The government is preparing to bring in a regulatory mechanism to check a growing number of advertisements in the media that contain misleading information and erroneous claims.
Sources said the Prime Ministers Office had instructed the Consumer Affairs department to prepare the modalities of creating such a regulatory mechanism. The department has been asked to submit its first draft to the PMO within a month. They said the government was keen to ensure that this regulatory framework was created within the next one year.
The matter has been under consideration of the Consumer Affairs department for some time now. A couple of months back,the Minister for Food,Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs had decided to form a committee of experts to suggest measures that can be taken to curb misleading advertisements.
The push for a regulatory mechanism came at a review meeting taken in the PMO on the performance of the Consumer Affairs department along with other related ministries and departments like Agriculture,Animal Husbandry,Dairying and Fisheries,Food and Public Distribution,and Food Processing.




