The Delhi Government is planning to introduce a comprehensive piece of legislation to do away with the many anachronisms that survive because India's capital still follows an excise law introduced in 1914. Reporting the move, The Times of India said the Delhi Government now proposed to bring the legal drinking age down from 25 to 21 and allow women to serve alcoholic beverages.

But it has ignored certain key provisions of the Central Government's Model Excise Act, which was circulated by the Ministry of Food Processing some time back. The Model Act recommended that the legal drinking age be brought down to 18 -- the Delhi Government says that would lead to a public outcry.

The Model Act suggests that the number of dry days, when no alcoholic beverages can be sold by vends or served in hotels, restaurants and clubs, be reduced to three. The Delhi Government, though, is firm on sticking to a roster of 21 dry days. Its proposed Bill, therefore, represents only half a step forward, but it's a long overdue step nonetheless.