'Enrolled 3, but claimed 119+ successful candidates': Centre slaps Rs 11 lakh fine on Vision IAS

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Thursday said it has imposed a fine of Rs 11 lakh on Vision IAS (AjayVision Education Private Limited) for publishing misleading advertisements regarding the results of the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022 and 2023.

In a statement, the authority revealed that Vision IAS had claimed an inflated number of successful candidates in the UPSC exams, stating "7 in Top 10 & 79 in Top 100 selections in CSE 2023" and "39 in Top 50 selections in CSE 2022".

These claims, prominently featuring the names, photographs, and ranks of successful candidates, were found to be misleading, the authority said. 

Upon investigation, the CCPA found that Vision IAS had enrolled only three candidates in its foundation courses, while the remaining 116 claimed successes had enrolled in other services such as Test Series for Preliminary and Mains exams, Abhyaas tests, and Mock Interview programmes.

Despite this, the institute presented its advertisements in a way that "misled prospective aspirants" and parents into believing the institution was responsible for the success of all candidates featured, with many mistakenly assuming they were all enrolled in the institute's flagship courses, the statement said. 

The authority found that this selective disclosure of information, especially about which course each successful candidate had taken, created a false impression of the effectiveness of Vision IAS's programmes. "This is a direct violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, specifically under Section 2(28), which defines misleading advertisements."

The CCPA further noted that Vision IAS had made similar misleading claims in past advertisements. "In view of the recurring nature of the violation, the present instance was treated as a subsequent contravention, warranting the imposition of a higher penalty in the interest of protecting consumers," the authority said. 

The authority stressed that in highly competitive fields like the UPSC exams, where aspirants invest significant time, effort, and financial resources, such incomplete and selective disclosures mislead students and create unrealistic expectations about outcomes.

So far, the CCPA has issued 57 notices to various coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices. Penalties amounting to Rs 1,09,60,000 have been imposed on 28 coaching institutes, along with directions to discontinue such misleading claims.