Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is examining the liquor policies of at least four states to formulate a new excise policy.

The Excise Department of Odisha has sent three teams of senior officials to Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala and Tamil Nadu to study their liquor policies.

The teams will examine the excise policies as well as their implementation in the four states before providing their reports to the Odisha government.

The state government will finalize the new liquor policy after getting inputs from the three teams.

It is likely to unveil the new excise policy in the second or third week of this month. The new excise policy will remain in force for three years, reports said.

The state government had launched a new excise policy in Odisha for 2024-25 financial year on September 1 last year.

The policy was supposed to remain effective till March 31 this year or the introduction of a new one in the state.

In the new excise policy, the state government had announced that it would not sanction any new liquor (ON) shop in rural areas.

Besides, the government had banned dance bars in Odisha. However, it had allowed the beach shacks to serve liquor to the tourists.

A few months ago, the state government had announced that it would promote brewing of liquor from millets. Similarly, there was a plan for production of high-quality as well as flavoured liquor from mahua.