CCPA imposes Rs 7 lakh penalty for misleading claims relating to UPSC civil services examination results
New Delhi, May 31
The Central Consumer Protection Authority has imposed a penalty of Rs 7 lakh on Vajiram and Ravi IAS Study Centre LLP for allegedly publishing misleading advertisements and concealing material information related to the success of candidates in the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, the final order was passed by the CCPA, headed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, after the authority found that the coaching institute had prominently advertised the achievements of successful UPSC CSE 2023 candidates without disclosing the specific courses undertaken by those candidates.
According to the press release, the institute had claimed on its official website that "8 Rank Holders in the Top 10 are from Vajiram & Ravi", "37 Rank Holders in the Top 50 are from Vajiram & Ravi", and that "more than 30 per cent of the officers selected through UPSC Civil Services Examination are students of Vajiram & Ravi" every year.
The CCPA's investigation reportedly found that seven of the eight top-10 rank holders and 29 of the 37 candidates in the top 50 had enrolled only in the institute's free Interview Guidance Programme (IGP).
The authority further noted that a large majority of successful candidates associated with the institute in recent years had participated only in the IGP. According to the findings cited in the press release, 86.36 per cent of successful candidates in 2021, 78.31 per cent in 2022, 97.56 per cent in 2023, and 71.69 per cent in 2024 had enrolled solely in the interview guidance programme.
The CCPA observed that the Interview Guidance Programme begins only after candidates independently clear the Preliminary and Mains stages of the UPSC examination. By featuring such candidates in advertisements for comprehensive coaching programmes without clarifying the nature of their enrolment, the institute allegedly created the impression that their success was attributable to its full-length coaching courses.
The authority held that the non-disclosure of important information regarding the courses opted for by successful candidates amounted to a misleading advertisement under Section 2(28)(iv) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and violated consumers' right to be informed under Section 2(9) of the Act, the release said.
The press release stated that the CCPA has so far issued more than 60 notices to coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices and has imposed penalties exceeding Rs 1.46 crore on coaching centres preparing students for examinations such as UPSC, IIT-JEE, NEET, RBI and other competitive tests.
— ANI
Reader Comments
This is a good step but not enough. Real issue is that students are pressured to join expensive programs when free/affordable options like online resources and library guidance work better. I passed prelims using just YouTube and NCERTs. Coaching is overrated and often dishonest.
As someone who took Vajiram & Ravi's IGP and got an interview call, I can say IGP is genuinely useful for mock interviews. But their advertising claims about "8 in top 10" are clearly deceptive. Students should cross-check before trusting any coaching claims. Typical marketing gimmick exposed.
Seriously, this is small fine. They made crores misleading lakhs of aspirants. Government should also regulate coaching ads—mandate full disclosure of which courses students took. In US, such false claims invite class action lawsuits. Here they just pay fine and continue business. 😐
In India, coaching centers prey on desperate students. Rs 7 lakh penalty = peanuts compared to their profits. Took me two attempts to clear UPSC, and I never spent a rupee on coaching—just self-study and YouTube. Focus on NCERTs and answer writing practice. These institutes are mostly marketing hype.
Good that action is taken against misleading ads. But honestly, every coaching does this—"our students topped" without clarifying they only took interview prep. The real problem is glorification of IAS/IPS creates this coaching industry. Many successful officers never attended any coaching. Use free resources wisely.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.