MAM
Portal launched to help consumers complain against misleading ads
NEW DELHI: A three-tier system has been constituted by the the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) to tackle the menace of misleading advertisements as part of its mission to address misleading advertisements and avoid unfair trade practices.
DoCA has partnered with the Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) as an executive arm to process the incoming consumer complaints.
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today launched the web portal GAMA (“Grievances against Misleading Advertisements”) at the National Conference on Consumer Rights in New Delhi to help this mission.
The collaboration will see joint efforts to evaluate and pass strictures against the violators. The six priority sectors that would be covered are agriculture and food, health, education, housing, financial services and e-commerce.
The complaints will be evaluated across media including print, packaging, internet, outdoor, wall paintings, posters and billboards amongst others.
The complaints of misleading advertisements received on GAMA portal (gama.gov.in), will be handled in a three level-system: first by ASCI, in case of non-compliance by a sub-committee headed by the Joint Secretary DoCA under Inter Ministerial Monitoring Committee (IMMC) and finally the concerned regulator will take action in case of persistent offenders.
DoCA is also leveraging the network of Grahak Suvidha Kendra to make it easier for consumers in remote areas to complain.
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 partnering with ASCI is an important step in empowering self-regulatory bodies and demonstrating “More Governance – Less Government.”
ASCI chairman Narendra Ambwani added, “We are very happy to have been entrusted with this responsibility by DoCA. GAMA portal will be very consumer friendly as one can track the status of the complaints which he or she registered on this portal.”
Brands
Reserve Bank of India cancels Paytm Payments Bank licence
Central bank cites compliance failures; curbs tighten as wind-up looms
MUMBAI: India’s banking watchdog delivered its sharpest blow yet to Paytm Payments Bank, cancelling its licence and effectively ending its ability to operate as a bank under the law.
The Reserve Bank of India said the entity can no longer conduct banking business under the Banking Regulation Act, citing concerns that its affairs were not being run in the interest of depositors or the public and that it had failed to meet licence conditions.
The move escalates a crackdown that has been building for months. The bank had already been barred from onboarding new customers since March 11, 2022, and later faced restrictions on deposits, credit and wallet top-ups. In January 2024, the central bank ordered it to stop accepting fresh deposits, pointing to persistent non-compliance, including lapses in customer due diligence, use of funds and technology systems.
Operationally, the bank is now on a tight leash. It may process withdrawals of existing deposits and facilitate loan referrals through banking correspondents, but it cannot take fresh deposits.
The central bank said it would apply to the high court to wind up the bank.
Paytm sought to ringfence the fallout. In a regulatory filing, it said the licence cancellation applies to Paytm Payments Bank Limited, a separate entity, and should not be attributed to One 97 Communications. It added that there is no exposure or material business arrangement with the bank and that it operates independently, without Paytm’s board or management involvement.
“As informed earlier, Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) and its services, which have been operating without interruption, will continue to operate uninterrupted. These include the Paytm app, Paytm UPI, Paytm Gold and all other services offered by its subsidiaries and associated companies,” the company said.
The distinction may reassure users of the app ecosystem, but the regulator’s verdict is unequivocal. After years of warnings, caps and curbs, the payments bank experiment at Paytm is being shut down—decisively, and with little room left to manoeuvre.
