Rural Development

Department
Himachal Pradesh

"Him IRA RASOI"

(A step towards women empowerment)

Background
initiated in 2013, the Himachal Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (HPSRLM) has
successfully generated significant development impact in the area of inclusive social
mobilization, financial inclusion and livelihood strengthening and diversification. Nearly 1.30
lacs households have been mobilized into more than 23000 self-help groups and their
federations. The SHGs are widely viewed as the ideal platform for efficient targeting and
delivery of various social welfare programmes and have shown promise in delivering long
term behavior change critical in achieving outcomes in the area of health, nutrition and
sanitation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the flobal food industry as governments imposed
lockdown/curfew to slow down the spread ofthe virus. As the pandemic continue, most of
the people afraid to eat out. To tackle this situation and provide the good quality, hygienic
and homemade food, it has been proposed to train the members of women self-help groups on
quality food preparation and hospitality or serving food to people. These women will prepare
& serve hygienic food to the people.

The hygiene and quality of food served at canteen of government institutions such as
Hospitals, Schools, Collages, pol. Tech. & Govt. offices need to be improved as per expected
quality. Considering the significant number of customers served by these institutions canteens
at State, District & Block level, make those establishments present a viable enterprise
opportunity where women SHG member can participate. Hence, women SHG members of
HPSRLM has proposed to operate these canteens with the name "HimIRA RASOI" and
would ensure providing high quality hygienic food to customers and at the same time it
would also generate gainful employment.
J
Objectives
The objective of "HimIRA RASOI" is to create high standard business models in the field
of hospitality or serving food by raising the standards of catering through specialized training,
technology and management support along with creating livelihoods opportunities for the
women SHG members and further to bring such community commissioned projects.

The objective is not only to just earn profit but to set the examples in this field. More
specifically the focus is to achieve women empowerment, come out of the parochial mindset,
giving more decisional autonomy to the women, raising their income, skilling & pros iding
the opportunities for exploring their potential, arid preserve the diversified cuisine & cultural

heritage of Himachal Pradesh.

More specifically "Him IRA RASOI" would try to achieve:

Hygienic canteens maintained in the institution's premises

To provide high quality food to offers, staff, students and visitors etc. at
reasonable price with exemplary service

To improve livelihood status of rural women.

Entrepreneurs would emerge from the community who would gain the skill of
operating a high quality canteen._

Canteen would act as a source of gainful employment for the SHGs members.
To provide social facilities.
To promote traditional cuisine of Himachal Pradesh
Contribution in the development of tIJ country.

New avenues for the tourism sector; more specifically to promote eco-tourism. The
mission of "Him IRA RASOI" is to provide a unique and traditional dine in experience
which would focus on "Atithi Devo Bhav".

Implementation & operationalization of "HimIRA RASOI":

Himachal Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (HPSRLM) will approach the Govt.
institutions at District & Block level with support of District Administration of the concerned
district open canteen. It will also be requested to Himachal Government to issue an ads isory
to the head of the Govt. departments and institutions to provide priority to SHG members for
running canteen in Govt. Offices, School/Institutions

2IPage
"Hint IRA RASOI" will be operated & managed by the women members of self-help
groups. HPSRLM in association with RSETI & IHM Kufri, Shimla will provide 10 days
training to identified members on different parameters such as catering and serving, soft skills
and business plan & implementation. In the training period each member will be securitized
on the basis of performance in the training.

Process flow:

Location assessment

1.‘ .
"1
L
Refurbishment of location

SHG/CBO/Member identification/selection
I
Business plan preparation

Fund{ support (HPSRLM & CIF)

Procurement process

Training to SHG members

L MoU between Nodal CBO & Govt. Institution

Infiguration of canteen

Partnership deed between CBO and SHG members

Governance & Ownership of Nodal CLF/VO

Common branding of all canteens

Common S.O.P across all canteens

 Location assessment:- Based on the location provided by the concerned
department/institution' an initial assessment woidd be done by the nodal CLF/VO in
association with ctncemed HPSRLM staff at District and Block level for physical and
financial feasibility of the unit (canteen). The assessment would include space
availability, competition, facility of water and sanitization, furniture available
and
required etc.
 Refurbishment of location: - Refurbishment of the space of the canteen would be
district/block administration.
 Identification of nodal VO/CLF: - For managing the community based
organization such as CLFNO/SHG led 'canteen the identification like- priority of
location with CLF/y0/SHG village, no. of members, consent of CLF/VO/SHG,
Readiness of CLFNO/SHG to take up opportunity, readiness to invest in upcoming
venture through Ovailable CIF may be taken by the executive committee of
CLFNO/SHG. Concerne,d HPSRLM staff at District & Block level will provide the
necessary support to the concerned CLFNO/SHG for the same, if required.

o Entrepreneur Selection: EntrePreneurs , would be identified among the

community members based on their interest, capacity, proximate distance
(between home & location of canteen ), financial strength and need. HPSRLM
staff at District & Block level will support in the selection of entrepreneur.
Details on the process of selection of SHG member/entrepreneur is provide at
Annexure-I
o Steps involved in the selection of SHG members:-
Mobilization of members in selected VO/CLF
nIdentification of members
nSelection of members on,thi basis of grading sheets (Annexure-1.k)
nScruitiniiation of grading sheets
Interview, of identified SH4irRembers on the basis of interview score
sheet(Anlexure-1B)
Business plan preparaSion: - A businev plan would be prepared keeping in mind the
price of food items, expected footfall, for the proposed canteen and input cost. This
would clearly layout the*budgetary requirement for the fixed capital, working capital
and the community investment fund contribution by the (CIF) CLFNO/SHG. The
tentative business layout plan is at Annexure-II.
 Fund release:- Based on the business plan, startup cost would be made available to
the Nodal CLF/VO/SHG by HPSRLM via District/block. The expenditure on startup
cost to be provided to CBO for operationalization of canteen can be met from the
training cost of non-farm component or marketing (SARAS fairs) component of the
NRLM, up to 3.00 lacs per unit. For the active participation purpose, 10% of the
project cost will he met from the CIF released to the concerned village
organization/SHG, which will be recouped from the profit of the unit after three
months of the establishment.

 Procurement process:- Procurement of material, other required assets would be done

through community procurement nonns by identified CLFNO/SHG.

 Training to the SHG members:- Selected members would be provided with six to
ten days training on management, hygiene and quality food preparation by the
HPSRLM with support of RSETI or IHM institute Shimla at Kufri or NRO like
Kudumbashree. The training would also help the members in understand the business
aspect of running a canteek' 'Opining will include preparation of various local
traditional Himachali recipes, quality standards, hospitality restaurant management
and interaction with customers. The broad topics covered would include:
oCommunication with customers.
oAccounting and Book keeping
oTechniques of bulk cooking and preparation of traditional cuisine of
Himachal.
oMaintenance of cleanliness and hygiene.
oGroup behaviors
oCrisis management
oUse of occupational safety gear
oWaste Management
oTechnique of purchasing raw material
oBusiness promotion
 M o U w i t h N o d a l ( 1 4 F / V O / S H G & Govt. department/office/education
institution:- A MoU between concern Govt. department &Alice/education institution
 and selected CLF/VO/SHG will be signed mentioning the details regarding space,
rent, electricity, water number of persons & rate of food etc.
oAs women members of CBOs, would be establishing their first enterprise, it is
expected that Govt. Department/Office/Educational Institution would support
in:-
 nProviding adequate space rent free or on nominal rent.
Basic infrastructure at the Eaditarked space
nProviding free of cost water and electricity
nProper security arrangemeit for the women SHG members.
 Inauguration of canteen:- Canteen will be inaugurated after 1-2 days trail run of
equipment and operation, . liasoning of market vendor or SHGs for supply
of •
vegetables, milk and other material fd canteen.
 Partnership deed between CBO and selected SHG members: The nodal CLF/VO
would have a mutual agreement with identi4ed/selected members of the SHGs to run
operate brand canteen "Him IRA RASO" on given terms and condition.
o 10-12 interested and shortlisted SHG members will sign a partnership deed
among themselves featuring details about purpose of partnership. All such
members will beCome shareholder of partnership by contributing a certain
minimum amount'as capital investment, (Minimum 10% share capital of the
total fixed cost need to be raised/ invest by shareholders in partnership).
o SHG members may share up to 60' % of total receipt as salary after deducting
all the material & operating cost on monthly basis.
■ The partnership deed would also include following clauses:-

.Profit sharing:- For first 3 months profit dividend will not be

share among shareholders. It will be kept as corpus money and
used for investment/extension of "HimIRA RASOI".

Account opening: An account will be opened with brand name

"HimIRA RASOI" .place___________ and two signatories to
run the account woultfalso be mentioned in the deed.
Certification & Registration: The selected CLF/VO SHG
Atould be fulfill all statutory obligations like registration of
firms, GST No, insurance of assets etc. Indicative list of
necessary License add Certification is given at Annexure-t
Books of Records: k ,Selected member among the NG
members working "I limIRA RASOI" will maintain proper
accounting and books of records, which would be produced
before CLF/VO/SHG and DMMU/BMMU for time to time
inspection. Proper book of records may include cash hook,
stock register and receipt & payment register.
Governance & ownership of "HimIRA RASOI" canteen :-
Wage
 o The Nodal CLFNO would be owners of the "Him IRA RASOI", while overall
control will be owned by the HPSRLM.
o All infrastructure/ assets and hardware material purchased/procured would be
assets of concerned CLF/VO.

o Nodal CLFNO would conduct quarterly internal audit regarding canteen

assets and quality issue "Him1RA RASOI" canteen through livelihood
committee of CLFNO and for which service fee would be given to the
committee.

o The services from third party (CA) may be taken for annual audit of the
"HimIRA RASOI" canteen for transparency purposes.
o Nodal CLF/VO runningfHim IRA RASOI" canteen has to submit monthly
income expenditure report to HPSRLM through concerned BMMU and
DMMU by the 5th bf each month for monitoring purpose.

o The members running "HimIRA RASOI" will take all the decisions regarding
procurement of material & assignment and distribution of works among
members for running the "Him IRA RASOI" on day to day basis and as per
the availability of members.

o A rental fee will be given to nodal CLFNO by the SHG members running
"Him IRA RASOI". The amount of fee will be decided in the meeting of
CLFNO mutually.

o Based on internal quarterly social & financial audit of "Him IRA RASOI"
nodal CLFNO may 'decide to terminate the agreement with concerned
members of SHGs and allow other CBOs/members to run and operate
"HimIRA RASOI". Issues of concern which may be found during quarterly
audit are:-

nCase of financial fraud by member & mismatch in stock verifications.

nContinuous loss of canteen for 6 months.
n"Him IRA RASOI" canteen is being operated by members's family
(Husband/son) in perional gain.
nReputation and branding of canteen "HimIRA RASOI" is at stake such
as quality, hygiene and cleanliness.

nCase of dispute among members.

nMoU agreement timeline.

ag
 1

In case of any disiSute the fin decision would be taken in the meeting of general
0
body meetnig of the C F/VO.

Standard branding material across all the canteens:- Standard branding material,
common logo of HimIRA, and HimIRA RASOI may be used across all th e
canteen/food cart. Funds .for the branding of "HimIRA RASOI" may be provided
from the 1EC component o4' the NRLM and concerned DMMU/BMMU will be pade
responsible for the common branding of tike "Him1RA RASOI" in their respective
area.
standard operating ,procedure for " IlimIRA RASOI" canteen across all
canteens: -

o A l l the members/staff needs to be in proper uniform of "HimIRA

RASO1" as mentioned below:
nGreen suit It. white salWar with stitched logo of "HimIRA RASOI''. 4
nWhite lab coat with stitched logo for serving food
n
Cream colour apron with logo for members involve in preparation of
food.
nServing gloves in hand. •

The present policy would be revised based on learning from pilot projects of "HimIRA
RAS01 -.

Role & Responsibilities

Inauguration & Final Setup

State & District HPSRLM

Training of
DMMU/BMMU in coordination with
Procurement of
Equipments

Design & Refurbishment of space

District Administration, DMMU &

Fund approval (Livelihood Startup &

3
CO ._.
HPSRLM
Business viability check & location identi fiend°,

Identification & selection of CBO and SHG mcl rs

Block Unit
Detail of role & responsibilities

1.Provide locations to open canteens or indicate requirement

Concerned
regarding space.
2.Facilitate partnership with relevant institution (if needed)
3.If required support in 6ivil workfor the premise to be
ready for canteen operation
4.Ensure timely release of due payments to the canteen (if
applicable)

1. Conduct
Nodal CLFNO initial assessment, of the location where the
s

canteen is proposed with the help of HPSRLM staff at

District/Block
1
. Moblize interested candidates for canteens and identify
members who are interested to operate the canteen.
3.Procuremint of fixed ass e s and responsible for book
keeping until such time that A separate firm is established.
4.Manage local resource person to support the enterprise
5.Appraise and recommend business plan of the canteen to
District HPSRLM office.
6.Conduct quarterly process, quality and financial audit of the
canteen the CLFNO.

7.Recommend & appoint a different set of members if the

members operating the canteen are found to be operating
not as per set protocol standard.

1. Facilitate entrepreneur
selection with nodal
CLFNO.
2. Facilitate initial location
assessment (with nodal CLFNO)
3. Facilitate ' .Customize -
training modules for selected
 members.
4. Facilitate and support
compliance if judiciary &
legal requirements of the firm

5. Facilitate support through

nodal CLFNO
6. Implement a robust MIS and
monitoring arrangements
I. Ensure innings of CBOs
2. Entire agreement of the firm

HPSRLM State HQ in
association with District &
Block Staff

District/Block office/staff
 Department/office and Educational institutes.
3. Ensure procurement of assets through nodal VO/CLF by
following community procurement norms.
'"4. Assist in registration of the firm.
5.h Ensure in timely release funds to the firm by the
concerned department.
6.Facilitate vend& tie ups.
7.Monitor the day activities of the canteens and provide
necessary support if required.

Block level Office 1. Provide orientation of the staff on canteens

BLM/Area Coordinator/ other block staff to be on the
panel of SHG member selection conducted by CLF/VO
3.• Enable mobilization of members interested in canteen set
up and provide necessary orientation
4.Facilitate proper documentation of each selected SH(
members.

5.Assist the nodal VO/CLF in managing operations until

such time that they feel independent to manage.
6.Assist in meeting the legal & judiciary requirements.
7.Facilitate timely release of fund from Nodal VO/CLF,
8.Ensure MIS is being filled timely by the firm and
recommend and forward it to DMMU & SMMU
BLM/Area Coordinator 1.Provide orientation to its cadre about canteens.
or other block staff 2.Provide orientation to CBOs about canteens
3.Ensure timely SH member selection form submission for
all the eligible candidaps at CLF/VO
4.Prepare back ground information around credit history,
4
family strength etc. as needed.

5.Other support A and when required by the VO/CLF and

SHG members in operatibn.
RSETI/ IHM Shimla 1.Prepare and customize training modules
at Kufri.
2. -Conduct in —depth trainings with entrepreneurs and project
staff
3.Facilitate klodel busine ass plan preparation with SHG -