A restaurant-cum-bar in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram

Happy hours are on the clock in Kerala.The Congress-led UDF in its meeting has decided that from next year, bars will have to be hosted in five-star hotels across the state.400 stand-alone bars which have lost their licenses in the last year for failing to meet basic standards cannot petition for renewal, even if they pledge better services. Another 300 bars whose licenses expire next year will not get extensions.The government is also considering a proposal to turn Sundays into dry days.The government has been pledging tougher alcohol rules to voters in India's hardest drinking state.Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said that the rehabilitation and reemployment plans are being drawn up for people who will be affected by the new policy on alcohol sales and consumption.

The policy on bar licenses had created a serious rift within the Chief Minister's Congress party, pitting his camp against that of VM Sudheeran, the powerful president of the Congress in Kerala, who has been lobbying for a major crackdown on alcohol sales.