Dr. Arun Gupta MD FIAP
Pediatrician | Public Health Advocate | Author
Dr. Arun Gupta is a pediatrician and public health advocate whose work has shaped breastfeeding protection in India for nearly four decades.
He began his career as a clinician in Jalandhar, Punjab, where he witnessed the devastating effects of unsafe formula feeding on infants. Those experiences led him to leave a flourishing private practice in the 1990s and dedicate his life to public health advocacy.
In 1991, he founded the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) , which was gazetted by the Government of India in 1995 as an official monitor of the Infant Milk Substitutes (IMS) Act. In 1994, he filed a criminal complaint against Nestlé under the IMS Act — a case that spanned twenty years, involved over 100 court appearances across eight judges, and became one of India's longest unfinished public health prosecutions. The case did not end in a completed trial, but it strengthened the law and brought sustained public attention to the commercial determinants of infant health.
Dr. Gupta also led the campaign for the 2003 amendment to the IMS Act, which closed loopholes exploited by baby food companies and made India's law one of the strongest in the world. He successfully led the campaign to save the IMS Act from being repealed in 2005. He served as a member of the Prime Minister's Council on India's Nutrition Challenges from 2010 to 2015.
He is the conceptualiser of the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) , now implemented in over 100 countries, and convenor of Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPI) , which works on ultra-processed food, marketing, and food labelling. He is active in the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) , recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (1998), and has advised governments and UN agencies across Asia. His detailed bio is here
Book
Nestlé Charged Never Tried
A narrative nonfiction account of one of India's longest unfinished public health prosecutions — a twenty-year legal battle that reveals how corporate power outlasts justice not through victory, but through delay, procedural exhaustion, and the quiet disappearance of evidence.
Forthcoming.
Key Credentials
Founder- Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), 1991
Authorised Complainant- Nestlé litigation under the IMS Act, 1994–2014
Campaign Leader- 2003 Amendment to the IMS Act, Saving the IMS Act
Former Member- Prime Minister's Council on India's Nutrition Challenges, 2010–2015
Creator- World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi), now in 100+ countries
Convenor- Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPI)
Fellow- Indian Academy of Pediatrics (FIAP), 2001
Award- WABA International Award for protecting the International Code, 1996
Recipient (via IBFAN)- Right Livelihood Award, 1998
Media and Writing
Dr. Gupta writes extensively on food and nutrition policy, conflicts of interest, and the commercial determinants of health. His work has appeared in:
- The Times of India
- The Sunday Guardian
- The Print
- Economic and Political Weekly
- Scroll
- Frontline
- Economic Times
- Telegraph
- The Hindu
He is available for interviews, speaking engagements, and policy consultations.
Contact
For media, speaking, or publishing enquiries:
Email: arun.ibfan@gmail.com
Mobile: +91-9899676306