Given that most of us have at one time or another fallen for the tall promises made in advertisements, the government's move to bring in a law to curb such ads is more than welcome. The proposed law provides for a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh and a ban on advertising the product for up to three years if the product has been endorsed by a celebrity.

That the law has been sought despite India, like all other countries, having a self-regulatory advertising body - the Advertising Standards Council of India - says a lot for the body. Strangely, one of ASCI's mandates of its Code for Self-regulation is that the advertisements be 'honest representations'. Yet, day after day, grossly misleading advertisements continue to be churned out unchecked.