The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has taken strong action against a prominent coaching institute for deceptive marketing practices. On Wednesday, December 26, 2025, the authority imposed a significant financial penalty of Rs 11 lakh on Vision IAS, a well-known institute preparing candidates for the Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Examination (UPSC CSE). The penalty was levied for publishing what the regulator has termed "misleading advertisements" on its official website.
The Nature of the Misleading Claims
An investigation by the consumer watchdog revealed that Vision IAS had prominently displayed claims regarding its students' performance in the highly competitive UPSC exams. The institute's website advertised that it had produced "7 in top 10 and 79 in top 100 selections in CSE 2023". For the previous year, it claimed "39 in top 50 selections in CSE 2022". These impressive statistics were accompanied by the names, photographs, and ranks of the successful candidates, creating a powerful testimonial for prospective students.
However, the CCPA's detailed probe uncovered a critical omission. While the advertisement clearly stated that Shubham Kumar, the All India Rank 1 holder from UPSC CSE 2020, was enrolled in the GS Foundation Classroom batch, it deliberately withheld similar course information for the other 119 candidates featured for the 2022 and 2023 exams. This selective disclosure created a false and misleading impression that all these top rankers were products of the institute's flagship, and expensive, Foundation Classroom courses.
What the Investigation Actually Found
The truth was starkly different from the advertised narrative. Out of the over 119 successful candidates claimed by Vision IAS across the 2022 and 2023 examinations, only three had actually enrolled in the foundation courses. The remaining 116 candidates had merely availed of ancillary services such as:
- Preliminary and Mains test series
- One-time Abhyaas tests
- Mock interview programmes
The authority concluded that concealing this material information misled countless aspirants and their parents. It led them to believe that the institute's comprehensive foundation program was responsible for the candidates' success across all stages of the examination, which was not the case. The CCPA held that this conduct squarely fell under the definition of a "misleading advertisement" as per Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Repeat Offence and Wider Crackdown
This was not the first time Vision IAS faced regulatory scrutiny for such practices. The CCPA noted that the institute had previously been warned for similar violations. Despite earlier actions, it continued to publish comparable claims, prompting the authority to treat this as a repeat offence and impose a higher penalty accordingly.
The order also highlighted the amplified impact of such advertisements in the digital age. It observed that websites, unlike print ads, have a global reach and long-term visibility, making them a primary source of information for aspirants researching coaching institutes. Furthermore, the CCPA pointed out that the institute used candidates' names and photographs alongside exaggerated claims without proper authorisation, further misleading prospective students.
This case is part of a wider crackdown by the CCPA on the coaching industry. So far, the authority has issued 57 notices to various coaching institutes. It has imposed total penalties amounting to Rs 1.09 crore on 28 entities. The CCPA has directed all institutes to ensure their advertising is truthful, transparent, and does not exploit the hopes of students and parents.
