CCPA fines IAS Sriram Rs 3 lakh for misleading claims about UPSC exam | Mint

New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued a notification under the Consumer Protection Act, 1955… Coaching institute Shriram IAS has been fined ₹3 lakh for making misleading claims about the results of the UPSC Civil Services Exam 2022.

This action by the CCPA has been taken following complaints that the coaching institute’s advertisements showed higher success rates than what was the actual case.

Coaching institutes often make exaggerated claims about the success rates of their students, and even include candidates who have neither taken any paid classes nor availed any other paid facilities of the coaching institute.

Some coaching institutes adopt such strategies to attract more and more students.

Mint The issue was reported on in November 2023, highlighting the anomalies and the resulting investigation by consumer protection authorities.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs said in a statement, “During the investigation, it was found that Shriram’s IAS advertised various courses but deliberately concealed information about the specific courses taken by the successful candidates for the CSE 2022 results. This misled consumers by making them believe that all the successful candidates had accessed the paid courses advertised by the institute on its website.”

The ministry said, “Shriram IAS advertised ‘over 200 selections in UPSC Civil Services Examination 2022’ and claimed to be “India’s No. 1 reputed UPSC/IAS coaching institute”.”

However, the institute gave details of only 171 successful candidates. Of these, 102 candidates were from the free interview guidance programme (IGP), 55 from free test series, nine from general studies classroom course and five from free coaching under the state government scheme.

The ministry said this was not disclosed in the advertisement, causing confusion among consumers.

According to the statement, CCPA Chief Commissioner and Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare stressed that advertisements should be truthful and clearly display all important information to consumers.

The answers to the questions sent by email to Shriram’s IAS could not be received till the time of writing the news.

Section 2(28)(iv) of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA 2019) addresses misleading advertisements that hide crucial information. Knowing which course the successful candidates have pursued helps consumers decide which coaching institute they should choose.

Coaching institutes will no longer be allowed to use photographs or testimonials of toppers or successful candidates of India’s civil services exams to attract prospective students for Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) coaching, Mint had reported earlier in November 2023.

According to Mint report, CCPA has asked all IAS coaching centres to stop using false testimonials or fake reviews of successful students to boost their coaching business.

The ministry is also preparing detailed guidelines to curb misleading advertisements, which are expected to be released soon. The overall coaching industry is worth Rs 3,000 crore, up from Rs 1,000 crore in 2015-16. Delhi is considered as the hub for coaching for UPSC civil services exams at a cost of Rs 58,088 crore.

The draft rules prohibit coaching centres from making false claims, such as guaranteeing 100% selection in examinations conducted by the UPSC, and from selectively reporting exceptional cases to create a false impression of success.