Of 33, 25 Patanjali adverts found to be violating code

New Delhi: The government has received 33 complaints regarding advertisements of Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved Limited in the last one year of which 25 were found to be violating the advertising code.

In response to a Lok Sabha query, MoS, I&B, Rajyavardhan Rathore said between April 2015 and July 2016, the department of consumer affairs had received complaints against Patanjali Ayurved advertisements in on TV, in print and on product-packaging in various sectors such as food and beverages, personal care, health care etc.

The department found 17 advertisements of 21 whose content was found to be violating the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) code for self-regulation, while six product packaging communications (out of eight complained against) were considered to be in violation of the code. Two TV advertisements out of four were considered to be in violation of the ASCI code.

The department of consumer affairs has established a portal called 'grievance against misleading advertisements' (GAMA) and ASCI has been assigned the task of handling the complaints received through this portal. The cases where the advertisers do not comply with ASCI's directions are referred to the department or the regulator Food safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for appropriate action.