According to the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), around 32 per cent of those employed in the organised sector of the restaurant and dining industry — around 23 lakh people — were rendered jobless during the two pandemic-induced lockdowns over the last two years.
However, the report released by the Association also reveals that around 52 lakh Indians working in restaurants were still able to maintain employment during the same time.
The report further deduced that one of four restaurants in the country had to permanently shut down between the two waves of the pandemic. The turnover of the industry, as a whole, was estimated to shrink from the projected Rs 4.95 lakh crore to around Rs 2 lakh crore in FY 2021. For FY 2022, the report estimates that the combined revenue could touch Rs 4.72 lakh crores. In this, the contribution of the food-delivery platforms went up from 10 per cent to 33 per cent. The report by NRAI estimated that restaurant revenues are presently about 72 per cent of the pre-COVID level.
The average working hours for restaurants have also dropped from 13 hours a day pre-pandemic to the current10 hours a day.
