CCPA slaps Rs 3 lakh fine on Sriram’s IAS for 'India's No. 1' ad
The IAS coaching institute was probed by CCPA over its claims of having achieved '200+ selections in the UPSC Civil Service Exams 2022' and being 'India’s No.1 Prestigious UPSC/IAS Coaching Institute'
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh on Sriram’s IAS for making misleading and exaggerated claims in its ads, according to news reports.
The penalty was slapped as part of CCPA's efforts under provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to safeguard consumers from ads that mislead.
The IAS coaching institute was probed by CCPA led by CCPA's Chief Commissioner Khare and Commissioner Shri Anupam Mishra over its claims of having achieved “200+ selections in the UPSC Civil Service Exams 2022” and being “India’s No.1 Prestigious UPSC/IAS Coaching Institute.”
In its response, Sriram's IAS submitted details of only 171 candidates as opposed to its claims of more than 200 successful students. Additionally, a majority of the candidates had already cleared their preliminary and main rounds without any help from Sriram’s IAS.
While Sriram’s IAS advertised various types of courses, the info on those chosen by the successful candidates was concealed, according to the reports quoting CCPA.
So the courses opted by the successful candidates were not the ones that were advertised. CCPA also challenged the institute’s claims that they were “No. 1” since there was no empirical way to establish that.
