Saugata Gupta, who serves as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Marico Ltd, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). This significant announcement was made during ASCI’s board meeting, marking a pivotal moment for the self-regulatory body. Gupta has maintained a longstanding association with ASCI, including a two-year tenure on the Board of Governors and a four-year period as a special invitee on the Board of Governors.
Joining him in key positions are Partha Sinha, President of Response at Bennett Coleman & Company Limited, who has been elected as the Vice Chairman, and Sudhanshu Vats, Deputy Managing Director of Pidilite Industries Ltd, who has assumed the role of Honorary Treasurer.
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a voluntary self-regulatory organization within the Indian advertising industry, with its establishment dating back to 1985. Registered as a non-profit company under section 25 of the Company Act, ASCI is dedicated to upholding the interests of consumers through self-regulation in advertising. It ensures that advertisements adhere to its Code for Self-Regulation, which mandates that ads be legal, decent, honest, truthful, and free from hazards or harm while maintaining fairness in competition.
ASCI’s purview extends to all forms of media, including Print, TV, Radio, hoardings, SMS, Emailers, Internet/web-site, product packaging, brochures, promotional material, and point of sale material, among others. Its role has received recognition from various government bodies, including the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Ministry of AYUSH, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. These associations aim to co-regulate and combat misleading and objectionable advertisements within their respective sectors.
In a landmark judgment in January 2017, the Supreme Court of India affirmed and acknowledged the effectiveness of the self-regulatory mechanism as a preemptive measure to statutory provisions in the regulation of advertising content for TV and Radio in India. Furthermore, ASCI is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Council on Ad Self-Regulation (ICAS).
ASCI has received numerous accolades from the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA), including two Gold Global Best Practice Awards. These awards were conferred for the Mobile App “ASCIonline” in 2016 and for streamlining complaint processing times in 2013.
Founded in 1985, the Advertising Standards Council of India is headquartered in Mumbai.