India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* 

The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

Traditionally, Halal certification in India has been carried out by Muslim religious trusts, ulema-led institutions, waqf-linked bodies, and community organisations. These institutions derive their authority not merely from administrative competence but from religious scholarship and community trust. The proposed Bill explicitly prohibits any private trust, society, or association from issuing or charging fees for Halal certification, prescribing penalties that include imprisonment of up to two years and fines of up to ₹10 lakh. In effect, this measure outlaws existing Muslim Halal bodies, converts a centuries-old religious practice into a criminal offence, and delegitimises Islamic scholarship in determining what is Halal. This is not regulation in the conventional sense; it amounts to displacement of a large workforce and institutional network attached to the Halal industry.

The economic implications are equally troubling. India’s Halal economy sustains small Muslim slaughterhouses, meat exporters, food processors, herbal and Unani medicine manufacturers, nutraceutical producers, and a wide range of certification professionals and auditors. By mandating that all certification fees be deposited into the Consolidated Fund of India, the Bill abruptly cuts off livelihood streams for thousands of Muslim-run institutions that have historically depended on certification services. What was once a community-driven religious economy is thereby transformed into a state-controlled revenue channel, disproportionately affecting Muslim entrepreneurs and institutions.

More fundamentally, the Bill raises the issue of state control over the religious definition of Halal. Halal is not merely a food safety label; it is a religious ruling (hukm) grounded in Islamic jurisprudence. Yet the proposed framework places Halal standards, slaughter criteria, and certification rules under the authority of a government-appointed committee dominated by bureaucrats and public health officials, without any guaranteed representation of qualified Islamic jurists. This invites a basic constitutional and philosophical question: can a secular state define what is religiously Halal for Muslims?

Although the Bill employs the neutral phrase “religious dietary certification,” its real-world impact is far from neutral. Halal certification is by far the largest and most economically significant form of religious dietary certification in India, and it is overwhelmingly used, managed, and relied upon by Muslims. The practical effect, therefore, is a disproportionate burden on Indian Muslims, their religious institutions, and their businesses, raising serious concerns under Articles 25 and 26, which guarantee freedom of religion and management of religious affairs, as well as Article 19(1)(g), which protects the right to practise any profession or carry on any occupation.

The proposed changes also risk weakening India’s position in the global Halal market. Internationally, Halal certification derives its credibility from independence, recognised religious authority, and acceptance by Muslim communities and importing countries. Replacing respected private Halal bodies with a single government authority risks eroding trust in Indian Halal exports, reducing acceptance in OIC and other Muslim-majority markets, and damaging India’s multi-billion-dollar Halal export potential.

In its present form, the Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 cannot be viewed as a neutral regulatory reform. It represents the criminalisation of Muslim religious institutions, economic disenfranchisement of Muslim businesses, state overreach into matters of religious doctrine, and a structural assault on India’s Halal economy. Genuine reform would seek regulation without dispossession, oversight without criminalisation, and standardisation without erasing religious autonomy. Without urgent reconsideration, this Bill risks being remembered not as a food safety measure, but as a policy that institutionalised economic and religious exclusion under the guise of regulation.

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*Journalist based in Chennai