1. The release of White Paper on the Indian restaurant industry 2010. Mr. Kuckreja announced the release of a similar White Paper report early by next year which will be a rich source of information on 'Indian Food Services Industry'.
2. Constant endeavor to explore best practices, changing trends, through knowledge sharing and networking by conducting Training Seminars with sessions by industry experts.
3. 3. Strategic Alliance with:
   • HVS to conduct the first ever compensation study with reference to the restaurant industry in India.
   • AHLEI to offer its training programmes at concessional rates to the member establishments and launch of Restaurant Operations Studies and Training Scheme, ROSTS, an innovative curriculum aimed at creating talent pool.
   • Partnership with Images on the new Foodservice Magazine and the 'Annual Restaurant Show' planned for January 2012.
4. Work done with various government departments on licensing and other areas.

National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has launched the first national level research study on the restaurant industry on May 1 at India Habitat, Delhi. The White Paper was released by Shri Amitabh Kant CEO of DMICDC; Shri P.K. Tripathi, Principal Secretary of Tourism, Govt of India; Mr.Samir Kuckreja President NRAI; Mr. Vipin Luthra Vice President, NRAI; Anjan Chatterjee Vice President NRAI, Vikram Bakshi Past President NRAI; Arvind Singhal, Chairman, Technopak Advisors; Atul Singh President, Coca Cola India, in the presence of a large gathering of restaurateurs, key government officials, media and other stake holders

This was a first of its kind event that witnessed the attendance of who's who of the restaurant fraternity from across India. This included CEO's of all the leading domestic and international chains and independent operators.

It began with an introductory speech by the Past President of NRAI, Vikram Bakshi where he introduced the Chief Guest, Shri Amitabh Kant - CEO and MD of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Ltd. who has worked with the Tourism Ministry of India and helped create the successful Incredible India campaign. He is the author of the book, Branding India - An Incredible Journey. He welcomed the Guest of Honor, Shri P.K. Tripathi who is the Principal Secretary Tourism for the Delhi Government.

“To raise the profile of the Indian restaurant industry in terms of its size, contribution to the economy, NRAI took the initiative of tabling the White Paper- he said. According to him the restaurant industry have always been considered as a subset of hotel industry, but should be looked at as the part of retail industry. However, its contribution to different sectors besides tax & VAT is tremendous i.e Food processing, Agricultural produce, Employment and the cold chain.  Marking the restaurant industry's contribution towards the economy, he concluded “we are not asking for any direct subsidies from the government, but we request them to create an enabling environment for the industry where we can grow smoothly and contribute more to the economy of the country-

A presentation on the profile of NRAI and the key findings of White Paper was given by Samir Kuckreja, President NRAI. At the outset, he began with a thanks giving note to all the office bearers, committee members - past and present for helping with inputs for the report. He said that White Paper is a pioneering and collabrative effort of all the key players of the industry.

Starting with the profile, key objectives and achievements of the association, he covered some of the key industry statistics given in the White Paper. The White Paper highlights the importance of restaurant industry in terms of the large direct and indirect employment it provides, the revenue it generates for the government and the importance of its role in promoting the tourism. It also captures in essence the opportunities and challenges faced by the industry, and explores solutions to overcome these issues.

He highlighted the size of the industry at Rs. 43,000 crores*, growing at 5 - 6% annually. According to the White Paper the restaurant industry has the potential by 2015 to be approx Rs 62,500 crores. The evolving industry is a significant contributor in terms of tax or VAT to the economy. Currently it contributes Rs.1000 crores and has potential to reach Rs. 3500 crores. Samir Kuckreja pointed out the two factors for this growth; one is the expansion of current organized players and second various unorganized operators moving to the organized segment across the country.

The industry provides direct employment to 5 million individuals which is five times than the IT industry and 10 times than the Hotel industry. “The restaurant industry is a labour intensive and perhaps one of the largest employment generators in India on per square foot basis- he said.

As per the report, the growth drivers of the restaurant industry are: changing demographics, greater prosperity, better exposure and other factors. The presence of 15-20 international cuisines in India shows the evolving consumer trends and behavior. The expansion into newer locations, more international brands making an entry, food courts, transit locations and companies making international forays are the other factors for determining trends in the industry.

Recommending the various ways by which the government can “facilitate faster growth of the industry through simplification of the multiple licensing norms, easier financing, encouraging more companies to invest in supply chain and manpower education- Samir Kuckreja concluded his presentation.

After the presentation, Atul Singh - President & CEO of Coca Cola India thanked NRAI for asking Coca Cola India to partner this initiative. He said We have always been looking for the opportunities to get associated with the Indian F & B industry, so that the best practices would come forward- While sharing some very interesting figures on the increase of the middle class population in coming 20 years in India (much more than US and China), he talked about the opportunities that need to be captured by the F & B industry as the pyramid goes upwards.  Coca Cola India would look forward to work collectively with the small or large food chains, restaurants, clubs and even with grocery stores to share the common issues, challenges, practices and growth opportunities.

Arvind Singhal - Chairman, Technopak Advisory Ltd also addressed the audience, he told that the Indian economy in 2020 would be similar to the economies of Japan, UK, and France and would be comparable in dollars terms.

He talked about Product, Process and People Innovation Processes as the key focus areas for everyone.  He gave three constituencies which need to be considered extensively by the industry for growth. The Government of India which is an inhibiting factor in the growth of the industry, Food Safety and Hygiene for which the NRAI should educate its own members and the Financial Community which has to provide the large capital required for growth. He advised that the NRAI strengthen its secretariat which would be necessary for achieving its objectives.

Then Shri Amitabh Kant was invited to address the audience. He started by sharing his evolutionary experience with the cuisines, great chefs and his passion about being a restaurateur.

He stated that the urbanization of Indian cities, at the rate of 9 to 10% per year, will bring higher challenges and opportunities for the industry in coming period of time. And these emerging urban cities will be succeeded only when it is driven by young and vibrant lives. The restaurant business would then have a major role to play because of its contribution towards employment and nightlife.

“NRAI, by releasing this extensive research report is moving ahead to become a professional organization instead of calling an association.- He said. He completely recognized few recommendation and suggestions given in the White paper such as extension of license periods, foreign exchange benefits and single window clearances.

He remarked on the critical issue of manpower by saying that there is a huge imbalance as the educational institutions are producing managers but not workers which are required in larger numbers to run a business.
Lastly, he said that reading White Paper has proved to be beneficial to him and suggested to the NRAI to get this growth story disseminated to various Central and State Government  ministries.

The audience was then addressed by P.K.Tripathi, Principal Secretary Tourism, Delhi Govt, where he began by appreciating this study on the restaurant industry being the first and a very well documented one.

He briefed the audience by talking about the growth drivers of the global cities that encourage tourism and international restaurant players to visit/work with an ease in these cities. P K Tripathi spotted a major issue from the recommendation sections given in the White Paper i.e. multiplicity of authorities and the license maze. He assured that the government would take this matter into the account and will try to provide a single window clearance for acquiring all the licenses while setting up a new restaurant.

The White Paper was then formally released by Amitabh Kant, P.K. Tripathi, Samir Kuckreja, Vipin Luthra, Anjan Chatterjee, Vikram Bakshi, Atul Singh and Arvind Singhal.

The final Q & A session was conducted where members of the audience asked a few questions to the speakers on one-on-one basis.

At the end, a vote of thanks was given by Vipin Luthra VP NRAI for the overwhelming response and making the White Paper a success story.

The event was followed by the grand lunch along with the refreshing cocktails. It was a great opportunity for visitors to network. Some NRAI members - Nirula's, Haagen Dazs, Sabarro, TGIF and Barista had set up their stalls with wonderful ice-creams, pizzas, cocktails and coffee at the lunch area.