A BLACK market has flourished for Scotch whisky ever since the Indian Government slapped an import ban on the liquor, with much of the demand coming from the cities.
Some manufacturers are producing what is advertised as IMFL (Indian-made foreign liquor), which is a blend of Scotch and Indian whisky and hardly the real thing.
Nor is the stuff properly bottled. The liquor is most likely produced in one of the side-lanes of Bombay by unscrupulous businessmen, who reuse old whisky bottles.
Tim Jackson, director of commercial affairs with the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), which groups the whisky distillers, said: ''There is a lot of counterfeit whisky in the Indian market which the consumer buys, and for which he pays a substantial sum.
''What some of the Indian companies have done is proposed to the Government that if legal imports of Scotch whisky are permitted, the consumer would get the genuine stuff and the Government the revenue.
''As for us, we would get the opportunity of protecting our brands.'' The latest statistics on alcohol consumption in India are available from the Edinburgh-based SWA. With the country throwing open its doors to virtually everything, Scotch whisky is all set to come on official tap.
With deals tentatively struck and in the process of being implemented, British drinks companies are waiting for the opportune moment to make their presence felt in India.