ASCI consumer complaints council to meet weekly to reduce adjudication time

Following the institution of National Advertising Monitoring Service (NAMS), industry body for self-regulation Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has announced the creation of an additional consumer complaints council (CCC). It has also announced that the CCC will now meet once a week, instead of fortnightly, for speedier adjudication on complaints.

Arvind Sharma, chairman, ASCI, said, “ASCI has been continually innovating to protect the interests of the consumers and all these initiatives are steps towards that.”

He added, “The proactive tracking by NAMS earlier, of all newly released ads in print and TV and now of all upheld complaint ads and reporting non-compliance to statutory bodies is likely to help substantially in moving towards the goal of eradicating misleading ads. Appointment of a COO and an additional CCC will go a long way in ensuring speedier and more effective complaint redressal process. ”

ASCI has also announced the appointment of Shweta Purandare as its COO, a newly created position. Purandare was council member at the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA MSB) prior to joining ASCI. In previous assignments, she has worked in the FMCG and pharmaceutical industries.

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