The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a Rs 11 lakh penalty on Vision IAS (AjayVision Education Private Limited) for publishing misleading advertisements related to the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022 and 2023, in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

The authority found that Vision IAS made prominent claims such as “7 in Top 10 & 79 in Top 100 selections in CSE 2023” and “39 in Top 50 selections in CSE 2022”, displaying names, photographs, and ranks of successful candidates on its website. While the institute disclosed the specific course opted by Shubham Kumar (AIR 1, UPSC CSE 2020), it withheld details of courses taken by other candidates shown alongside him, creating the impression that all were classroom foundation course students.

The CCPA observed that only three candidates had actually enrolled in foundation courses, while the remaining 116 candidates had opted for services such as test series, one-time tests, or mock interviews. This selective disclosure misled aspirants and parents into believing the institute was responsible for success across all stages of the examination.

The authority also noted that Vision IAS promoted high-fee foundation courses alongside these claims, inducing enrollments based on inflated and unverified success assertions. Additionally, the institute allegedly used candidates’ names and photographs without proper authorisation, further contributing to misleading advertising.

Highlighting the recurring nature of violations, the CCPA said Vision IAS had previously faced action for similar misconduct. The latest instance was treated as a subsequent contravention, justifying a higher penalty to safeguard consumer interests.

So far, the CCPA has issued 57 notices to coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices, imposing penalties totalling Rs 1,09,60,000 on 28 institutes, along with directions to discontinue such claims. The authority reiterated that coaching centres must ensure truthful, transparent, and complete disclosures to enable students to make informed academic decisions.