Punjab order banning energy-drink sales to minors and near schools (Apr 2025)

Punjab was the first Indian state to put a formal limit on where energy drinks can be sold. On 25 Apr 2025 the Commissioner of the state's Food and Drugs Administration, under the Department of Health and Family Welfare, ordered that energy drinks not be sold to minors, in school canteens or tuck shops, or by shops within 100 m of a school in rural areas and 50 m in urban areas. The order ran for one year.

The stated reasoning was health. The order pointed to the caffeine content of these drinks and to added stimulants such as guarana, taurine, ginseng and inositol, and noted that the products' own labels say they are not recommended for children. The Tribune reported the order number as Food (Pb)/2025/516; that has not been checked against the order text.

The order did not name any brand and did not stop adults buying energy drinks. Enforcement fell to district health officers, and follow-up reports from Ludhiana in 2025 found sales continuing near some schools. The order was renewed on the same terms on 21 Apr 2026, which is recorded on its own page.