New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Sunday imposed a penalty of Rs 3 lakh for misleading advertisements on Sriram’s IAS, regarding the result of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Service Exam 2022.
The penalty by CCPA, headed by Chief Commissioner, Nidhi Khare, and Commissioner, Anupam Mishra, was for claiming “200 plus selections in UPSC Civil Service Exam 2022” and “India’s No.1 prestigious UPSC/IAS coaching institute”.
“The decision was taken to protect and promote the rights of consumers as a class and ensure that no false or misleading advertisement is made of any goods or services which contravenes the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019,” said CCPA.
The CCPA informed that to influence prospective aspirants (consumers), coaching Institutes and online edtech platforms often use pictures and names of the same successful candidates. They do this without disclosing the courses opted for by such candidates and the duration attended.
“An advertisement shall contain a truthful and honest representation of facts by disclosing important information in such a manner that they are clear, prominent, and extremely hard to miss for consumers,” said Nidhi Khare, Chief Commissioner of CCPA.
She also highlighted the importance of consumer rights and the obligation of advertisers to provide accurate information to consumers.
The CCPA found out that Sriram’s IAS advertised various types of courses but the information concerning the course opted for by the advertised successful candidates in the 2022 UPSC Civil Service exams results was deliberately concealed in the advertisement.
This led the consumers to falsely believe that all the successful candidates claimed by the Institute had opted for the paid courses advertised by the Institute on its website.
While Sriram’s IAS claimed 200 plus selections in UPSC CSE 2022, it submitted the details of only 171 successful candidates.
Of these, 102 candidates were from the free interview guidance programme (IGP), 55 were from the free test series, 9 were from the GS classroom course and 5 candidates were from different States under the MoU signed between the state government and the Institute to provide free coaching.
This fact was also not disclosed in their advertisement, thereby deceiving consumers, the CCPA said.
Further, the order noted that the majority of candidates had already cleared the Preliminary and Mains examination by themselves, with no contribution from Sriram’s IAS.
The advertisement misled the new potential UPSC aspirants that Sriram’s IAS had offered guidance to only such successful candidates who had already cleared the Preliminary and Mains examinations of the UPSC examination.
“Thus, the advertisement has violated the consumer’s right to be informed so as to protect himself against unfair trade practice,” the CCPA said.
–IANS
rvt/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
