BENGALURU: The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), the apex body of leading liquor firms, has written a letter to the Ministry of Commerce seeking an exit plan to open distilleries and liquor shops including pubs and restaurants in non-Covid-19 hotspots. In its second letter to various state governments within a week, CIABC has urged them to allow online sale of liquor as social distancing emerges as the new normal. The submission of this exit plan comes as liquor trade has shuttered in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown resulting in financial losses for the industry that contributes about 20-40% of a state’s revenue. In the letter addressed to Union Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal, CIABC director general Vinod Giri said, “Factory warehouses hold stock, trucks are stranded, distribution warehouses are locked with stock and retail shops sit on unsold stock. The industry which contributes almost Rs 2-lakh crore by way of various taxes, sustains livelihood of nearly 40 lakh farmers, and employs nearly 20 lakh people directly and indirectly is in dire straits.” CIABC in its letter has also demanded a blanket order extending the current excise year and retail-related licenses for three months, until June 30,…