Chair on Consumer Law and Practice, NLSIU Signs MoU with Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)
November 25, 2025
The Chair on Consumer Law and Practice (CLAP) at NLSIU has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to analyse legal challenges surrounding advertising regulation in India. The collaboration aims to establish a collaborative platform for joint research, capacity building and policy engagement in advertising and consumer law. It aims to advance cutting-edge work in consumer protection law and institutional reforms.
The Consumer Law and Practice Chair was established in August 2008 at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi. The Chair is responsible for promoting research, teaching and training in the areas of consumer law and practice. The objective of the Chair is to serve as a think-tank for research and policy related issues on consumer law and practice
Established in 1985, The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is the self-regulatory body of the Indian advertising industry. ASCI resolves issues around dishonest or misleading advertisements; indecent or offensive advertisements; harmful advertisements and advertisements that are unfair in competition. ASCI looks at advertisements across all media types and formats such as TV, print, digital, outdoor, radio, point of sale, claims made on packaging and so on. It works closely with different stakeholders in the matter of consumer protection. ASCI’s code is part of The Advertising Code enshrined within the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, 1994, providing it with a legal backstop.
Under the MoU, the parties will undertake joint research projects on issues at the intersection of advertising and consumer protection such as influence marketing, dark patterns, AI-generated content and deceptive advertising. NLSIU in addition to conducting capacity building training programs will also convene multi-stakeholder roundtables and produce white papers and policy briefs in the relevant domain.
Dr. Sudhanshu Kumar, Associate Professor of Law, Harsha N, Assistant Professor of Law and Meenakshi Ramkumar, Assistant Professor of Law will be steering the activities under this MoU.