CCPA imposes Rs 7 lakh penalty on Vajiram and Ravi IAS Study Centre over misleading ads
New Delhi, May 30
The Central Consumer Protection Authority on Saturday said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 7,00,000 on Vajiram and Ravi IAS Study Centre for indulging in misleading advertisement through deliberate concealment of material information.
The CCPA, headed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare, and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, passed the order after observing that the coaching institute made tall claims and prominently used the names, photographs, and achievements of successful candidates of the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2023, while concealing important information regarding the specific courses opted for by such candidates.
The decision, said the CCPA, was taken to protect and promote the rights of consumers as a class and to ensure that no false or misleading advertisement is made in respect of any goods or services in contravention of the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The consumer agency noted that the Interview Guidance Programme (IGP) is a programme that commences only after a candidate has independently cleared both the Preliminary and Mains stages of the UPSC CSE -- two highly rigorous competitive stages at which the institute had no academic contribution.
By prominently featuring such candidates alongside advertisements for comprehensive paid coaching programmes, without any disclosure of the specific course opted for, the institute created a misleading impression that these candidates were products of its full-length coaching programmes, said the CCPA in a statement.
So far, the CCPA has issued more than 60 notices to coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices in order to safeguard the interests of students and to ensure transparency in the coaching sector.
The CCPA has imposed penalties amounting to over Rs 1.46 crore on coaching institutes offering coaching for examinations such as UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE), IIT-JEE, NEET, RBI, and other competitive examinations.
The CCPA observed that non-disclosure of the specific courses opted for by successful candidates including whether such candidates attended full-length classroom programmes, optional subject coaching, test series, or a free interview guidance programme of short duration amounts to misleading advertisement under the Act, as it deprives prospective consumers of the ability to make an informed choice.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Honestly, the whole coaching industry in Delhi needs a massive overhaul. They spend crores on flashy ads showing toppers but never mention that most of those students used just their interview guidance or test series. Transparency is long overdue.
7 lakh penalty is peanuts for Vajiram and Ravi yaar. They earn crores every year from aspirants. Should be at least 50 lakhs to set a real example. But at least it's a start. 👍
As someone who spent 2 years at various coaching institutes in Delhi, I can tell you this is just the tip of the iceberg. They all do this. The real hard work is done by students waking up at 4 AM on their own. Coaching just gives a false sense of security.
It's interesting to see consumer protection laws actually being enforced here. In North America, this kind of deceptive advertising would lead to much larger fines and possibly class-action lawsuits. India is making progress though.
Vajiram is one of the most reputed names in UPSC coaching, so this is shocking but also necessary. They should disclose exactly which courses toppers took. Most of them just took the free interview guidance after clearing prelims and mains on their own. Deceptive indeed.
M Michael C Just 7 We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.