Source: The post Impact of GST 2.0 on health has been created, based on the article “GST 2.0 could undermine dietary health” published in “The Hindu” on 9 September 2025. Impact of GST 2.0 on health.
UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper- 3- Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.
Context: The Government of India will simplify the GST structure from September 22, 2025, to rates of 5%, 18%, and a 40% bracket for “sinful” and ultra-luxury goods. While aimed at tax rationalization and efficiency, this raises public health concerns over its potential impact on dietary habits and non-communicable diseases.
Impact of GST 2.0 on Public Health:
- The reduction of GST on sugar-based products such as chocolates, confectionery, jams, and fruit jellies from 12–18% to 5% lowers their market price, increasing affordability and consumption.
- This undermines efforts to tackle rising cases of obesity, diabetes, and other NCDs.
- Moreover, India lacks a comprehensive front-of-pack labelling (FOPL) system and clear regulatory thresholds for warning labels.
- As a result, consumers are unable to effectively distinguish between healthy and unhealthy products, further promoting poor dietary choices.
Role of Food Advertising:
- Current regulations are insufficient to restrict misleading advertising, particularly to children.
- Unlike countries such as Chile, which ban the advertisement of “high-in” sugar/salt/fat products to children, India has no uniform policy to regulate such practices across TV, print, or digital media.
- This contributes to unhealthy dietary patterns, especially among adolescents.
Policy Measures:
- Implement mandatory FOPL warnings based on WHO-SEARO and ICMR-NIN 2024 thresholds.
- Apply differential GST rates—18% on “high-in” unhealthy products and 5% on healthy alternatives.
- Ban advertising of “high-in” products during peak child-viewing hours.
- Allocate tax revenues for NCD prevention, labelling enforcement, and food reformulation.
- Discuss how the proposed GST 2.0 regime in India could affect public health, especially in relation to dietary habits. Also, suggest appropriate policy measures.
