CERC joins hands with EU to set up ad regulatory panel

In collaboration with the European Union (EU), Ahmedabad-based Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC) has come out with a project that aims at setting up of an advertising standards regulatory commission.

The commission has been planned on the lines of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Electricity Regulatory Commission. CERC also proposes to develop the same into a bill for which legal procedures will commence in a month's time.

"For the proposed advertising standards regulatory commission, which is due to be finalised by CERC in a few days, opinion has been sought from citizens' groups, consumer groups, the government, the print and electronic media, advertising agencies, business organisations and the existing non-statutory self-regulatory body, Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)," said Pritee Shah, editor of Insight, CERC's consumer magazine.

The CERC-EU project was undertaken in early 2005 after CERC began publishing the 'Tall Talk' section in its consumer magazine called 'Insight' and subsequently applied for the EU's Small Project Fund (SPF) grant which is given to non-profit making bodies with innovative ideas.

Under the terms of the grant, EU would fund 75 per cent and CERC the other 25 per cent of the project. EU has reportedly offered a grant of Rs 35 lakh to CERC for the same.

For drafting the code for the proposed regulatory commission, CERC had earlier conducted a series of activities, including research, study tours of the UK, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Denmark and four regional seminars at Ahmedabad. Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

"The tours were undertaken in order to gain an insight into the advertising scenario abroad, the standards operating there, the curbs on misleading advertisements and its related laws and regulatory mechanisms," said Shah.

The ASCI, which is the present policy on advertising in the country, under the ministry of information and broadcasting, according to CERC, has been deficient in addressing issues like advertisements in the print media, regulations for liquor advertising or scheduling of advertisements on the amount and distribution of advertising.

"With the draft code being prepared by EU and CERC, the regulatory commission will monitor the compliance of the code and consumers will be encouraged to make a complaint to the commission about any advertisement which violates the code, " added Shah.