-KH News Desk (Editorial1@imaws.org)
The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), the apex body for the Indian Restaurant Industry, officially launched the NRAI Odisha Chapter at an event in Bhubaneswar. This formation is a significant milestone aimed at strengthening the state’s food service ecosystem, boosting investments, and positioning Odisha as a leading culinary and tourism destination.
Strategic Context and Goals
The restaurant and food services sector in Odisha currently contributes 13.09% to the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The service economy is projected to grow at 10.57% for 2023–24, making the state a high-potential market that has already seen a surge in new-age restaurants, cloud kitchens, and tourism-linked establishments, especially in cities like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, and Rourkela.
The new NRAI Odisha Chapter will focus on:
Policy Reforms: Advocating for the ease of doing business and fair GST practices.
Skilling and Training: Implementing initiatives to upskill the workforce.
Investment and Scaling: Fostering investments, helping local brands scale nationally, and attracting national and global players to the state.
Leadership and Commitment
The chapter aims for significant growth in membership and impact.
Chapter Head: Sameer Hans (Co-Founder, Bocca Café) will lead the chapter. He stated the goal is to bring at least 1,500 of the nearly 8,000 registered and non-registered F&B establishments in Odisha under the NRAI umbrella within the next two years.
Core Committee: The chapter will be steered by a dedicated core committee including M Tejeswar Rao (Director, Green Chillyz) as Co-Chapter Head, Sunmeet Singh Oberai (Founder, Oberai Bakers & Café) as Secretary, Chandini Samal (Director, Romeo Lane) as Joint Secretary, and Amit Singhania (Partner, Gocool) as Treasurer.
Sagar Daryani, President of NRAI (also CEO & Co-Founder, Wow! Momo), affirmed the commitment to harnessing the state’s rich culinary heritage: “Odisha’s culinary culture is one of India’s richest—from temple cuisine to tribal flavours to unique seafood traditions. With the Odisha Chapter, we now have a strong local leadership team that will focus on policy reforms, training, skilling, and investments. NRAI is committed to enabling Odisha’s homegrown brands to scale nationally and to attracting national and global players to the state. Together, we will build a thriving, modern, and inclusive restaurant ecosystem for Odisha.”
This sentiment was echoed by Punya Prakash Parida (Promoter, Embassy Club & upcoming Radisson Hotels), who noted, “Our investment commitment of over ₹1,000 crore in upcoming hotel and leisure projects reflects our belief in Odisha’s immense potential.”
