Delhi govt to hold stakeholder consultation on April 26 to formulate dedicated cloud kitchen policy

As part of the Arvind Kejriwal government’s Rozgar Budget plan to create 20 lakh jobs in 5 years, Delhi will soon be the first state in India to have a dedicated Cloud Kitchen Policy. The Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) of Delhi, in collaboration with the Department of Industries, will hold a stakeholder consultation on April 26th for formulating the policy.

Several cloud kitchen operators and food delivery aggregators are invited to the consultation chaired by DDC Vice-Chairperson Jasmine Shah. The consultation will be aimed at understanding the various pressing challenges faced by Delhi’s cloud kitchen operators and exploring the potential and viability of setting up cloud kitchen clusters across Delhi.

“It is the first time a state government has recognised cloud kitchens as significant contributors to the food and beverage industry," Shah said adding that cloud kitchens have a huge potential to attract investments, increase the market size of the F&B sector, and generate large-scale direct and indirect jobs.

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"Guided by the vision of Chief Minister Sh. Arvind Kejriwal, we are committed to further facilitating the growth of this strongly emerging segment by encouraging the setting up of shared commercial kitchen spaces across Delhi,” she added.

With over 20,000 cloud kitchens currently active in the city, the number of cloud kitchens in Delhi is growing at a rate of over 20 percent every year. Currently, it provides direct employment to around 2,00,000 and indirect employment to at least 50,000 people.

Cloud kitchens are set to be a USD 2 billion industry in India by 2024, up from USD 400 million in 2019. As cloud kitchens prepare and deliver food at the customer’s doorstep by taking orders via food aggregators/online ordering platforms, they can operate at a fraction of the traditional restaurant space.

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The segment witnessed a significant boom during the coronavirus pandemic, with many restaurants pivoting to focus on cloud kitchen setups, which are built on food delivery rather than dine-in.