Mumbai: Beverage company Diageo India and National Restaurant Association of India on Thursday announced that they have partnered to provide COVID-19 vaccines to their food and beverage (F&B) trade partners, who are registered under Raising the Bar programme. As a part of this programme, Diageo India and NRAI will now provide the necessary support to the F&B industry during the pandemic by covering the costs for the vaccines for all restaurant employees, according to a joint statement.

Through this initiative, Diageo India aims to support 20,000 employees from the industry by providing them with both doses of the vaccine.

The initiative, already running since June 2021, gives employees of the 1,500 outlets registered under the programme an opportunity to get their vaccine jabs at select hospitals, with whom NRAI has partnered across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Goa.

“We have been at the forefront, supporting the bar and hospitality community through programmes like Raising the Bar & World Class during the pandemic. As the F&B industry in India opens operations, our aim is to provide enhanced safety measures to bring back employee and consumer confidence to return to the places they cherish,” Shweta Jain, (Vice President Luxury Commercial, Key Accounts India & South Asia), Diageo India said.

Launched in June 2020, Raising the Bar is a Rs 75 crore revival programme that supports pubs, bars and restaurants, as well as helping businesses welcome customers back and recover from the pandemic.