The Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) of Delhi, in collaboration with the Department of Industries, will convene a stakeholder consultation on 26 April in Delhi Secretariat to seek inputs from representatives of various cloud kitchens operators for the development of Delhi’s Cloud Kitchen Policy.

The proposal to boost cloud kitchens was part of the Delhi government’s recently announced Rozgar Budget 2022-23 plan to create 20 lakh jobs in 5 years in Delhi.

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To ensure that the upcoming policy has the potential to result in positive outcomes for all stakeholders, DDC Delhi has invited all major cloud kitchen operators and food delivery aggregators to the policy consultation to be chaired by Jasmine Shah, Vice-Chairperson, DDC Delhi.

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.

During Delhi’s budget session for 2022-23, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia unveiled the Delhi Government’s plans to frame a cloud kitchen policy for Delhi in its bid to facilitate the expansion of the Food and Beverages (F&B) industry in the capital.

The government’s policy think tank, DDC Delhi, in collaboration with the Industries department, is deliberating upon the provision of land and other incentives to cloud kitchens, easing of license regulations for such units, and setting up of cloud kitchen clusters with plug and play features across different land parcels in Delhi.

Shah said, “It is the first time a state government has recognised cloud kitchens as significant contributors to the food and beverage industry. 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.”

The number of cloud kitchens in Delhi is growing at a rate of over 20% every year. There are over 20,000 cloud kitchens currently active in the city, which provide direct employment to around 2,00,000 and indirect employment to at least 50,000 people.

Cloud kitchens are set to be a $2 billion industry in India by 2024, up from $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.

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.