Brewers Association of India created

The three biggest brewers in India have formally joined forces to boost the market and promote their interests to the government. United Breweries (controlled by Heineken), AB InBev and Carlsberg, who between them account for about 85% of the country’s beer sales, have created the Brewers Association of India. Formed in partnership with the World Brewing Alliance (which embraces most consuming countries), their purpose, they say, is “to grow the beer category in India and to drive innovation, moderation and sustainability”. Their new body is open to all brewers in the country. Its first action has been to lobby the national government in Delhi about how beer is taxed in India, a factor they say has caused the Indian beer market to stagnate at around 400 million cases a year, despite its vast growth potential. They also blame restrictive retail licensing rules for restricting beer sales. Unlike in most other countries, India taxes spirits and beer on the volume of liquid in the ...