The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a ₹7 lakh penalty on Vajiram & Ravi IAS Study Centre for allegedly publishing misleading advertisements regarding the success of candidates in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2023.
The institute had claimed that 8 of the Top 10 rank holders and 37 of the Top 50 rank holders were its students. However, the CCPA found that most of these candidates had only participated in the institute’s free Interview Guidance Programme (IGP) after independently clearing the Preliminary and Mains examinations. The institute failed to disclose this fact in its advertisements.
According to the regulator, presenting such candidates alongside promotions for paid coaching programmes created the false impression that their success resulted from the institute’s full coaching courses. The CCPA noted that similar non-disclosures occurred over several years and ruled that the advertisements violated the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The action is part of a wider crackdown on misleading advertising in the coaching industry, with the CCPA having issued more than 60 notices and imposed penalties exceeding ₹1.46 crore on coaching institutes across India.
