Baby Products That Cannot Be Advertised in India

15 hours ago

5 min read

The short version. In India it is illegal to advertise infant formula, infant food for babies under two, and feeding bottles. Not discouraged — illegal, since 1992, with prison time attached. Most parents have never been told this, which is exactly why the shelf and the group chat end up doing the work an advertisement is not allowed to do.

The law, and what it covers

The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992 — the IMS Act — applies across India and was strengthened by amendment in 2003.

Covered	Not covered
Infant formula and infant milk substitutes	Nappies and wipes
Follow-up and follow-on formula	Soaps, washes, lotions, shampoos, oils
Infant and complementary foods for under-2s	Prams, cots, walkers, car seats
Feeding bottles and teats	Toys, clothes, toothpaste
Foods for special medical purposes for infants	Nearly everything else in the baby aisle

The age line is two years. The restriction covers any food marketed or represented as a partial or total replacement for breast milk for infants up to two years old.

Which means the loudest marketing in the baby aisle sits entirely in the categories where nobody is restricting it. That is not a coincidence, it is the shape the law pushes spending into.

What Section 3 actually prohibits

Three things, and the second is the interesting one:

Advertising — or taking part in publishing an advertisement — for the distribution, sale or supply of infant milk substitutes, feeding bottles or infant foods.
Creating the impression that these products are equal to or better than mother's milk. So a claim like "closest to breast milk" is a problem even where the word "advertisement" is arguable.
Promotion of any of those products, which is wider than advertising and is what catches free samples, gifts and discounts.

The penalties

Contravening Section 3 carries imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to ₹5,000, or both. Offences are cognizable and bailable, and company directors and managers can be prosecuted personally.

A note on how certain we are. We could not open the bare text of the Act — the official India Code copy refuses automated requests and the widely circulated compliance deck is a set of scanned images. The figures above come from two independent legal summaries that agree with each other. If you need the exact wording for anything that matters, read the Act itself on India Code rather than trusting this page.

What changed on 29 September 2026

Maharashtra's Commissioner of Food Safety, Tukaram Mundhe, issued a compliance order under Section 30 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, with immediate effect. It pulls FSS Act and IMS Act enforcement into one document and names who is on the hook.

What the order does	Detail
Names e-commerce explicitly	Applies to manufacturers, brand owners, importers, repackers, distributors, retailers, pharmacies, hospital suppliers and e-commerce platforms
Catches modern promotion	Free samples, gifts, coupons, cashback, discount campaigns, influencer promotions and cross-promotions — on marketplaces, social media and messaging apps
Mandates a package notice	"Mother's Milk Is Best For Your Baby", displayed prominently
Bans certain words	'humanised', 'maternalised', 'complete food', 'health food'
Bans certain pictures	No images of infants or women on the packaging
Raises the stakes	Reported fines of up to ₹10 lakh under the FSS Act, alongside IMS Act prosecution

The influencer clause is the part that changes daily life. A paid reel about a formula tin, or a discount code for a feeding bottle, is squarely what the order describes — and those are posted every day.

What this means when you are actually shopping

You are making one of the more consequential decisions of the first year with the advertising deliberately switched off. So the information arrives through other doors, and it is worth knowing which.

A promotion you can see may be one that should not exist. A discount code or a sponsored post for formula or a feeding bottle is not a bargain you found. It is a sign somebody is ignoring the rule, and it tells you nothing about whether the product suits your baby.
Shelf talk fills the gap. With no ads, the pharmacy counter and the relative with an opinion become the loudest voices in the room. Neither has read your baby's notes.
A health worker's advice is the intended route. The labelling rules require the pack to say the product should be used only on the advice of a health worker. That is the channel the law left open on purpose.
None of this means formula is bad. The law restricts how it is sold, not whether you may use it. Plenty of babies need it, for plenty of good reasons, and no part of this page is an argument against that.

Questions parents ask

Is it illegal to advertise baby formula in India?

Yes. Section 3 of the IMS Act 1992 prohibits advertising infant milk substitutes, infant foods and feeding bottles, with imprisonment of up to three years attached.

Are feeding bottles really covered by the ban?

Yes, feeding bottles and teats are named in the Act alongside formula. This surprises most people, including some sellers.

Can influencers promote baby formula in India?

No. Maharashtra's order of 29 September 2026 names influencer promotions and cross-promotions on social media and messaging apps specifically, and the IMS Act's promotion clause is broad enough to cover them anyway.

Does the ban cover diapers and baby soap?

No. Nappies, wipes, soaps, lotions, prams and toys can all be advertised freely. The restriction is narrow and covers feeding — formula, infant food up to two years, bottles and teats.

What age does the restriction apply to?

Up to two years, for any food marketed as a partial or total replacement for breast milk. Which is why first foods at six months sit inside the restricted window.

Who enforces this?

Food safety officers and designated officers under the state food safety commissioner. Maharashtra's September 2026 order exists largely to set out how they will do it.

Is this page legal advice?

No. It is a plain-language summary with its sources listed, written for parents rather than for compliance teams. For anything consequential, read the Act on India Code or ask a lawyer.