Economic Survey 2025 Suggests ‘Health Tax’ and Stricter Regulations on UPFs

The Economic Survey 2025 is encouraging a ‘health tax’ on ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Soft drinks, packaged snacks, and sweetened cereals are some items under the UPF category. So, increased tax will help the regulatory body control its consumption easily. This is because access intake of such items can cause various health issues like obesity, heart disease, and mental health disorders.

If we talk about the survey, they found that spending on UPFs has significantly increased from $900 million in 2006 to $37.9 billion in 2019.

So we can notice an obvious concern here, which was supposed to be addressed someday. For this, surveys suggest FSSAI come up with defined standards for UPFs. Stricter labelling and extra monitoring practices should be mandatory. Despite all these regulations, they are also proposing a higher GST on such items, which is the actual weapon from their side.

This is not it, because they are going to come up with specific awareness campaigns in various institutes. They are trying to eliminate UPFs from schools, hospitals, and public spaces.

If we look at Brazil, Canada, and the UK, their strategies have proven to be successful in controlling UPF consumption. Meanwhile, Denmark introduced a higher tax on saturated fats in 2011 and Mexico added extra charges on sugary drinks and junk food.

Overall, this survey brings clarity over nationwide food consumption that will help regulatory bodies to make refined guidelines over what they want to control.