HBI Staff | Hyderabad 
Swiggy has enabled online processing and home delivery of alcohol through the ‘Wine Shops’ category in Odisha. The service went live in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela today after obtaining necessary approvals from the Odisha government, with other major cities in the state to follow during the week.
To place orders, customers need to complete an instant age verification by uploading a picture of their valid government ID, followed by a selfie which the platform will use for authentication. All orders will carry a unique OTP which needs to be provided by the customer at the time of delivery.
Swiggy has partnered with HyperVerge to enable AI-face recognition for mandatory age verification and user authentication for alcohol deliveries. The integrated solution instantly digitises the customer’s ID card, checks if the customer’s selfie matches with the picture on the ID card, and then checks for selfie’s liveness, i.e. if the customer is really present or if it is a photo of a photo. This additional layer of safety ensures that delivery of alcohol is in complete compliance with applicable laws and avoids under-age customers from placing the orders.
Speaking about the launch of the service in Odisha, a Swiggy Spokesperson said, “Over the course of the last two months, Swiggy has stepped up to support the state government and citizens of Odisha by ensuring convenience through home deliveries of food, groceries and essentials. After successfully launching alcohol delivery in Jharkhand, we are expanding our services to Odisha, starting with Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. Cuttack and Berhampur will follow in the next couple of days. Consistent with Swiggy’s approach, we have leveraged technology to automate the customer verification process and solve an important challenge and support the government with enabling safe deliveries.”
Swiggy is partnering with authorised retailers across major cities after validating their license and other required documents as outlined by the state government. Both the delivery partners and retailers are being virtually trained to facilitate smooth processing and fulfillment of orders.
After gaining good traction in Ranchi post launching the service last week, Swiggy has expanded its services in other major cities in Jharkhand including Ramgarh and Deoghar.
To avail this service, customers in Odisha can access the ‘Wine Shops’ category by updating their Swiggy app.
