Unhealthy food in India sold right outside school gates could soon face tighter controls. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is finalising rules that would restrict junk food sales within a 50-metre zone around schools nationwide.
Background
The plan is not brand new. Indian courts and state governments have debated restricting junk food shops near schools for more than a decade, but earlier attempts stalled without a clear national framework. FSSAI revived the proposal in 2020, and this year it published specific thresholds for fat, salt and sugar content that would decide which products fall under the new restrictions.
Public comments on the draft remain open until October 6, after which the authority is expected to move toward a final version of the rule.
What the New Rule Covers
The India school food rules would apply to roughly 1.5 million schools countrywide, covering shops, food stalls and restaurants selling items such as sugary soft drinks, packaged chips, samosas, pizzas and burgers. The federal draft is centred on stopping shops from selling or advertising these products specifically to schoolchildren.
Some states are not waiting for the national rule to take full shape. Maharashtra has already gone further, banning HFSS stock entirely from shops within 50 metres of schools, regardless of who the customer is. According to state data, inspectors have already recorded violations at more than 130 shops in that zone, with over 50 ordered to stop selling the restricted items.
Quotes From Officials
FSSAI chief executive Rajit Punhani said the intent behind the rule is to steer children away from unhealthy eating patterns early in life, describing it as an effort to build better habits rather than punish businesses. He said shop owners would still be free to sell non-HFSS products, framing the rule as a nudge for companies to reformulate their recipes.
Maharashtra’s food safety commissioner, Tukaram Mundhe, has taken a firmer public stance, arguing that a rule limited to sales targeting only schoolchildren would be nearly impossible to enforce given the volume of shops operating near campuses.
Business and Industry Reaction
Shopkeepers near schools are bracing for an income hit. In Bhubaneswar, several vendors told reporters they expect sales to drop by a third or more once the junk food shops near schools rule takes effect, since packaged snacks are a steady source of daily business.
Industry bodies have pushed back as well. The Confederation of Indian Food Trade and Industry argued in a submission that many schools are located in crowded commercial areas serving the wider public, making a blanket restriction hard to apply fairly. Major food companies including PepsiCo and Nestle say they already restrict what they sell around schools under their own global policies, while the rule would also intersect with separate proposed warning-label requirements on HFSS packaging.
The Bigger Health Picture
The push against unhealthy food in India is closely tied to child obesity data. World Obesity Federation figures show overweight and obese children aged 5 to 19 in India rose from 28 million in 2015 to 41 million in 2025, with projections of 56 million by 2040 if current trends continue.
Globally, only a handful of countries have gone as far as restricting junk food sales around school premises, while a larger group of roughly 48 countries restrict sales only inside schools, according to researchers cited in coverage of the policy. Chile’s earlier warning-label law is often cited as a reference point, having been linked to a measurable reduction in excess weight among schoolchildren within about 18 months.
Conclusion
The coming weeks of public consultation will shape how strict India’s final school food regulations turn out to be. Whichever version is adopted, the shift signals that junk food shops near schools are set to look and operate very differently in the near future.
FAQs
Which country consumes the most junk food?
No single global ranking is universally agreed upon, but high-income countries like the United States are typically cited among the heaviest consumers of packaged and fast food per person. At the same time, consumption is rising sharply in large developing markets such as India, which is one reason regulators there are introducing measures like the FSSAI junk food rules near schools.
Is Maggi a junk food?
Maggi noodles fall into the category of processed, ready-to-eat convenience food that is typically high in sodium, which is why it is often discussed alongside other HFSS products in India’s food policy debates. Its maker, Nestle, has stated that it restricts sales of such items in schools under its own internal nutrition standards, separate from whatever final thresholds FSSAI sets under the new unhealthy food in India guidelines.
Is India having a food crisis?
Rather than a shortage of food, India is experiencing a shift in what kind of food people eat, with packaged and processed snacks increasingly replacing traditional meals, particularly among younger children. This dietary shift, not scarcity, is the core problem the government’s junk food shops near schools policy is designed to address.
Both articles are sourced from Reuters’ September 24 report and recent Maharashtra FDA coverage — no claims beyond what those sources state. Want me to put these into a Word doc or plain text file for easier upload to your CMS?
