CCPA imposes Rs 7 lakh penalty on Vajiram and Ravi over misleading UPSC success claims

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 7 lakh on Vajiram and Ravi IAS Study Centre LLP for publishing misleading advertisements about UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) results. The institute also did not clearly share important details about the courses taken by successful candidates.

The order was issued under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The CCPA found that the coaching institute highlighted the success of UPSC CSE 2023 toppers but did not clearly mention that many of them had only joined its free Interview Guidance Programme (IGP).

According to a PIB statement, the institute’s advertisements showed the names, photos, and ranks of successful candidates. This gave the impression that these students had completed the institute’s full coaching programmes.

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CCPA flags misleading UPSC claims

After the UPSC CSE 2023 results were announced, the CCPA reviewed the institute’s claims and found the following.

The authority also checked the institute’s success claims from previous years and found that many of the candidates shown in its advertisements had only joined the Interview Guidance Programme.

The CCPA said that this information was not mentioned on the institute’s official website.

"The IGP is a programme that starts only after a candidate has already cleared both the preliminary and mains stages of the UPSC CSE on their own," the authority said.

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Rs 1.46 crore penalty on coaching institutes

According to the CCPA, the institute showed these candidates in ads for its paid coaching courses without clearly explaining which program they attended. This created a wrong impression that they had completed the institute’s full coaching programs.

The authority said that students and parents depend on such claims when selecting coaching institutes. It also said that not clearly mentioning whether successful candidates attended full courses, optional subject classes, test series, or only a short free interview guidance programme prevented students from making informed choices.

The CCPA said that these advertisements were “misleading advertisements” under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, because important information was intentionally hidden. It also said that this practice violated consumers’ right to get proper information before buying educational services.

The authority said again that consumers have the right to get clear and correct information before joining coaching programmes.

According to a PIB statement, the CCPA has issued over 60 notices to coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and unfair business practices. So far, it has penalised these institutes more than Rs 1.46 crore for coaching related to UPSC, IIT-JEE, NEET, RBI, and other competitive exams.