‘How to get parents to care...’: Zerodha's Nithin Kamath raises key point on CBSE's move to cut sugar intake among kids

Online brokerage platform Zerodha's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nithin Kamath, in a social media post on LinkedIn, praised the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for taking a step to monitor and reduce the sugar intake of school children.

“CBSE tells schools to establish Sugar Boards to monitor and reduce sugar. This is a step in the right direction,” said Nithin Kamath in his post, thanking former McKinsey consultant Revant Himatsingka for sharing the development with him. 

Nithin Kamath also focused on how the education board needs to figure out how to convince parents to “care” about their children's sugar consumption levels. Sodas, coffee, tea, malted drinks, and chocolates are all sources of sugar for children, he said.

“Now to figure out how to get parents to care about it. How to reduce sodas, coffee/tea (majority of it is mostly sugar), malted drinks, chocolates (again mostly sugar), sweets, etc,” said the Zerodha chief.

CBSE to cut sugar intake of students

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) formed a statutory body to ensure the protection of children's rights, especially those of the vulnerable and marginalised.

The Director of Academics, Praggya M. Singh, in an official letter to all the heads of the schools affiliated under the CBSE program, directed them to establish “Sugar Boards” in their schools to monitor and reduce sugar intake among children.

“Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in Type 2 diabetes among children, a condition once primarily seen in adults. This alarming trend is largely attributed to high sugar intake, often due to the easy availability of sugary snacks, beverages, and processed foods within school environments,” according to the letter.

This rise in sugar intake risks the chances of diabetes as well as contributes to obesity, dental problems, and other metabolic disorders, ultimately impacting children's long-term health and academic performance. 

Singh, in her letter, also highlighted that studies show sugar makes up for 13 per cent of the daily calorie intake of a child with age between 4 to 10 years, and 15 per cent for 11 to 18 years, this exceeds the recommended limit of 5 per cent.

“These boards should provide essential information, including the recommended daily sugar intake, the sugar content in commonly consumed foods (unhealthy meals such as junk food, cold drinks, etc.). health risks associated with high sugar consumption, and healthier dietary alternatives,” said the release, aiming to educate students about making informed food choices.

The Director of Academics also ordered the schools to carry out seminars and workshops, and submit a report for the same on or before July 15, 2025, according to the letter shared in the social media post. 

ICRA data shows that India's domestic sugar consumption was at 28 million MT, used in multiple sectors, including factory production, individual consumption, or even as a raw material for finished goods. The nation also exported 1 million MT as of early 2025, according to the data collected from the research and ratings agency.