Sansad Cafeteria: Parliament to get food delivery app

Members of Parliament (MP) will soon be able to use a new mobile app to order food from the Parliament canteen that can be delivered directly to their seats, or even packed for take-away.

Also Read| Bill permitting private agencies to mine atomic minerals cleared

Sansad Cafeteria, an app developed by Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), which was “soft launched” with Parliament staffers a few weeks ago, will soon be officially launched for all MPs, Parliament officers and staff, giving them a new and improved Parliament experience, two officials familiar with the development said.

The Parliament canteen is run by ITDC, a public sector undertaking (PSU) under administrative control of the Union ministry of tourism.

“The primary objective of the app is to provide this facility to MPs/officers/staff of Parliament, etc. to be able to order and get their choice of food delivered to their desired place or picked-up from a particular ITDC canteen/kitchen within the Parliament,” the official cited above said.

Also Read| TDP likely to support crucial Delhi services bill

“They will also be able to select the choice of canteen/kitchen to order from. The menus for all canteen/kitchen will be listed with filter options to select from a particular food category like snacks, breakfast, brunch, lunch,” the official added.There are several canteens and kitchens within the Parliament complex that users will be able to pick from.

The menu on the app will include sandwiches, puri sabzi, poha, masala dosa among others in its breakfast menu. The lunch menu will include mini thali, shahi paneer, chicken curry, kadhi pakoda, jeera rice among others. While the Parliament canteen ceased to be subsidised since 2021, prices still remain relatively cheap – offering fish and chips at just over ₹100 and dosa at ₹30. These prices, the officials cited above said, will also extend to the app.

“MPs will be able to use the app (available for both Android and iOS) in a way that their desired food item can be delivered to their location of choice within the Parliament premises,” the official said.

The second official cited above said that MPs can pick their preferred mode of payment and can also track the progress of their order, its readiness and delivery, in real-time.

“MPs who wish to pick their order themselves will be notified to get the order picked up from the pickup location. They will be able to select the building they want their food to be delivered within the Parliament premise. The building options shall be pre-defined as PH (for Parliament House), PHA (for the annexe), and PLB (for the library block),” the official said.

In 2020, ITDC took over the Parliament canteen from Northern Railways, which had served Parliamentarians for around 52 years.