Clean Label Brands Vs FSSAI, PhonePe Eyes 2027 IPO & More

India’s clean-label boom is facing its toughest test yet. FSSAI’s recent crackdown on health and purity claims is threatening the marketing language that helped many D2C brands grow. Can “healthy” food startups survive when every claim must stand up to evidence? The Label Under Fire:FSSAI’s recent notices to 20 legacy and D2C brands has brought claims such as “100% natural” and “healthy” under scrutiny. Brands built on “ingredient transparency” were caught using date powders and fructose while advertising zero added sugar. Rather than challenging the FSSAI’s notices, several brands quietly opted to scrub these absolute claims and overhauled their packaging. But the situation took a sharp turn after the SC began questioning what a front-of-pack warning label should look like. SC Weighs In:The apex court accepted FSSAI’s proposed red hexagon warning for packaged foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fat. At the same time, it also sought more clarity on scientific thresholds, label size and possible confusion with existing food markers. The next hearing in the matter could establish a clearer path for how health warnings must appear, potentially reshaping packaging and product listings across India’s food market. Trust Needs Proof:Experts believe that the crackdown can potentially create a better opportunity for brands to demonstrate better ingredients, transparent formulations and verifiable nutritional claims. However, it will raise the cost of entering the category and will require the brands to rethink product formulations. So, will new-age food brands adapt or will this regulatory reckoning shatter consumer trust in “clean-label” promises?Let’s find out… As AI chips grow more powerful, heat and material limitations are threatening to slow the semiconductor progress. Discovered Materials is tackling this bottleneck with AI agents that can search, simulate and validate new materials for advanced chips. Materials Science Meets AI:Founded in 2026, Discovered Materials uses AI agents to accelerate the discovery of new materials for semiconductors. Its AI agents generate candidate structures and estimate properties and distinguish theoretically-attractive candidates from materials that can ultimately be manufactured and deployed. Beyond Discovery:The startup claims to have so far generated more than 500 previously unknown materials, which it claims are computationally stable. However, only a small number may have plausible synthesis routes. To address this, Discovered Materials is building experimental and verification capabilities that connect candidate generation to synthesis and lab validation. The IP Ambition:The US-based startup’s long-term ambition is to become a materials and intellectual-property company, potentially licensing discoveries to semiconductor and chemical companies. It also plans to focus on expanding its laboratory infrastructure and computational capabilities. With India’s semiconductor market projected to become a $155 Bn op