Mumbai: Over 6,000 complaints related to misleading advertisements were registered online by consumers on the government portal GAMA (Grievance Against Misleading Advertisements) in the past three years, said the union minister of I&B Anurag Thakur, responding to a question in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The portal launched by the Department of Consumer Affairs accepted 6,154 complaints between 2019 and 2021, said Thakur. Last year saw 948 grievances being registered, while in 2020 there were 1,790 grievances and 3,416 in 2019.

All advertisements telecast on private satellite TV channels are regulated in accordance with the Advertising Code prescribed under the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. The ministry of information and broadcasting issues advisories from time to time to broadcasters for ensuring compliance to the Advertising Code, Thakur said in a written response.

The Department of Consumer Affairs had launched the GAMA portal in 2015 where consumers can lodge complaints relating to misleading advertisements. A Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) was established under Consumer Protection Act, 2019, on 24 July 2020, which inter-alia looks into misleading advertisements either suo-motu or on complaints from the central government, according to the I&B minister.