ASCI Unveils Vision 2032, Reappoints Sudhanshu Vats as Chairperson

Mumbai: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has unveiled Vision 2032, its roadmap for the six-year period from 2027 to 2032, placing trust, preventive regulation and ecosystem-wide capability building at the centre of its next phase of self-regulation.

Announced at ASCI's 40th Annual General Meeting, the vision comes as the advertising ecosystem undergoes rapid structural change driven by artificial intelligence, creator-led communication, personalisation, retail media and emerging digital formats. ASCI said the pace of these developments is increasingly challenging conventional approaches to advertising oversight, making the ability to identify, explain and address risks at speed and scale critical to maintaining consumer trust. The organisation noted that advertising-related risks are also becoming part of broader conversations around public health, online safety and children's well-being. At the same time, the growing number of participants in the advertising ecosystem, from platforms and creators to technology providers, is creating new challenges around accountability and transparency.

Under Vision 2032, ASCI will retain traditional self-regulation as the foundation of its mandate while expanding its preventive role across policy, research, education, technology and industry capability building. A key element of the roadmap is the proposed creation of three Centres of Excellence, each addressing a specific area of emerging importance to advertising regulation and responsible industry practices. The ASCI Legal and Policy Forum will bring together industry stakeholders, legal experts, regulators, academics and consumer representatives to deliberate on emerging advertising issues requiring regulatory clarity, interpretation or policy development. The forum is also expected to undertake research, facilitate policy discussions and support guidance and training for the industry.

The ASCI Centre for Responsible Innovation in AI in Advertising will focus on the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence across creative development, targeting, personalisation, influencer marketing and consumer engagement. Its remit will include research and guidance around emerging issues such as synthetic media, AI-generated claims and agentic decision-making, particularly where such technologies could affect consumers' ability to make informed choices. The third initiative, the ASCI Centre for Creator Excellence and Trust, will address the rapidly expanding creator economy. Its focus areas will include professional standards, creator training and certification, disclosure and compliance, as well as research into the evolving creator ecosystem.

The leadership team will continue to steer the organisation through the next phase, with Sudhanshu Vats, Chairperson, ASCI, reappointed for another term. S Subramanyeswar, Vice-Chairman, ASCI, will continue in his role, while Paritosh Joshi, Honorary Treasurer, ASCI, will also continue. Commenting on the roadmap, Sudhanshu Vats, Chairperson, ASCI, said, "The speed at which advertising in India is evolving presents us with formidable regulatory challenges. AI, creators, platforms and personalisation are all reshaping how brands reach audiences.

My focus is on ensuring ASCI's Vision 2032 takes root. The three Centres of Excellence that we are looking to set up in the coming months are an important step in ASCI's journey. The board is focused on ensuring ASCI's capabilities expand at the same speed as the ecosystem it governs."

S Subramanyeswar[/caption] S Subramanyeswar, Vice-Chairman, ASCI, said the expanded approach would bring a wider set of stakeholders into the self-regulatory framework. "Advertising today involves far more players than before and Vision 2032 ensures we involve all of them.

The Centres of Excellence that we have envisaged need and allow for more broad-based participation from many stakeholders beyond the traditional ones in the advertising ecosystem. This ensures that the growing ecosystem of advertising is effectively engaged with self-regulatory practices and contributes to its evolution." Alongside the new Centres of Excellence, the ASCI Academy will continue to focus on training, consumer education and thought leadership. Planned initiatives include a Trust in Advertising Index, training programmes for industry professionals and students, research partnerships, consumer education initiatives and the ASCI AdTrust IP. ASCI also plans to strengthen its existing complaints and monitoring mechanisms.

While its complaints practice will continue to examine consumer complaints, the organisation intends to enhance the capabilities of its suo motu monitoring unit, with greater attention to priority categories, emerging advertising practices and areas of consumer vulnerability. Technology is also expected to play a larger role in ASCI's monitoring framework. Its complaints division is exploring the use of various AI technologies to improve the organisation's ability to identify potentially problematic advertising and respond to emerging risks more effectively. With Vision 2032, ASCI is broadening the scope of its self-regulatory mandate beyond complaint-led intervention towards a more preventive and ecosystem-oriented model. The roadmap positions trust in advertising as the central objective, with policy, research, education, technology and stakeholder engagement forming the supporting pillars for the organisation's next phase.