A few months ago, the consumer protection body began investigating false claims in the
advertisements run by 20 UPSC coaching institutes about the toppers being their students. This
is the first time the massive Rs. 3,000 crore UPSC coaching institutes sector has come under
government scrutiny.
A penalty of INR 1 lakh each was imposed on three coaching centres – Rau’s IAS Study Circle,
Chahal Academy, and IQRA IAS. While notices were issued to Vajirao & Reddy Institute,
Chahal Academy, Khan Study Group IAS, APTI Plus, Analog IAS, Shankar IAS, Sriram’s IAS,
BYJU’s IAS, Unacademy, NEXT IAS, Drishti IAS, Vision IAS, IAS Baba, Yojana IAS, Plutus
IAS, ALS IAS, Rau’s IAS Study Circle and Drishti IAS.
Rau’s IAS Study Circle has even appealed the matter to the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission. IAS Baba procured a stay on the notice from the Karnataka High Court.
After issuing notices to these big UPSC coaching institutes, the government’s Central
Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is now working on developing an advisory for the
industry. The department has written letters to newly appointed civil servants and the Lal
Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration for help in drafting it.
Since many UPSC candidates did not take coaching from any institute, the CCPA will check if
their pictures have also been used for false advertisements. Several UPSC coaching institutes
use the same topper in all of their promotional materials, often without their permission. Most
toppers never took full guidance or classes. The institutes advertise the toppers’ names just on
the basis of mock interviews even if they have not attended a single course.
This probe is not limited to the UPSC coaching industry. The CCPA will next go after the
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) coaching
institutes.
