Advertising/Media
Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study, a coaching facility, gets fined ₹2 lakh by a top consumer body for using deceptive advertisements.


By Kajal Sharma - 30 Dec 2024 09:17 PM
Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study, a coaching center, was fined ₹2 lakh by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for deceptive advertising, the government agency announced on Sunday, December 22, 2024.The CCPA discovered that in its marketing, Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study Institute omitted crucial details regarding the courses completed by individuals it claimed had passed the coveted Indian Civil Services Exam (CSE).
According to an official statement, the institute's advertisements prominently featured the names and images of successful applicants and claimed that "13 students in the top 100", "28 students in the top 200", and 39 students in the top 300" in the UPSC CSE 2023.It further stated that the institute's usage of phrases like "Shubhra Ranjan IAS" and "Students of Shubra Ranjan IAS" in its letterheads and advertisements gave the false impression that Shubra Ranjan is or was an IAS official. By "deliberately concealing important information," the ads, according to the consumer commission, breached sections of the Consumer Protection Act of 2019 pertaining to deceptive advertisements.
The CCPA noted that customers were unable to make an informed decision when choosing coaching institutes due to improper disclosure of successful students' course details, and they urged Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study to stop the deceptive advertisements.Vajirao & Reddy Institute was fined ₹7 lakh by the CCPA on November 22 for making false claims about the UPSC CSE 2022 results. To date, the CCPA has fined 20 coaching institutes ₹63.60 lakh for running deceptive marketing and issued 45 notifications to different coaching institutes for doing so. Students and hopefuls who registered for the UPSC Civil Services, IIT, and other entrance exams have benefited from the Department of Consumer Affairs' successful pre-litigation intervention through the National Consumer Helpline.