MAM
ASCI bags Best Practices Silver Award for National Advertising Monitoring Service
NEW DELHI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), which is recognised by the government as the primary body for checking misleading commercials, has bagged the Best Practices Silver Award for establishing a National Advertising Monitoring Service on the print and TV ads.
The award was given at the European Advertising Standards Alliance‘s (EASA) annual meeting held in Milan, Italy. The EASA Best Practice Award is presented each year to the self-regulatory organisation that has most effectively implemented an element of the EASA Best Practice Model-a set of operational standards for advertising standards bodies.
ASCI chairman Arvind Sharma said, “ASCI through NAMS has done path breaking work in tracking down and removing ads which make misleading, false or unsubstantiated claims. And the EASA Best Practice Silver award is recognition by the global ad self regulatory organisations (SRO) that ASCI not only follows global best practices but also helps in innovating new ones.”
He added: “This recognition encourages us to further strengthen the professional and ethical standards in the ad industry to ensure responsible advertising and thereby protect the interests of the consumers.”
Proactive monitoring of NAMS on the print and TV ads has helped in tracking a large number of misleading ads and the number of ads against which complaints were received and processed by ASCI went up almost five times from 177 in 2011-2012 to 784 in 2012-2013.
ASCI is a self-regulatory voluntary organisation of the advertising industry. ASCI along with its Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) deal with complaints regarding advertisements which are considered as false, misleading, illegal, leading to unsafe practices or unfair to competition and consequently in contravention of the ASCI Code for self-regulation in Advertising. They receive complaints both from the consumers and the industry.
In May 2012, ASCI introduced NAMS in order to strengthen the process of tracking and reducing misleading advertisements which harm the interests of consumers. NAMS which comprises of the AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research and with the support of trained personnel from the ASCI keeps a continuous check on all the newly released TV and Newspaper print ads to see that they are not violating any ASCI‘s advertisement code related to unsubstantiated, misleading or false claims.
On an average, 1,500 TV and 45,000 newspaper ads are monitored monthly. If after persistent reminders, certain ads are not altered and are still being aired in the same manner, then the ASCI reports this to the relevant statutory authorities for action.
In order to fasten the decision making process and to handle the recent jump in the number of complaints received and processed, the ASCI introduced the Consumer Complaint Council (CCC) and appointed Shweta Purandare as chief operations officer (COO) to drive the investigation of complaints besides heading the complaint redressal and follow up process. The meetings are being conducted every week instead of every fortnight so as to reduce the average complaint adjudication time.
Brands
Lotus Chocolate FY26 profit drops sharply, Q4 slips into loss
Revenue steady at Rs 579.55 crore, Q4 loss at Rs 4.47 crore
MUMBAI: Sweet on the top line, slightly bitter on the bottom Lotus Chocolate’s FY26 numbers tell a story that’s more dark cocoa than milk. The company managed to hold its revenue steady for the year, but profitability took a visible hit, capped by a loss-making fourth quarter. Lotus Chocolate Company Limited reported revenue from operations of Rs 579.55 crore for the year ended March 31, 2026, marginally up from Rs 573.75 crore in FY25. Total income rose to Rs 615.61 crore, compared with Rs 574.56 crore in the previous year, supported by a sharp jump in other income to Rs 36.06 crore from just Rs 0.81 crore.
However, the gains at the top did little to cushion profitability. Net profit for FY26 fell dramatically to Rs 0.10 crore, down from Rs 17.23 crore in FY25, reflecting significant cost pressures across the business.
The March quarter proved particularly challenging. The company reported a net loss of Rs 4.47 crore in Q4 FY26, compared with a profit of Rs 0.14 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 1.42 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 138.01 crore, down from Rs 150.21 crore in Q3 FY26 and Rs 157.52 crore in Q4 FY25.
Expenses remained elevated throughout the year. Total expenses rose to Rs 614.44 crore in FY26 from Rs 551.50 crore in FY25, eating into margins. A key swing factor was the cost of materials consumed, which stood at Rs 304.44 crore, while changes in inventories also reflected volatility, with a negative impact of Rs 62.44 crore in the previous year reversing to a positive Rs 52.93 crore this year.
Employee benefit expenses nearly doubled to Rs 34.00 crore from Rs 17.98 crore, while finance costs surged to Rs 16.31 crore from Rs 7.11 crore, indicating higher borrowing and funding costs. Depreciation and amortisation expenses also increased to Rs 3.92 crore from Rs 1.81 crore, reflecting ongoing investments.
On the balance sheet front, total assets stood at Rs 275.96 crore as of March 31, 2026, slightly higher than Rs 270.34 crore a year earlier. Borrowings remained significant, with current borrowings at Rs 89.00 crore, highlighting continued reliance on external funding.
Cash flow dynamics showed improvement in operations, with net cash generated from operating activities at Rs 93.23 crore, compared with a negative Rs 129.60 crore in FY25. However, financing outflows remained high at Rs 74.90 crore, driven largely by repayment of borrowings and interest costs.
Despite stable revenue, the sharp drop in profitability underscores the pressure of rising input costs, higher finance expenses and operational adjustments. The contrast between steady sales and squeezed margins leaves Lotus Chocolate at a crossroads proving that in business, as in confectionery, the real test isn’t just in the sweetness of sales, but in the richness of returns.
