NEW DELHI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has shared its report for the first half of 2024-25, highlighting a rise in misleading and illegal ads, especially in real estate and offshore betting sectors.
Realty (34%), illegal betting (29%), healthcare (8%), personal care (7%), and food & beverage (6%) featured as the top five categories with the highest code violations.
ASCI reviewed 4,016 complaints and investigated 3,031 ads between April and September 2024, 98% of these ads reviewed needed some modification.
ASCI’s continued vigil on digital platforms saw a total of 2,830 ads being processed, representing 93% of the total ads taken up.
Out of the ads investigated, 2,087 were found to be in violation of the law.
Of these, 1027 were reported to the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) under an MoU between ASCI and Maharashtra RERA.
Of the remaining cases 944 that were formally investigated, 53% of the ads were not contested by the advertiser on receipt of intimation of the complaint from ASCI.
2115 real estate ads were reviewed, with 1027 processed for potential violations of the Maharashtra RERA Act.
As per earlier media reports, MahaRERA penalised 628 developers with a penalty totalling ₹88.9 lakhs as a result of the ads identified by ASCI.
With more advertisers volunteering to resolve complaints without contest, ASCI reduced its average turnaround time from 30 to 18 days.
