India, Aug. 9 -- Bihar should revoke the ban on alcohol as it failed to prevent violence against women from rising, and anecdotal evidence suggests that legal drinking was substituted by an increase in the consumption of illicit drugs and alcohol, a research paper by economic think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has said.

The paper, titled 'Macro Perspective of Bihar's Development Achievements, Unfinished Agenda, and the Way Forward', further said that the reinstatement of the liquor excise tax to the pre-ban levels would increase the state's own revenues by 14-15 per cent and decrease spending on enforcement and anti-smuggling operations.

The paper, prepared by a team of economists led by Ratna Sahay and pre...