Most of you have heard IMFL though some have little knowledge beyond this abbreviation. IMFL stands for Indian Made Foreign Liquor but I am wrong on the perception that you have not heard of this. Most of you know this but doesn't have the idea why this term is coined.

It is absurd why India should make liquor that is officially labeled as foreign. And the irony is that India is the largest whisky market in the world. Just like Gold, where India consumes more than any other country, even in liquor front, India has failed to create an aura of superiority.

The primary reason is that the alcohol that is produced in India is distilled from molasses, a byproduct of the sugar industry whereas the world over whisky or any type of alcohol is distilled from grain and is not a grain neutral spirit.

This is the reason that you get Scotch labels from across the globe in India while you have no chance of getting IMFL anywhere in the world outside India. Foreign governments and trade bodies have continuously opposed selling IMFL in foreign markets as they say it is not the genuine spirit – in spirit and word.

But Indians doesn't mind. With or without authenticity certificates they gulp in Bhatinda style or Calicut style – glasses differ, style doesn't.

And this consumption is by no means any meager. Kerala and Punjab alone can dethrone the entire world in its alcohol consumption and very few among these gulping public knows that they are consuming waste manufactured out of waste.

Whereas Bournvita and Complan can advertise their benefits and each other's weakness through various mediums, liquor manufacturers cannot advertise that their products are superior, which again is another irony.

In dry states like Gujarat, the bootlegger acts right from a CEO to the delivery boy. Whatever stock he has, one has to accept. The moment you say no, it goes to another buyer. Even death gives a second chance, but the bootlegger doesn't.

Normally, a buyer accepts whatever the bootlegger offers. It is out and out a sellers market in Gujarat.

But in other states, the situation is no better. Having to stand in a long queue, the buyers always take home whatever the shopkeeper offers. And the shopkeeper offers whatever he has in stock.

So where is the space for breweries to explain their product superiority to the consumers or the shopkeepers? At the most they can have a brand recall by surrogate ads of soda or playing card or a music CD.

Whether these liquors are manufactured from Sugar or from grains, the food price pinched Indian public is already put to shame if more alcohol is gulped and manufacturers orders for more grains to overcome their short supply.

In a new trend, breweries across the country are shifting from molasses to grains for two reasons. One is that the price of sugar molasses has hit the roof and the other is to compete internationally. The third and the most potent is the entry of multinationals into India which can offer better quality alcohol. And if the loyalty has to remain with the brand, manufacturers has to soften their hard drinks to Scotch level.

Time Magazine has reported that India's alcohol market is more than $14 billion and one of the fastest-growing markets in the world and this is projected to grow at 10% a year - more than China, U.S. and Europe combined, according to an estimate by KPMG India.

So next time you are in a government licensed alcohol shop – stranded in a queue, or calling a bootlegger, remember that you are actually adding to the price rise woes of India – by reducing grains from granaries. But as long as you are not in sky high spirits, it should not pose a problem to the starving population of the country.