Infant care group seeks action against healthcare firm for violating IMS Act

A leading infant care advocacy group has written to the Union health secretary to initiate urgent action against a global healthcare company for violating the Infant Milk Substitutes (IMS) Act, which prohibits baby food manufacturers from sponsoring doctors' meetings.

- KAVITA BAJELI-DATT @ New Delhi

The Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), a national network of organisations and individuals that promotes mother and child health, on Thursday also wrote to chief secretaries of five state governments — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra — to investigate the violation by the company and take immediate steps to alert paediatricians in these states to stay away from this "illegal activity."