The Central Consumer Protection Authority imposed an Rs 8 lakh penalty on Raising Superstars Enterprises Pvt Ltd for misleading claims about its Prodigy Framework Program, falsely promising accelerated infant milestones like early crawling, walking, and advanced vocabulary development.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has levied a penalty of Rs 8 lakh on the startup Raising Superstars Enterprises Pvt Ltd for making misleading claims related to its “Prodigy Framework Program.”
The startup asserted that children enrolled in the program could crawl at three months, walk at eight months, and develop a vocabulary of 200 words by the age of 18 months.
In an order dated February 25, the Bench, consisting of Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, ruled that the company’s promotional claims lacked scientific support, thereby violating consumer rights.
As a result, the CCPA mandated a penalty of Rs 8 lakh and instructed the company to stop publishing or disseminating these claims or any similar unverified advertisements in the future.
Moreover, the company was directed to adhere fully to the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, which include ensuring proper disclosures and a functional grievance redressal mechanism on its platform.
The case originated in 2022 following a referral from the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), which highlighted the claims on the company’s website.
After a preliminary review, the CCPA issued a show cause notice to the company, questioning why action should not be taken for misleading advertisements. It noted that infant development varies significantly and does not adhere to a uniform pattern.
In response, Raising Superstars claimed that its assertions were backed by scientific literature and expert evaluations. However, it informed the regulator that the claims had been removed from its website in September 2021, replaced with disclaimers indicating that results are not guaranteed and may differ from child to child.
The company described itself as an omni-channel platform providing screen-free activities, coaching support, and parent communities for children aged 0-6 years. It claimed to have over 132,000 customers worldwide, including more than 115,000 in India, along with over 300,000 app downloads.
Following an investigation, the Director General of CCPA reached the conclusion in November 2025 that the claims made by the company constituted misleading advertisements, as they were not substantiated by scientific evidence and depended mainly on variable feedback from parents.
The investigation also revealed that the company initially failed to provide complete contact details for its grievance officer, thereby violating e-commerce disclosure regulations.
The misleading claims and the lack of accessible grievance redressal mechanisms amounted to a significant infringement of consumer rights, as consumers were not given accurate, evidence-based information, according to the findings of the probe.
These conclusions ultimately led to the imposition of the penalty on the company.
Case Title: Case against Raising Superstars Enterprises Private Limited regarding misleading advertisements and violation of consumer rights
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