Lowering GST on fitness: Democratising access for women, youth, and Tier II/III India

When yoga was first “officially” introduced to the UN as a global movement, it was seen as India’s preventive health gift to the world. June 21 is now celebrated as International Yoga Day worldwide. Then why is it that closer home, in the land that is the birthplace of yoga, the reality is starkly different?

India spends more time “treating” preventable lifestyle diseases than actually “preventing” them. Today, we are fighting a large non-communicable disease (NCDs) wave, with preventable lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases accounting for nearly ~63% of deaths in the country. In fact, we are frequently labelled as the diabetes and hypertension capital of the world.

The solution to these “preventable lifestyle diseases” is straightforward—regular physical activity, where movement becomes medicine. However, nearly one in two Indian adults doesn’t meet WHO activity norms despite being the youngest nation in the world. India also carries the world’s fastest-growing obesity burden, and this silent epidemic of inactivity is already straining our healthcare system, costing us close to ~Rs 2.4 lakh crore (2019). It is projected to reach Rs 69.6 lakh crore by 2060 (~2.5% of GDP), according to the Global Obesity Observatory. What we often miss is that all of this can be prevented if we act fast by investing in India’s health and motivating the population to exercise, eat well and stay fit.

“Fitness” in India is usually seen as a mere recreation or a luxury. It has also been a cultural sensitivity issue. In the pre-90s, fitness was dominated by men in Akhadas, yogis doing yoga, and the elderly taking their daily morning walks. For most of rural India and its women, “fitness” simply meant undertaking the everyday physical labour. There was no real concentration on adequate exercise or nutrition. Fitness, then, came to be considered a status symbol. Gym culture was earmarked as the niche domain of the rich—a sign of luxury and indulgence of the elite few. And gyms charged fees to reflect the same, because they had a reputation to match.  

The 2000s were truly responsible for bringing fitness to the mainstream via the most unusual vehicle of all—Bollywood. The growing urban India wanted to ‘look’ like what they saw on the big screen, and this stood true for men and women alike. This saw the Indian male go to the gym, and the start of the fitness freak culture. However, the word “gym” began having negative connotations, where, for most, gym = dark, smelly places with men grunting.

Due to this, Indian women faced the holy trinity of all barriers: social stigma, safety, and cost. If she was still determined to pursue fitness, she had to overcome the challenges of gaining family approval and be satisfied with limited access to women-only hours in aerobics and dance classes. They would often seek refuge in yoga studios that provided discreet entry points, shielding their ambitions from public scrutiny and recognition.

Herein, in these greatest challenges, however, also lie the greatest opportunities.

Firstly, viewing fitness as a luxury meant it was taxed accordingly—grouped with cars and luxury watches. Gym memberships also still penetrate less than 1% of India’s population. This reinforced the notion that fitness was a ‘good-to-have,’ not a ‘must-have.’ However, with nearly half of its adults insufficiently active, it is an idea that India could no longer afford to hold on to. The country faced a harsh awakening: declining productivity and future earnings at risk. Breaking down barriers to fitness quickly emerged as the most urgent and effective strategy to protect and accelerate the nation’s economic and social progress.

Which is why, in 2018, we worked with the government to make fitness not only inclusive but accessible and affordable via structural reforms, and brought down the GST from 28% to 18%. Subsequently, including fitness services under health insurance coverage was another progressive move, especially when insurance penetration is increasing in Tier II and Tier III cities.

Even our Honourable PM has called on the nation to act against obesity and a sedentary lifestyle from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Introducing movements like Fit India, Khelo India, Eat Right India, amongst other anti-obesity efforts, is a step in the right direction towards empowering India to be active and more mindful of its eating habits. In fact, this national intent is already being serviced by the fitness industry via memberships, nutrition counselling, and sports coaching, amongst others. 

The recent GST reform (from 18% to 5% without input transfer credit) further marked a transformational milestone for India’s fitness services industry. It paves the way toward universal access to fitness and wellness, formally acknowledging the sector’s vital role in nation-building as essential and preventive healthcare, and unlocking its immense power to drive India’s economic and social progress. A more active India could add Rs 15 lakh crore to GDP annually by 2047 and avert ~110 million NCD cases—massive returns for modest tax relief, according to Dalberg.

For countless women and fitness enthusiasts in Tier II and III cities, it marks a crucial gateway to a healthier, more empowered life. It is they who often delay their healthcare for family priorities, and are the most disproportionately affected by lifestyle diseases at large. But this reform goes beyond mere tax savings to offer women a fighting chance at the same opportunities enjoyed by their metropolitan peers. For the youth in these regions, the impact extends far beyond physical wellbeing: it fuels self-confidence, enhances employability, and elevates social standing by empowering them to embrace and sustain fitness.

This move may appear humble, but it is nothing short of a quantum leap. We have come a long way from the mindset of charging 28% GST on gyms because they have AC and are a luxury, to coming down to 5% GST. But, as they say, “picture abhi baaki hai.”

In the fitness industry, most expenses—such as gym equipment and supplies—are still taxed at 18% GST without the ability to claim ITC on these expenses. Due to this, the intended price reduction may not fully reach the public, and the intention to encourage them to join fitness programmes might not be fully realised.

The complete solution lies in truly creating a policy that is pro-health, pro-youth, pro-MSME—and to measurably reduce India’s NCD burden—we need to align fitness with preventive health and wellness-oriented services, placing them alongside AYUSH and rehabilitation. This will ensure true affordability, parity, and long-term sustainability for preventive healthcare in India.

To set the stage for a healthier country with an actively bright future, we need to embrace fitness as India’s most scalable and cost-effective, preventive medicine for all its women and men, young and adult, Tier I, II and III alike. It needs to be seen as the core pillar to battle preventable lifestyle diseases, and the adoption and recognition of its role as a universal right is the only way.

Until then, for the world’s youngest population that aspires to be an economic superpower in its lifetime, bolstered by strength and vitality, it is imperative to start their unique fitness journey at their own convenience and however they decide—be it at home, gyms or fitness centres, or via nutrition planning. It doesn’t matter how; just start, as long as it all comes together.

(Akshay Verma is Co-founder of FITPASS, a fitness and wellness solutions company.)