Deepinder Goyal wants to hire only supremely fit people for a new startup. Is this even allowed legally?

The call for engineers for Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal’s long-lived venture Temple came with a caveat: they need to be extremely fit. Advocates say the regulations do not prevent an employment contract from adding a health criterion to the job profile, as long as the criteria are clearly defined and there is no discrimination on the basis of gender, religion or race.

Goyal, founder of Eternal Ltd (formerly Zomato), announced on Friday that his new company will hire engineers and computational neuroscientists for analog systems, electronics design, deep learning and machine learning model development for physiological measurements. The initiative, launched in 2025, aims to discover ways to improve human health and understand the biological processes of aging.

In his social media post, Goyal said that the team “was founded for people who push their bodies to the extreme. We don’t just want to serve them, we want to be those people. So only people who take fitness seriously and have <16% (men) and 26% (women) body fat should apply. If you're not there yet but are committed to getting there within three months, you can apply too; but you'll be on probation until you get there."

this low athletes have body fat levels.

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“Indian contract law does not expressly prohibit employers from setting health-related criteria for a role. Since the parameter is presented in relation to the job (as the post puts it, “people who will wear what they do”), it could be argued that it is defensible in principle,” said Aditi Verma Thakur, managing partner at commercial, employment and data law consultancy Aishani Partners.

But Thakur said the requirement to achieve lower body fat levels within three months showed that it was “an open-ended probation and approval was conditional on achieving a physical outcome.” “Probation in India is generally expected to be time-bound and reasonable, and for certain categories of employees (where standing orders/job protections apply), the indefinite probation structure may be vulnerable to challenges.”

BMI-related hiring is common

Some sectors have a body mass index (BMI), which estimates body fat as a recruitment parameter.

“There are industries where we can establish a clear correlation between the job profile and the need for certain physical and physiological skills, as we have seen in aviation, hospitality, armed forces etc,” said Gerald Manoharan, corporate partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors. “But the correlation cannot be arbitrary because the policy is that employment must be fair with equal opportunities for all.”

Ebedi (on behalf of Deepinder Goyal) did not respond mint questions.

Over the past few years, especially since the pandemic, India Inc has focused more on the health of its employees. Last In September, Mint reported that auditing and consulting firm Deloitte notified the first 1,000 people that those who did not complete their annual health exam would have to pay a hefty penalty: ₹1 lakh for partners and ₹50,000 for executive directors.

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Companies have introduced mandatory annual health checks, access to hospitals and therapists, insurance policies that include partners, and even gender surgeries. in 2024 Mint He had reported how Aditya Birla Health Insurance decided to combine employee health goals with performance metrics. This means reviews will take into account weight management, improved sleep patterns, or healthier eating habits.

Legal implications

Khaitan & Co. “There is no legal embargo against an employer who sets certain criteria, including certain physical standards, while hiring for a post,” said Anshul Prakash, associate employment, labor and benefits.

“Legal consequences can arise only if any circumstances create a perceived discriminatory scenario. For example, only people of a certain race or religion, etc. may apply,” Prakash said. He noted that he sees companies “taking the health of their employees more seriously and seeking to have more annual check-ups even when they are not working in hazardous conditions.”

Temple was designed as an early-stage platform that could bring together scientists, researchers, and technologists working on aging-related challenges. In February, Goyal stepped down as group chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director of Eternal to focus on scaling Temple.

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The startup raised $54 million from “friends and family” in its first round, with a post-money valuation of around $190 million, Goyal said in his LinkedIn post.

“Every investor in this round is a fellow founder or early-stage Zomato investor who wants to participate, whether Temple launches or not,” he wrote. “We are building a dream team to create the ultimate wearable for elite performance athletes.”