The CCPA has fined the Vajirao & Reddy Institute ₹1.5 million for misleading UPSC advertisements, its second such penalty in two years.

The CCPA has fined the Vajirao & Reddy Institute ₹1.5 million for misleading UPSC advertisements. This is not the first such penalty; it is the second such penalty in two years. The institute published misleading advertisements claiming to grant credit to candidates who passed the UPSC Civil Services Exam 2023, many of whom had only enrolled for mock interview sessions.

The institute claimed on its official website shortly after the results were announced on April 16, 2024, that it had made "over 645 selections out of 1,016 vacancies," including "6 in the top 10 AIRs" and "35 in the top 50 AIRs." These claims were displayed alongside advertisements for its regular courses, creating the impression that successful candidates were trained by the institute in all three stages – preliminary, main, and interview.

What did the CCPA investigation reveal?

The CCPA found that this was intentionally false information. Upon examining the enrollment records submitted by the institute, the authority found that a significant number of candidates had only signed up for an "interview guidance program" or "mock interview," meaning they had already passed the first two stages on their own before contacting the institute.

Furthermore, 431 enrollment forms neither stated the course in which they were enrolled nor the date of submission. The institute failed to provide fee receipts or other supporting documents. The CCPA said in a statement, "The lack of such information creates the false impression that successful candidates were trained by the institute in all stages of the examination."

Fines have been imposed before

It's worth noting that this isn't the first time the institute has faced regulatory action. Previously, it was fined ₹7 lakh for similar violations in its advertisement related to the UPSC CSE 2022 results. Due to repeated violations, the CCPA considered this a subsequent violation and imposed a higher fine.