GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 3rd Oct: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of ₹5 lakh on Drishti IAS (VDK Eduventures Pvt Ltd) for publishing misleading advertisements about the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022 results.
The coaching institute claimed “216 selections in UPSC CSE 2022” with names and photographs of successful candidates. However, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said an investigation revealed that 162 of the 216 candidates (75%) had only attended Drishti IAS’s free Interview Guidance Programme (IGP) after clearing Prelims and Mains on their own. Only 54 students were enrolled in IGP or other paid courses.
CCPA noted that this concealment misled aspirants and parents into believing Drishti IAS was responsible for the candidates’ success at all stages of UPSC. Such advertisements, the authority said, qualify as misleading under Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
This is not the first offence. In September 2024, CCPA had fined the institute ₹3 lakh for a similar claim of “150 selections in UPSC CSE 2021,” which was also found to be misleading. Despite warnings, the institute repeated the practice for 2022, indicating non-compliance and disregard for consumer protection norms.
“Such advertisements create false expectations and unfairly influence consumer decisions, particularly when large claims are made without transparent disclosure of facts,” the ministry said.
So far, CCPA has issued 54 notices to coaching institutes for misleading advertisements, imposing penalties exceeding ₹90.6 lakh on 26 institutes. The authority stressed that all coaching centres must ensure truthful disclosure in advertisements to enable students and parents to make informed academic choices.
