as Psychology and English.
The speakers also talked about how the position requires a certain level of credibility. Being placed at one of the topmost positions of a firm is coupled with the responsibility of helping major clients manage their wealth.
As far as the hiring trend is concerned, the demand for wealth managers in the market is relatively high at the moment, which includes jobs with almost every possible range of salary.
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Impact of Covid-19
The coronavirus has transformed the employment spectrum of wealth management in India as well as around the world. Earlier, the reach of a wealth manager was limited to their own city with a handful of clients. But the past few years of digitalisation has helped transcend all barriers. One could be sitting in Bangalore and have clients in Delhi, Mumbai, or even in Singapore and Thailand. Consequently, the scope of making money in the field has also increased exponentially.
At the end of a unique and interesting webinar, the speakers took questions from the audience and answered them diligently. The participants logged off with a sense of newfound interest in wealth management and enhanced awareness.