🍔 India is planning a 50-metre junk food ban

🎧 Currently listening: Khaabon Ke Parinday 

Good morning.

Did you know there is an orchestra made entirely of typewriters? The Boston Typewriter Orchestra turns clacking keys and sliding carriages into rhythm and satire, all built around mocking the mundanity of corporate life.

Today's issue has its own kind of rhythm. Let's get into it.

This one is about the people who stay, even when everything else changes.

When Padmini arrived in Kodaikanal's Kombai-Perungadu tribal settlement in 2024, she did not open with letters. "We literally just took nail cutters with us and trimmed their nails," said teacher Jegatheeshwari Markam. "We talked about cleanliness, about washing hands and eating well."

What started with 25 children has grown into a Saturday programme reaching over 50 first-generation learners. Padmini began teaching at 19. She still walks into a classroom every day, at 82.

What happened?
India is moving toward new rules restricting the sale of foods high in fat and sugar within 50 metres of every school. The proposal covers close to 1.5 million schools across the country.  Read More →

What counts as junk food here?
Sugary soft drinks, salty chips, samosas, pizza, burgers, and sweets like gulab jamun. FSSAI has already published thresholds for fat, salt and sugar content that would trigger these restrictions, and is taking public feedback until October 6.

Who does this affect?
Family-run stores, restaurants, and food stands near schools. FSSAI's CEO Rajit Punhani has said shop owners can still sell non-HFSS foods, and that the goal is to nudge companies to reformulate recipes, not shut businesses down. 

Multinationals like PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Mondelez and Nestle also face this alongside a separate proposal for red warning labels on high fat, salt and sugar products.

Why it matters:
India is battling rising childhood obesity, and this rule would bring the country in line with places like Chile and Mexico, which already restrict junk food near schools. There is no confirmed date yet for when it comes into force, but the direction is set.

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