The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), India’s apex body and voice of the hospitality industry, held its 66^th Annual General Meeting on 16^th March 2023 in New Delhi. During the AGM, the members of the FHRAI elected the new Executive Committee; a twenty-four member team comprising of six representatives each from East, North, South and West of India to manage the affairs of the apex industry body.

The AGM was followed by the first meeting of the new Executive Committee of the Federation which has elected Sudesh Poddar as the new President of FHRAI. He has previously served in the position of Hon. Treasurer in the Federation. Poddar is a veteran of the industry and has been in the hospitality business since 1977. He owns multiple restaurants in Kolkata including the iconic 70-year-old Chinese restaurant – Songhai and a 4-star hotel in Assam under the banner – Satya Hotels Pvt Ltd.

The Executive Committee also elected the new ‘Office Bearers’ of FHRAI, who supervise the advocacy and routine affairs at the Federation on behalf of the Executive Committee.        Surendra Kumar Jaiswal, K. Nagaraju and Pradeep Shetty were elected as the Vice Presidents from Hotel & Restaurant Association of Northern India (HRANI), The South India Hotels & Restaurants Association (SIHRA) and Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), respectively. DVS Somaraju has been elected as Hony. Treasurer and T.S. Walia as the Hony. Secretary, while  Gurbaxish Singh Kohli and Mr Amarvir Singh will serve as Jt. Hony. Secretaries of the Federation.

“The industry has seen its most challenging times over the last couple of years and it’ll be my endeavour to work towards creating a conducive environment for the hospitality sector and to make as much progress as possible in the shortest timeframe. We will continue to engage with the Government and policy-makers to align our goals to make India’s tourism and hospitality sector one of the best in the world,” said Sudesh Poddar, President, FHRAI.