India restaurant industry statistics 2026

India's food services market was worth ₹5.69 lakh crore in FY24 and is projected to reach ₹7.76 lakh crore by FY28, according to the NRAI India Food Services Report 2024. The organised segment was 43.8% of it. The sector directly employs about 85.5 lakh people.

We update this page every quarter. Each figure below names its source and year. Where two sources disagree, we show both.

How big is India's restaurant industry?

About ₹5.69 lakh crore a year on NRAI's estimate (NRAI), or roughly $90 billion on Redseer's (Redseer). NRAI's number is the one most people use.

• ₹5,69,487 crore in FY24, growing at 8.1% a year to ₹7,76,511 crore by FY28 (NRAI India Food Services Report 2024, NRAI).
• 1.9% of GDP, making food services the third-largest industry in India on NRAI's ranking (NRAI).
• About $90 billion in 2025, rising to about $150 billion by 2030 (Redseer, State of India's Food Services Market, July 2026, Redseer).
• ₹4–5 lakh crore, growing to ₹9–10 lakh crore by 2030 (Bain & Company and Swiggy, How India Eats, July 2024, as reported by Outlook Business).

The estimates differ because each firm defines the market and counts street food differently. None of them is a government statistic. NRAI has not published a newer full report than the 2024 edition that we could find.

How much of it is organised?

A little under half, and the share is rising. Organised means chains and branded or registered outlets; unorganised means dhabas, street stalls and small independent outlets.

• 43.8% organised in FY24, expected to reach 52.9% by FY28 (NRAI, 2024).
• Organised growth of 13.2% a year from FY24 to FY28, against 8.1% for the market as a whole (NRAI, 2024).
• Casual dining is the largest organised format, with a 48% share (NRAI, 2024).
• Organised players growing 17–18% a year to 2030, on Redseer's estimate (Redseer, 2026).

NRAI's 13.2% and Redseer's 17–18% are both forecasts for organised growth. They cover different periods and use different definitions.

How many people does it employ?

About 85.5 lakh directly, on NRAI's count. We could not find a restaurant-only employment figure from a government survey.

• 85.5 lakh direct jobs in 2024, projected to reach 103.2 lakh by 2028 (NRAI, 2024).
• NRAI calls food services the second-largest employer in India (NRAI, 2024). That ranking is NRAI's own and has not been confirmed by government data.

How much of the market is online delivery?

About a tenth, and growing faster than dining in.

• 11% in FY26, rising to 18% by FY31 (Redseer, July 2026, via Business of Food).
• Online delivery growing 20–22% a year, against 8–10% for offline, on Redseer's estimate (Redseer).
• 12% in 2024, rising to 20% by 2030 (Bain & Company and Swiggy, via Outlook Business).
• Swiggy food delivery gross order value of ₹9,005 crore in the January–March 2026 quarter, up 22.6% year on year (Swiggy Q4 FY2026).
• Zomato food delivery gross order value up 22.5% year on year in the same quarter (Eternal Q4FY26).

How many restaurants are there in India?

Nobody publishes an official count. Delivery-platform figures are the closest public proxy, and they leave out outlets that are not on those platforms.

• 275.4 thousand average monthly transacting restaurant partners on Swiggy food delivery, January–March 2026 (Swiggy Q4 FY2026).
• 400,000+ restaurants supported across all of Eternal's platforms, which include Zomato, Blinkit, District and Hyperpure (Eternal Q4FY26).

The two counts overlap, since many restaurants list on both platforms. Do not add them together.

What does the industry pay in tax?

On NRAI's estimate, ₹33,809 crore in 2024, projected to reach ₹55,594 crore by 2028 (NRAI, 2024). NRAI also says the sector contributes 1.4% of GST collections (NRAI, 2024). We could not find a government figure for GST collected from restaurant services alone.

How often do Indians eat out, and how much do households spend?

About five times a month on one industry estimate. The government's own survey does not separate restaurant meals from packaged food.

• Five times a month on average, projected to rise to seven or eight by 2030 (Bain & Company and Swiggy, 2024, via Outlook Business).
• Beverages, refreshments and processed food was the largest food item in household budgets in 2023-24: 9.84% of monthly per-capita spending in rural areas and 11.09% in urban areas (MoSPI HCES 2023-24). This group includes packaged food and drinks as well as meals bought outside, so treat it as an upper bound on eating out, not a measure of it.
• Average monthly per-capita spending was ₹4,122 in rural India and ₹6,996 in urban India in 2023-24 (MoSPI HCES 2023-24).

The numbers at a glance

Which number should I quote?

For a pitch deck or a bank, quote NRAI's FY24 figure and name the report, because it is the most widely recognised. For delivery, quote Redseer's FY26 share and say it is an estimate. For anything about your own city, these national numbers will mislead you: use your own sales data and local competitors instead.