Think doing business in India is hard? Try getting a drink after work

What changed? The 36-year-old banker got a permit to enter the first bars in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Singh receives about 15 to 20 calls a week, often from strangers, begging to tag along for a drink—a novel experience in a state that has mostly prohibited alcohol for over six decades.

“Sometimes I feel like Captain America," Singh said. “It’s noble work."

Executives doing business in India are used to labyrinthine red tape and mounds of paperwork. Those bureaucratic hurdles extend to grabbing a beer after work. In some parts of the country, where religious and cultural norms still frown upon alcohol, tipplers go to Herculean lengths to secure a cocktail.

The state of Gujarat, birthplace of noted teetotalers like Mahatma Gandhi, launched a bold experiment last year: allow bars to open in a special economic zone known as Gift City, which has attracted international firms like Google, Oracle and Bank of America. The goal was to boost the area’s appeal to foreign investors.

The state of Gujarat allowed bars in a special economic zone known as Gift City to boost the area’s appeal to foreign investors.Gift City has attracted international firms like Google, Oracle and Bank of America.

Only two watering holes have opened. Both are inside five-star hotels, and are rarely even half-full. Would-be revelers gripe that their doors are guarded more closely than a maximum-security prison.

The first hurdle is the permit: Only those working in Gift City can apply, and many are rejected by their employers or local officials who judge them too low-ranking to wine and dine clients. About 700 permits have been issued, said a local official.

Singh, the banker, has elite status allowing him to bring five guests.

“I tried to keep the news secure, but it’s like wildfire," he said.

Dozens have requested a ride-along, many claiming to be a friend of a friend, a casual acquaintance or a co-worker.

Singh chaperones tipplers several times a month. “It’s my duty to bring them," he said. “You’re showing off something that people want."

Ashutosh Singh has a much coveted bar permit.

Gujarat’s teetotaling tradition is a legacy of Gandhi, a staunch believer in temperance, but also reflects India’s complex history with alcohol. According to the constitution, India’s ultimate destiny is total prohibition “except for medicinal purposes." But taxing alcohol is a huge source of revenue for many states.

States and cities have splintered in their approach to alcohol consumption. Four states including Gujarat and Bihar are dry. In the financial hub of Mumbai, people are required to apply for a license to keep a small quantity of liquor at home, a holdover from the city’s days as a colonial port where Britain exercised an iron grip on some everyday essentials.

Those willing to navigate loopholes can often find a way.

Raj Malholtra, an IT consultant from Ahmedabad, has a health permit issued to residents over 40 who can prove they require alcohol to treat a medical condition.

The 42-year-old collected medical records documenting his hypertension, heart problems and trouble sleeping. His doctor provided a report confirming alcohol was necessary to relieve stress.

Malholtra said the nearly yearlong process was worth it. His permit allows him to buy two units of alcohol a month. One unit equates to a bottle of hard liquor, three bottles of wine, or 20 bottles of beer.

Dozens of friends have also obtained health permits. Those who are rejected often try again after switching doctors and developing new health problems. “It makes life so much easier," he said.

Foreigners or Indians living outside of Gujarat can obtain a temporary permit that lasts for 30 days, or up to one unit of alcohol. Online, people lambaste the process as “archaic," “designed by a cretin," and requiring more paperwork than buying a house.

“It’s just completely crazy, crazy rules," said Aleena Musthafa, a personal assistant from the city of Kochi on her first business trip to Ahmedabad.

The 22-year-old spent a quarter of the four-day stay trying to buy alcohol legally for her boss, who owns a factory.

The saga began at their first hotel, when they spent hours applying for a permit in his name. A hard-won bottle of whiskey was nearly confiscated after they switched hotels because her boss forgot the permit. They raced back to retrieve it.

After finishing the whiskey, he ordered Musthafa, who doesn’t drink, to submit a permit application under her name. The five-hour ordeal involved three trips to her room, multiple glitches on the government website, and several arguments with the liquor store staff.

“It was so hard," she said. “For a small beer can, I need to suffer so much."

In Gift City, one bar is tucked away near the hotel pool like a modern-day speakeasy.

The door, hung with a small plaque that says “Wine & Dine," is barricaded with red rope. Tightly drawn curtains prevent passersby from peeking inside. A security guard scrutinizes permits and IDs and records them in a logbook.

The government prohibits the hotel from advertising the bar, informing guests it exists, or putting up signs giving directions. “It’s a pain for us," Vijit Sarna, a hotel manager. “We’re losing money."

Patrons are kicked out by 11 p.m., a curfew enforced through CCTV cameras that beam a livestream into the local police station. None of the cops who monitor the bar have ever stepped foot inside.

Write to Shan Li at shan.li@wsj.com