Snack-loving Indians have forever turned to chips and biscuits to satiate their hunger pangs. Infact, chai with chakna is an integral ritual of every household and office across the country, with even Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pitch of Chai pe Charcha turning out to be a very successful campaign.

However, on June 28, an official order by the Health Minister Harsh Vardhan surfaced on the Internet, stating that biscuits though baked, are not the best options for the stomach, digestion and an overall attempt to stay healthy. Further, the order issues the inclusion of more healthy snacks in government offices, with a list including dried chana, khajoor (dates), badam (almonds) and akhrot (walnuts).

Reacting to the order, Dr. Pallavi Darade, FDA Commissioner feels that it is certainly a good move. She says, “The Health Ministry has chosen to lead by example, and that’s the attitude it should have.” She also feels that everyone needs to start paying attention to what they’re consuming, as lifestyle diseases are on the rise in the country. “One sees the Indian population rapidly succumbing to diseases like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, and all these are, to a large extent, linked to what we are eating. So it’s great that the Health Ministry is creating awareness about eating healthy,” adds Pallavi.

Manjunath Singe, DCP Mumbai Police, PRO, feels that this move should be emulated across all offices. “A healthy diet is always good, not just for the police department but for everybody. Even during our physical training, we get our people to eat healthily. A healthy diet has been championed in the police department for a long time. When Mr. Pravin Dixit was the Director General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra, he had tied up with a couple of nutritionists to come up with a diet for policemen. Even recently, Commissioner of Mumbai Police had also organised a program with all senior officers on how diet is important. A healthy diet has been our focus area for a long time,” he says.

While most agree that gorging on greasy, high-calorie and not-so-healthy snacks like samosas, mirchi bhaji and butter cookies is the more enjoyable way out, replacing them with healthy alternatives has its own benefits. But Raju Shetty, Member of Parliament believes that the benefits of enforcing this rule will be much greater. He says, “We welcome the move. But I think then these snacks manufacturers should be given some subsidy or some other benefits. There isn’t any announcement of that sort. I think if they make it mandatory to all the party offices then this is even better. I am personally health conscious and this is a good move because this will help the farmers as well.”

Anil Patankar, the Chairman of Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) however feels that while the move is positive, it may stretch the departments’ budget. “It seems to be a good idea but this will affect monetarily. For that matter, BEST doesn’t have that much budget to spend on snacks. We are groundnut people and don’t eat cashews and almonds. I agree that it is a healthy option but BEST can’t afford it. As of now, we serve fruits and groundnuts in our meetings and if the meeting stretches, then we serve vegetarian food because that is budget friendly.”