Public health advocates urge Commerce Minister to safeguard infant nutrition, obesity policies amid deregulation push

By A Representative 

Prominent pediatrician and public health advocate Dr. Arun Gupta has written to Union Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal, raising serious concerns over the government's reported proposals to deregulate and decriminalise several laws as part of efforts to ease business processes and attract investment. The appeal, made on behalf of the Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) and the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), urges the government to ensure that vital public health regulations, particularly those concerning infant nutrition and childhood obesity, remain untouched by the deregulatory agenda.

The letter, prompted by a Times of India report on June 24 indicating the government’s move toward sweeping deregulation, highlights the potential risk to two critical areas: the Infant Milk Substitutes (IMS) Act and policies related to the marketing and labelling of High Fat, Sugar, and Salt (HFSS) foods.

Dr. Gupta urged the minister to reaffirm that the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992, amended in 2003, remains non-negotiable. The law was originally introduced through a private member’s bill by senior BJP leader Ram Naik and later adopted by Parliament. It implements the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, aiming to protect breastfeeding and reduce child mortality. Any move to dilute or decriminalise the IMS Act would “negatively impact the health of mothers and babies,” Gupta warned, adding that increased commercial promotion of infant formula could reduce breastfeeding rates and compromise child nutrition and immunity.

The letter also raised alarms about the implications of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), particularly the UK-India FTA, which allows duty-free imports of sugary foods such as chocolates, biscuits, and soft drinks. Dr. Gupta said this could result in an influx of unhealthy food products into the Indian market, fuelling the already rising rates of obesity among Indian children. The UK, he noted, protects its population with strict advertising restrictions on HFSS foods — protections that India currently lacks. “This amounts to double standards,” he wrote, calling for urgent attention to prevent similar consequences in India, especially as more FTAs with the European Union and United States are in the pipeline.

Dr. Gupta urged the Ministry of Commerce to issue a public statement reaffirming that the IMS Act will not be subjected to deregulation or decriminalisation. He also called for a mandatory public health safeguard clause to be included in all FTAs, explicitly exempting domestic health laws from being challenged under investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms.

The letter was also sent to senior officials in the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Consumer Affairs, and Women and Child Development, as well as to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), requesting coordinated action to protect public health policy space from trade-related pressures.