NEW DELHI: The ministry of information and broadcasting received a total of 280 complaints on misleading advertisements during the period 2015 to 2017 as on 30 June, the Parliament has been told.

Information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani said an advisory had been issued by the ministry on 21 August 2014 advising all TV channels not to telecast advertisements, which were found to be violating provisions of Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, the Advertising Standards Council of India Code and also Drugs & Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act 1954.

Irani said the report of Indian media and entertainment industry 2017 released by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI-KPMG) showed that there was a total growth of 11.2 per cent in 2016 as compared to 2015 in advertising in the industry. Of this, there was a growth of 11 per cent in television and seven per cent in digital advertising in 2016 over 2015.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has established a 'Grievances against Misleading Advertisement' (GAMA) portal, through which a common man can lodge a complaint against misleading advertisements. These complaints are processed by Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) under an MoU with the department of consumer affairs.

The total number of incidents/complaints received by department of consumers during the 2015-16 to 2016-17 is 3368.

The ASCI self-regulates advertising content to monitor and decide on complaints against advertisements making misleading, false and unsubstantiated claims.

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