CCPA fines coaching institute Rs 11 lakh for misleading ads UPSC results

DELHI: India’s consumer watchdog has turned the screws on the coaching industry. The Central Consumer Protection Authority has imposed a Rs 11 lakh penalty on Vision IAS for publishing misleading advertisements on UPSC Civil Services Examination results, marking the **first case of a repeat offence** under the Consumer Protection Act.

The CCPA found that Vision IAS, registered as AjayVision Education Pvt Ltd, made exaggerated claims in its advertising, prominently flashing lines such as “7 in Top 10 and 79 in Top 100 selections in CSE 2023” and “39 in Top 50 selections in CSE 2022”, complete with photographs, names and ranks of successful candidates. What the ads failed to disclose was more telling: most of those candidates were never enrolled in the institute’s flagship, high-priced foundation courses.

“This is the first case of penalty on the second offence,” said Nidhi Khare, chief commissioner of the CCPA and consumer affairs secretary, noting that the institute continued to make similar claims despite earlier regulatory intervention. The authority said this showed a clear lack of due diligence and regulatory compliance.

An investigation revealed that of more than 119 successful candidates claimed by Vision IAS across UPSC CSE 2022 and 2023, only three had taken foundation courses. The remaining 116 had opted for limited offerings such as test series, one-time Abhyaas tests or mock interview programmes. Yet the advertising created the impression that all featured toppers were products of its premium classroom coaching.

The CCPA pointed out that while the institute disclosed that Shubham Kumar, AIR 1 in UPSC CSE 2020, was a foundation course student, it deliberately withheld similar information for other candidates showcased alongside him. This selective disclosure, the authority said, misled aspirants and parents into believing the institute was responsible for success across all stages of the exam.

Calling the violation recurring, the CCPA treated it as a subsequent contravention under the law, justifying a higher penalty. It also flagged the heightened impact of digital advertising, noting that websites remain globally accessible for long periods and are a primary research tool for aspirants.

So far, the watchdog has issued 57 notices to coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices, imposing penalties totalling Rs 1.09 crore on 28 of them. The message is sharpening: in India’s hyper-competitive exam economy, inflated claims and half-truths will no longer pass.

Note: The cover image provided is AI–generated and is used for representational purposes only.