3 min readNew DelhiFeb 28, 2026 04:46 PM IST
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), the country’s top consumer watchdog, has imposed a penalty of Rs 8 lakh on Raising Superstars Enterprises Private Limited for misleading advertisements, which claimed infants could crawl at three months, walk at eight months, etc.
The CCPA, headed by Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare, said that it received a complaint regarding certain advertisements relating to early childhood development programmes offered by Raising Superstars Enterprises Private Limited.
“The advertisements made the following claims: “Crawling at 3 months; “Walking at 8 months”; “Using 200+ vocabulary by 18 months. These claims were presented in a manner suggesting that participation in the programme could lead to accelerated infant development milestones,” the CCPA said in a statement on Saturday.
As per the statement, “The CCPA observed that advertisements relating to infant and early childhood development require the highest standard of accuracy and responsibility. Early childhood development is an especially sensitive domain because infant growth and cognitive progress vary widely among children, while parents and guardians—often under emotional pressure to secure the best outcomes—form a particularly vulnerable class of consumers.”
In this context, it said, advertisements “claiming accelerated developmental milestones” can strongly influence parental decisions, “creating unrealistic expectations and potentially leading to financial loss and emotional distress when such outcomes are not achieved”.
“The Authority examined whether these claims were backed by scientific evidence, clinical data, or empirical studies demonstrating that infants enrolled in the programme had achieved the stated milestones because of participation in the programme,” it added.
The CCPA examined advertisements and noted that the developmental milestone claims promoted by the company were not supported by any scientific study, clinical assessment, empirical research, systematic tracking mechanism, or quantified dataset establishing a causal link between participation in the programme and the stated outcomes.
Story continues below this ad
“Instead, the claims were found to be derived primarily from selective parental testimonials without scientific validation. In presenting these testimonials as specific and time-bound developmental outcomes, the advertisements conveyed an impression that such results were typical or expected, without disclosing sample size, methodology, or statistical reliability,” the statement said.
After investigation, the CCPA said it concluded that the advertisements “were misleading, falsely described expected outcomes, and were capable of influencing decisions of a particularly vulnerable class of consumers”.
“In keeping with its mandate to protect consumers and promote fair market practices, the CCPA took decisive action after due consideration of all facts and submissions. By order dated 25 February 2026, the Authority imposed a penalty of Rs 8,00,000 (Rupees Eight Lakh only) on Raising Superstars Enterprises Private Limited for dissemination of misleading advertisements and violation of consumer rights,” it added.
