CCPA slaps Rs 300,000 fine on IAS Sriram for misleading statements about UPSC exams

New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a fine of ₹3 lakh at Sriram IAS, a coaching institute, for making misleading claims about the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2022 results.

The CCPA action stems from complaints that the coaching institute’s advertisements suggested a higher success rate than was actually the case.

Training institutes often make exaggerated claims about the success rate of their students by including candidates who have not even taken a paid class or used other paid facilities of the training institute.

Some training institutions use these tactics to attract more students.

Mint reported on this issue in November 2023, highlighting the discrepancies and the resulting scrutiny by consumer protection authorities.

In a statement, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said, “During investigation, it was found that Sriram IAS advertised several courses but deliberately hid information about the specific courses taken by successful candidates for CSE 2022 results. This misled consumers into believing that all successful candidates had availed the paid courses advertised by the institute on its website.”

“Sriram IAS announced ‘200+ selections in UPSC Civil Services Examination 2022’ and claimed to be “India’s most prestigious UPSC/IAS training institute,” the ministry said.

However, the institute provided details of only 171 successful candidates. Of them, 102 were from the free interview guidance programme (IGP), 55 from the free test series, nine from the classroom-based general studies course and five from free tutoring under a state government scheme.

This was not disclosed in its advertising, which misled consumers, the ministry said.

According to the statement, CCPA Chief Commissioner and Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare emphasized that advertisements must be truthful and clearly display all information important to consumers.

Queries sent via email to Sriram’s IAS remained unanswered till the time of publication.

Section 2(28)(iv) of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA 2019) addresses misleading advertisements that conceal important information. Knowing which course successful candidates have taken helps consumers make informed decisions about which training institution to choose.

Mint had earlier reported in November 2023 that coaching institutes would no longer be allowed to use photographs or testimonials of toppers or successful candidates of Indian civil service examinations to attract prospective students for Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) coaching.

The CCPA also asked all IAS coaching centres to stop using fake testimonials from successful students or fake reviews to grow their coaching business, Mint reported.

The ministry is also preparing detailed guidelines to curb misleading advertisements, which are expected to be released very soon. The IAS coaching sector constitutes ₹3,000 crore of the overall coaching industry, which is valued at ₹58,088 crores. Delhi is considered as the preparation hub for UPSC civil services examinations.

The draft rules prohibit coaching centres from making false claims, such as guaranteeing 100% selection in UPSC examinations, and selecting exceptional cases to create a distorted impression of success.