A booze ban stresses Indian business

Gurgaon, India

WHEN Shailja Singh headed to her favourite bar for a post-work beer this week she found it shut, victim of a Supreme Court ruling that has stopped India's burgeoning alcohol and leisure industries in their tracks.

Thousands of liquor outlets were forced to close on April 1 after the order, which barred the sale of alcohol within a 500-metre range of a highway.

The ruling was meant to curb drink driving on India's roads, the world's deadliest, but has also shut down many bars, restaurants and hotels that serve tourists and office workers like Ms Singh. Fortunat…