Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday approved the new excise policy, which will be implemented from October 1.
The chief minister, gave his nod to the draft at a meeting with officials on Sunday. There are no major changes in the policy except a ten percent licence fee hike.
The present license fee ranges from Rs 32.5 lakh in places with a population of less than 10 lakh to Rs 90 lakh in places with a population of more than 20 lakh.
In Hyderabad, the licence fee for a retail outlet will increase from Rs 90,000 to Rs 99,000.
The notification of the new policy is expected soon and the licences will remain to be issued through a draw of lots. The number of shops will also remain the same, The Hindu reports.
The business hours of the shops, however, is expected to change from the current 11 am-10 pm to 10 am-11pm, Ajay Misra, revenue principal secretary (excise) told the Times of India.
These reports come a few days after the state government withdrew its proposed 'cheap liquor' policy.
The TRS government had mooted bottled cheap liquor as an alternative to arrack and was planning to implement the new policy from October 1.
However, it evoked strong reaction from the opposition and people's organisations especially women's groups, who alleged that the government was trying its fill its coffers by selling cheap liquor without bothering about its serious social and financial consequences for the poor.
The opposition parties and other groups had even formed a steering committee to launch a united struggle against the proposed policy.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao later told reporters that since there was difference of opinion in the society over the proposed cheap liquor policy, it was decided to continue with a similar policy.
Another change is that the tenure of new licences issued to retail dealers will be two years instead of the current one-year term, the TOI report adds.
The new excise policy was also reported to pay special attention to the city by encouraging a night life in Hyderabad and opening pubs and micro-breweries that will remain open through midnight.
The decision on the policy related to pubs and bars would be taken after the chief minister's return from China on September 16.