About Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI):
- It is a voluntary self-regulatory organization of the advertising industry in India.
- Established in 1985, ASCI is registered as a non-profit company under Section 25 of the Company Act, 2013.
- ASCI is committed to the cause of self-regulation in advertising, ensuring the protection of the interests of consumers.
- ASCI seeks to ensure that advertisements conform to its Code for Self-Regulation, which requires advertisements to be legal, decent, honest and truthful and not hazardous or harmful while observing fairness in competition.
- ASCI looks into complaints across all media, such as Print, TV, Radio, hoardings, SMS, Emailers, Internet/web-site, product packaging, brochures, promotional material, and point of sale material, etc.
- Structure:
- A Board of Governors includes 16 members drawn from prominent businesses, media agencies, and advertisers, among others.
- The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) is a body that investigates complaints and decides whether advertisements adhere to the Advertisement Standards Council of India Code.
- A Secretariat, headed by the Secretary General, oversees the day-to-day operations of the organisation.
- While ASCI is not a government body, its role has been widely acknowledged, and in 2006, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a mandate requiring all TV advertisements in India to follow ASCI’s codes.
- ASCI is a part of the Executive Committee of the International Council on Ad Self-Regulation (ICAS).
