CBSE Tells Schools to Track Sugar Intake

In an unprecedented move, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked affiliated schools to install a “Sugar Board”, a public display where students track the added sugar content in their daily meals. It sounds deceptively simple, but it may well be India’s first institutional pushback against a health crisis it has long chosen to ignore.

Diabetes is a democratic epidemic, creeping into school tiffins and birthday parties, hidden in fruit juices marketed as “natural” and in snack packets that list sugar under five aliases. Over 101 million Indians now live with diabetes, the highest number in the world. What is more chilling is the speed at which the disease is catching children in its grip, thanks to processed foods, sedentary routines, and zero dietary literacy.

The CBSE circular calls for a hands-on approach: every school is to set up a display board that helps students identify and mark out the sugar levels in commonly consumed items. It is a low-tech intervention, but one that aims to cultivate a sensibility. The board doesn’t just carry data; it carries shame, pride, competition, curiosity, everything a classroom thrives on.

Nithin Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha and a prominent voice in public health, was quick to amplify the directive. “Such a simple and powerful idea,” he posted on X. Kamath has been vocal about India’s sugar spike, pointing to soaring soft drink sales and calling the country’s diabetic surge a ticking time bomb.

But sugar is more than a health hazard. It’s a social contract. The sweet bribe in a middle-class kitchen. The language of love between grandparents and children. The centrepiece of every celebration. To rewrite that is not just a dietary act, it’s a cultural break. And yet, the script is starting to falter. Food brands like The Whole Truth are built entirely around the promise of radical transparency—no refined sugar, no white lies. In Instagram reels and YouTube shorts, a new generation of influencers is changing the plot. Among these voices, Revant Himatsingka, better known as “Food Pharmer”, stands out for educating millions on reading food labels and making informed dietary choices. His viral videos have not just raised public awareness but also pressured major companies to reconsider their product formulations. Thanks to campaigns such as Himatsingka’s “Label Padhega India”, label-reading is replacing blind trust.

This isn’t the first time a school-based initiative has aimed at lifestyle change. A decade ago, it was yoga. But what sets the Sugar Board apart is its focus, not on pride or posture, but on the quiet danger lurking in everyday habits. By targeting children, arguably the most captive consumers in the processed food ecosystem, the CBSE directive is attempting to build a generation that is not just alert to the dangers of sugar, but also emotionally literate about the politics of food. In a country where Nestlé’s Maggi was banned and resurrected like a phoenix and where cola giants sponsor cricket, the act of asking a ten-year-old to count the grams of sugar in their fruit juice is quietly radical. Whether the board ends up as a scolding wall of shame or a genuine tool for change depends on the follow-through. But the symbolism is unmistakable: a new kind of lesson is being taught. Not just algebra and civics—but how to survive in a country where what you eat could matter more than what you know.

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