Rs 3 lakh fine on Vision IAS over false UPSC CSE exam advertisements

NEW DELHI: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 3 lakh on Vision IAS for deceptive advertising about its students' success in the civil services examination. The authority found that Vision IAS deliberately withheld specific course information, creating a misleading impression about its success rates in such exams, a statement by Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said.

The institute's advertisement claimed "10 in Top 10 selections in CSE 2020 from various programs of Vision IAS" and prominently displayed successful candidates and pictures. Vision IAS highlighted only the first rank student's foundation course while concealing course details of nine other successful UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE) 2020 candidates.

Of the remaining nine successful candidates, one student took a foundation course, six of them opted for test series for preliminary and mains stage and two of them for Abhyaas test. The institute's selective disclosure suggested all candidates followed the same course path, which was false.

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Courses ranged from Rs 750 for a mock test to Rs 1,40,000 for a full foundation course. The CCPA emphasized that complete course information is crucial for consumers to make informed decisions about coaching institutes. The commission imposed a penalty to protect "young and impressionable aspirants" from potentially deceptive marketing practices, the statement said.

The CCPA has so far issued 46 notices to various coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practice. It has imposed a penalty of Rs 74.60 lakh on 23 coaching institutes and directed them to discontinue the misleading advertisements.