Government, Advertising Standard Council of India join hands to curb misleading advertisements

NEW DELHI: Government and Advertising Standard Council of India have partnered to augment the efforts on stopping misleading advertisements.

As per the agreement, Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) and Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution will jointly evaluate and pass strictures against the violators.

They would jointly work on sectors as - agriculture and food, health, education, housing, financial services and e-commerce, a statement said.

Commenting on it, DoCA Additional Secretary G Gurucharan said: "The problem of misleading advertisements and the consequent unfair trade practices that arise is widespread - across sectors, mediums and geographies. DoCA's effort is to build a coalition of stakeholders to combat this menace - partnering with ASCI is an important step".

ASCI Chairman Narendra Ambwani said: "It's highly motivating to see such developments and this partnership has widened ASCI's scope for complaints".

This partnership will go a long way in ensuring that all ads released in the country are honest, decent, safe and fair to competition, it added.