India, June 14 -- The number of liquor stores in the Capital has risen to 713 as of June 2025, up from 584 in June last year, government officials said. The sharp increase comes nearly three years after Delhi reverted to its old excise policy following a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the 2021-22 excise policy formulated by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

In September 2022, just weeks after the roll-back, the city had only 350 operational liquor outlets-triggering a major disruption in alcohol availability. To restore supply and curb illegal inflow from neighbouring states, the excise department had announced a rapid expansion plan, aiming to run 500 government-operated vends by September 1, 2022, and scale up to ...