Consumers Right

IS THE CONSUMER PROTECTED ?

2012-01-30T05:06:00.000-08:00

In an ideally free market where there are a large number of buyers and sellers, other things being equal, the consumer is the king as he has the choice to buy goods of the quality he desires at a competitive price. However, various factors obstruct and inhibit the existence of such a free market and hence the consumer is at the mercy of the trader and the manufacturer. Rigging prices by creating artificial scarcity is a method adopted by traders to make undue profits in short periods at the expense of the consumer. Other methods adopted by the trader or the manufacturer include false representations about the quality, quantity, grade, composition, style or model of the goods offered for sale and false promises to the effect that the trader/supplier has a sponsorship or approval or affiliation which he does not have, false or misleading representation concerning the need for, or the usefulness of any goods or services and in giving to the public any warranty or guarantee for the performance, efficacy or the length of life of a product or of any goods that is not based on any adequate or proper test thereof and making the consumer buy, sell, hire or avail of any goods or services as a condition precedent for buying, hiring or availing of any goods or services could also be his ploys. By all these unfair or restrictive trade practices, the trader/manufacturer stands to gain at the expense of the consumer.

In order to safeguard the interest of the consumer, Parliament enacted the Consumer Protection Act, 1988. However, it was not the first such legislation to protect the rights of the consumer. Specific provisions already existing in various enactments that safeguard the interest of the consumer are: The Indian Penal Code, 1860, Indian Contract Act, 1872, Sale of Goods Act, 1930, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1950 and The Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

However, it must be noted that the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act are in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of the other laws.

Notwithstanding the existence of these enactments, the consumer has been getting prompt remedies in cases where his rights have been infringed upon. This has been mainly due to the cumbersome administrative procedures in implementing these legislations and the delays in the existing judicial system. Consequently, even when the offenders are prosecuted, litigations prolong endlessly and in the process the offenders go scot free due to lack of clinching evidence, loss of vital documentary evidence on which the courts can rely before pronouncing their judgment.

Prior to the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act of 1969 dealt with cases of restrictive trade practices indulged in by trader/manufacturer. By the amendment of 1984, the MRTP Commission was empowered to award compensation and issue interim injunctions in suitable cases.

According to the Consumer Protection Act, a consumer has been defined as any person who buys goods or hires services for consideration. A complaint means any written allegation that a trader is indulging in unfair or restrictive trade practices or the goods purchased suffer from deficiency. If the price charged is more than what has been legally fixed or hazardous goods are being offered for sale, the consumer can file a complaint too.

To provide speedy and inexpensive justice, quasi-judicial redressal agencies have been set up to adjudicate consumer disputes at the district , state and national levels. The District Forum tries cases up to Rs. 5 lakh, the State Forum between 5 lakhs and 20 lakhs and the National Forum, cases involving more than Rs. 20 lakh.

Besides, appeals from the decisions of the District Forum go to the State Forum and those from the State Forum go to the National Commission. Appeals against the decisions of the National Commission can be heard only by the Supreme Court. The District Forums and the State Forums are under the administrative control of the respective State Governments. Since these courts function at the district level, complainants are not put to much inconvenience in filing the complaints and following them up or to their logical conclusion.

Cases filed by the complainants are decided on the affidavits filed by them. Evidence can also be led by a party to the dispute. However, the lengthy procedures adopted by the civil courts are not normally prevalent in these forums as the complainants themselves, who are laymen, appear before the forums and present their cases without the need to employ lawyers. Except for the President in the District and State Forums who are district or High Court judges, the rest of the members are drawn mainly from persons having a background in economics, law, commerce, industry and public affairs. They are thus better equipped to understand the problems of the consumer. The remedies normally granted in these forums are to remove/replace the defects or defective goods; return to the complainant the price or charges paid by them; award compensation for loss or injury suffered by the consumer; discontinue any unfair trade practice indulged in by the trader; and award costs to parties.

The forum does not have power to pass interim orders by way of injunctions. Though the framers of this piece of legislation hoped that the consumer would find a quick and speedy justice in these forums, the average time for disposal of a case ranges from 2 to 3 years. The reasons for such delays are not far to seek. Firstly, many of these District/State Forums do not have the full complement of members for long periods as the vacancies are not filled up on a regular basis. Secondly, these courts are not given due secretarial/assistance - many times even proper accommodation is not provided to house these forums.

Considering the large number of cases which are already pending disposal and the continuous flow of cases due to increased awareness of consumers as to their rights, there is need to establish more such forums in the various States and Union territories.

The State Government are mostly involved in the effective functioning of these forums, but it seems they are not bestowing sufficient attention. Unless remedial steps are taken to meet these shortcomings, this legislation would remain just as one more on the statute book.

Consumer protection act-an important milestone in consumer movement

2012-01-30T05:03:00.001-08:00

It is now universally accepted that the level of consumer protection is a true indicator of the level of progress in a country. A minimum level of consumer protection and responsiveness to his expectations and requirements is considered an essential aspect of any civil society. Recognising this United Nations General Assembly has laid down guidelines for consumer protection in 1985. Based on this Government enacted the (COPRA) in 1986 to provide a simple, speedy, and inexpensive redressal mechanism to address the grievances of the consumers which has been not only preventive in nature but also compensatory in nature. The Section 6 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 has defined six basic rights of the consumers: -

Right to Safety

Means right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services, which are hazardous to life and property. The purchased goods and services availed of should not only meet their immediate needs, but also fulfil long term interests. Before purchasing, consumers should insist on the quality of the products as well as on the guarantee of the products and services. They should preferably purchase quality marked products such as ISI, AGMARK, etc

Right to be Informed

Means right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices. Consumer should insist on getting all the information about the product or service before making a choice or a decision. This will enable him to act wisely and responsibly and also enable him to desist from falling prey to high pressure selling techniques.

Right to Choose

Means right to be assured, wherever possible of access to variety of goods and services at competitive price. In case of monopolies, it means right to be assured of satisfactory quality and service at a fair price. It also includes right to basic goods and services. This is because unrestricted right of the minority to choose can mean a

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*24^TH December is National Consumer Day

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denial for the majority of its fair share. This right can be better exercised in a competitive market where a variety of goods are available at competitive prices.

Right to be Heard

Means that consumer's interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums. It also includes right to be represented in various forums formed to consider the consumer's welfare. The Consumers should form non-political and non-commercial consumer organizations which can be given representation in various committees formed by the Government and other bodies in matters relating to consumers.

Right to Seek Redressal

Means right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers. It also includes right to fair settlement of the genuine grievances of the consumer. Consumers must make complaint for their genuine grievances. Many a times their complaint may be of small value but its impact on the society as a whole may be very large. They can also take the help of consumer organisations in seeking redressal of their grievances.

Right to Consumer Education

Means the right to acquire the knowledge and skill to be an informed consumer throughout life. Ignorance of consumers, particularly of rural consumers, is mainly responsible for their exploitation. They should know their rights and must exercise them. Only then real consumer protection can be achieved with success.

Definition of a Consumer

Section 2(d) of the Act defines consumer as a person who buys, hires or avails of any goods or services for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid or promised. According to Section 2(d) ii of the Act the term consumer also includes the user of such goods or beneficiary of such services. Thus as per this definition even a child purchasing chocolate is a consumer.

The term consumer, however, does not include a person who obtains such goods and the services for resale or for any other commercial purpose.

Common problems faced by Consumers

With liberalisation and globalisation and greater thrust towards privatisation accompanied with heightened awareness on account of increased availability of information and media exposure today’s consumer has changed radically. There is a growing concern for environment protection and healthy consumption. At the same time the consumer wants greater value for the money spent by him. However, inspite of best efforts during the course of consumption a consumer may encounter many problems. Some of the significant problems are listed below: -

Adulteration
Spurious goods
Use of deceptive/incorrect rates
Supply related problems
Variation in the contents of the packet
Defective goods
Poor after sales services
Deficiency of service
Not-honouring the terms and conditions of sales and service
Non-fulfilment of guarantee/warrantee
Misleading advertisements
Hidden prices components
Price discrimination
MRP

Grievance Redressal mechanism under CPA

An aware consumer can approach Consumer Protection Act at three different levels. For complaints that involve payment of compensation upto Rs. 20 lakh, the consumer can approach District Consumer Court. For complaints above Rs. 20 lakh but less than 1 crore, consumers can approach State Consumer Commission. For complaints above one crore, the aggrieved person will need to approach the National Commission for redressal of his grievance.

Documents required for complaints

In order to substantiate complaints the consumers should have following documents :-

Cash memo/receipt
Warranty card duly signed and stamped by the vendor/company
Catalogue/brochure of the concerned product/service
Insurance policy, if applicable
Job card if applicable
Invoice

Who can file a complaint?

A complaint can be filed by
A consumer to whom goods are sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or such services provided or agreed to be provided.
A Voluntary Consumer Organisation (VCO)
The Central Government
The State Government, Union Territory Administration
One or more consumers where they are of same interest
In case of death of consumer, his/her legal heir or representatives

Grounds to File a Complaint

Any allegation in writing made by the complainant against the trader or service provider should enlist :-

Adoption of any unfair trade practice or restrictive trade practice.
The goods bought or agreed to be bought suffer from one or more defects.
Services hired/availed, or agreed to be hired/availed, suffer from any deficiency.
The trader has charged for the goods or services a price in excess of the stipulated price i.e. MRP or displayed on goods or on the package.
The goods or services being offered to the public are hazardous to life and safety.

Limitation period

A complaint can be filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has arisen. However, a complaint may be entertained after the period if the complainant had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period by recording its reason for condoning such delay.

Format of Complaint

A complaint filed in the District Forum should contain the following information :-

The name, description and the address of the complainant
The name, description and address of the opposite party or parties
The facts relating to the complaint and when and where it arises.
Documents, if any, in support of the allegations contained in the complaint.
The relief, which the complainant is seeking.

Maximum Retail Price

The concept of maximum retail price (MRP) has not really been very well understood by the consumer. Issues relating to MRP could be broadly summed up as below :-

MRP has in most cases been used as a price at which the retailer sells the goods. In a sense the MRP has become Minimum Retail Price. However, few retailers cut marginally in the MRP.

MRP are fixed by the manufacturer and not by the Government. However, a large number of consumers have been made to believe that MRP is fixed by the Government. In some cases MRP is followed by local taxes etc. which is totally illegal.

Role of regulators in helping the consumers

The battle for consumer protection has to be fought by many agencies. The Consumer Protection Act has been rightly defined as the “Magna Carta of Consumers”. However, since the authority of products and services available in the market is huge the Central Government has realised the importance of regulating the functioning of important industries in public interest. Industry regulators have been set up in various sectors so as to enable the consumers suitable redressal on their grievance pertaining to these industries :-

S.No.	Industry	Regulator
1.	Banks	Reserve Bank of India
2.	Insurance	Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
3.	Telecom	Telecom Regulator Authority of India and TDSAT
4.	Capital Markets	Securities and exchange Board of India (SEBI)
5.	Electricity	Central and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions

Independent regulatory agencies are empowered to regulate the specific industry relevant to their area of function. Regulators are meant to be independent in not just by the political establishment but from the market players as well. Ability of an institution to deliver consistent regulatory environment over time and their level playing field for all stake holders is a crucial determinant of regulatory efficiency.

Need is also being felt for setting up regulatory mechanism for other service sector agencies such as broadcast and cable, airport and others.

CPA – What has been achieved?

Thanks to the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, our country has a vibrant consumer movement today due to the efforts of Government, consumer organisations and the establishment of consumer courts. India is the only country in the world which has exclusive courts for consumer redressal. This has been internationally praised including the developed countries. The Consumer Protection Act has succeeded in brining about fair play in the supply of goods and services to a large extended. However, the rapid changes in the consumption pattern of the modern day consumer is bringing new challenges in the consumer movement in the country.

How effective have been the Consumer Courts

While a lot has been written about delays in disposal of consumer cases, the actual statistics speak otherwise. As on 14.11.07, the overall disposal was 90.65% in respect of District Fora, 73.41% in respect of State Commissions and 81.95% in respect of the National Commission. On pursuing the overall disposal rate, it is clear

that the high disposal rate of cases in consumer courts is a trend setter for all quasi judicial organisations.

S.No.	Name of Agency	Cases filed since inception	Cases disposed of since inception	Cases Pending	% of total Disposal
1.	National Commission	49730	40753	8977	81.95%
2.	State Commissions	419404	307889	111515	73.41%
3.	District Forums	2431091	2203764	227327	90.65%
	Total	2900225	2552406	347819	88.01%

Social responsibility of Consumers

While Government has the pivotal role in formulating procedures and standards, it is the consumers themselves who have the social responsibility of exposing the manufacturer/supplier or the service provider for resorting to illegal trade practice. Consumers have to realise their role and importance. The consumers shall be a winner only when he knows his rights and enforces them. It requires a voluntary effort involving the participation of one and all. If the consumers remain passive, they will continue to be exploited.

The young generation has a major role to play in ensuring a vibrant consumer movement. As can be seen from the preceding paras our country being a young nation the 70% of population below 35 years the onus really is on the youth to ensure that he protects himself from any kind of fraudulent/unfair trade practices. For this awareness is the key that can ensure that not only the consumer gets a fair deal, the manufacturing as well as the services sector shall become efficient, transparent and accountable since they would be aware that any malpractice will be challenged by the aware consumer. An aware consumer is an asset for the nation.

Impact of Consumer Protection Act becoming Perceptible

2012-01-30T05:01:00.001-08:00

The impact of Consumer Protection Act is now perceptible in the operations of providers of goods and services. This was stated by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution while inaugurating the National Consumer Day function here today.

The Minister said “In the Government and Public Sector we now see several Regulators, Ombudsman and grievance redressal mechanism in place, we can also discern the operation of consumer grievance redressal system in the private sector. This, to my view, is due to the proactive approach adopted in the Consumer Protection Act, by bringing the consumer rights in the forefront.”

Prof. Thomas said, “In India it is not the legislative measures that are lacking in providing the consumer with the mechanism or the enabling environment for protecting their rights. The challenge is in the strengthening of the administrative mechanism in implementing such measures. This can be achieved by striking a balance between the health of the economy and that of the consumers.” He said, the responsibility lies on the stakeholders, in particular the government and VCOs to crate awareness about the existence of the redressal mechanism and laws protecting consumer interests. This will not only empower the consumers, but also smoothen the process of policy implementation, the Minister stressed.

On the consumer responsibility which is this year’s theme of National Consumer Day, The Minister said that introduction of consumer responsibility should have a salutary impact on the growing market economy in India as well as on its environment. Prof. Thomas asked the higher income groups to work towards environment protection as they are in a good position to influence the other sections of the population.

Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Shri Rajiv Agarwal in his address stressed on the need for concerted efforts by all the stakeholders for educating the consumers. He said, Government has taken up a number of activities and schemes for creating consumer awareness in the country. The ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ slogan is now well known for informing the common man of his rights as consumer.

President, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mr. Justice Ashok Bhan, in his key note address, said that it is possible to bring down the pendency of consumer dispute cases to zero level if proper infrastructure and logistical support is provided to dispute redressal machinery.

Amendments Proposed in Consumer Protection ACT to Facilitate Faster Disposal of Cases

2012-01-30T04:59:00.000-08:00

The Government has introduced Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2011, in Lok Sabha on December 16, 2011, to facilitate quicker disposal of cases and to widen and amplify the scope of some of the provisions of the Act.

The enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, was an important milestone in the field of consumer protection. In terms of the Act, consumer disputes redressal agencies have been set up at the 629 District, 35 State and National levels to render simple, inexpensive and speedy justice to consumers in respect of complaints against defective goods, deficient services and unfair/restrictive trade practices. With a view to faster redressal of complaints and to rationalize procedure of appointments in consumer disputes redressal agencies, it has been felt necessary to amend the Act.

Amendments proposed provide for the following-

On line filing of consumer complaints

Making provision for registering complaint by electronic form (on line filing complaint)- Since the Consumer Forums are being computerized it is proposed to make provision in the law to permit consumers to file complaints as well as pay fee online, which would make the consumer for a move towards e-governance/ time bound redressal.

Enforcement of orders as a Decree of Civil Court

Making provision that an order of the District Forum / State Commission/ National Commission will be enforced as a Decree of a Civil Court- This modification is considered essential in view of the experiences gained during implementation of the amended Act and is intended to deter willful offenders and also to ensure speedy and proper execution of the order of the consumer forums, so that justice to the aggrieved consumers is not frustrated.

Payment to be made for non-compliance of the order

Making provision for payment by every person for not complying of the order of District Forum / State Commission / National Commission of an amount of not less than Rs.500 or 1½ per cent of the value of the amount awarded- whichever is higher, for each day of delay of such non-compliance of the order. This modification is considered essential in view of the experiences gained during implementation of the amended Act and is intended to deter willful offenders and also to ensure speedy and proper execution of the orders of the consumer forums, so that justice to the aggrieved consumers is not frustrated.

Powers to District Forum

Empowering District Forum to function in any other place apart from District HQrs, in consultation with State Government / State Commission - This provision is considered necessary to allow State Governments the flexibility to club neighboring Districts Forum as also give additional charge to President/Members to hear cases in more than one District Forum so as to effectively deal with the non-functionality of Districts Forum caused due to vacancy of President/Member.

Conferring powers to District Forum to issue order to the opposite party to pay reasonable rate of interest on such price or charges as may be decided by the District Forum- This provision is considered necessary to empower the consumer forum to award interest where the consumer has suffered due to protracted litigation.

Powers to State Government in selection process

Empowering State Government to refer back the recommendation of the Selection Committee for making fresh recommendation in order to avoid any delay in the Selection process- This is felt necessary to facilitate quicker filling up of the posts in the Consumer Forums and to avoid the consumer Forum remaining non-functional for long due to such vacancy thereby adversely affecting consumers’ interest.

Increase of age in the appointment

Increasing the minimum age for appointment as Member in the case of State Commissions from 35 to 45 years, and in case of National Commission from 35 to 55 years- This is proposed to improve the quality of persons applying for these posts.

Experience for members

Increasing the period of experience for appointment as Member in the case of State Commission from 10 years to 20 years and in the case of National Commission from 10 years to 30 years-This is proposed in order to improve the quality of persons applying for these posts.

Powers to National Commission / State Commission to direct any one to assist the case

Conferring powers to National Commission / State Commission to direct any individual or organization or expert to assist National Commission / State Commission in the cases of large interest of the consumers- This provision would enable the National Commission or the State Commission, in cases involving the larger interests of the consumers, an opportunity to suo moto enlist the services of an expert or an outside party, in an ongoing case, in the interest of justice.

Monitoring system of pending cases

Conferring powers to Central Government to call upon periodical reports of pending cases from National Commission and to State Government from State Commission or any District Forum- The provision is considered necessary to enable easy availability of data regarding filing and disposal of consumer complaints, which would help in monitoring the functioning of the consumer for a and effectiveness of the law.

The above said amendments proposed in the Act will go a long way in speedy redressal of Consumer grievances and sturdy protection of Consumer rights.

Amendments in Consumer Protection Act Under Consideration

2012-01-30T04:57:00.001-08:00

The Government is considering further amendments in Consumer Protection Act to make it more vibrant and effective. This was stated by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution while inaugurating newly constructed building of Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission here today. He said that a dynamic society requires constant updating of existing laws to meet the welfare and development needs of the people.

Stressing on speedy disposal of cases at Consumer Dispute Redressal Fora, Prof. Thomas said Government is implementing e-Governance project called “CONFONET” to built three tier information system at Consumer Fora which will help to dispose cases quickly. All the 35 State Commissions and 593 District Fora have been covered under this IT project.

Highlighting the need of aggressive Consumer Awareness Programme, the Minister said it is very important to built consumer confidence at the time when markets are growing very fast and variety of new services are being introduced. Consumer has to be educated to protect his or her interest. Prof. Thomas said media can play a significant role in this endeavour especially to educate consumers against misleading advertisements. Such advertisements violate the consumer rights to information and inform choice, thereby causing him financial loss and even mental agony. The Minister expressed the hope that recent initiative taken by the Department of Consumer Affairs in this regard would get wholehearted cooperation by the media industry.

Central Consumer Protection Council to Review Consumer Protection Measures

2012-01-30T04:51:00.000-08:00

Central Consumer Protection Council (CCPC), the apex body in the area of consumer protection will meet here tomorrow to review consumer protection measures and activities in the country. The meeting to be chaired by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution will be attended by ministers incharge of consumer affairs from the States (two each from five regions in the country), Members of Parliament, Administrators of Union Territories , representatives of Central Government, consumer organizations and consumer activists.

In its day-long meeting, the CCPC will discuss following –

- Consumer right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property;

- The right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices;

- The right to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices;

- The right to be heard and to be assured that consumer’s interests will receive due consideration at appropriate Fora;

- The right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers; and

- The right to consumer education.

The Consumer Protection Act enumerates for formulation of Consumer Protection Councils at the Central, State and District Levels with an objective to protect the rights and interests of the consumers. The Consumer Protection Councils guide the establishment in framing the rules and regulations for better protection of consumers.

Consumer Rights and Redressal mechanism

2012-01-16T00:29:00.000-08:00

Due to globalization and opening of Indian markets to foreign players Indian consumers today have an access to innumerable brands. In every industry whether it is fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) or durable goods or service industry there are more than twenty brands at national level catering to the needs of the consumers. This situation of plenty is giving the consumer an opportunity to choose goods and services from a wide spectrum. But is the consumer getting value for money? why is consumer protection becoming more important in today’s scenario? and is the concept ‘let the buyer beware’ still exists? or are we moving towards consumer sovereignty?

Importance of Consumer Welfare

Consumerism, importance of consumers in the market, increasing awareness among consumers are some of the important milestones in the development of consumer affairs in India. A country’s economy revolves around its markets. When it is a seller’s market the consumer exploitation is the maximum. When there are large number of buyers and sellers, consumers enjoy a number of choices. Before enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 India had a sellers market. Thus, the year 1986 marks a watershed since then consumer protection in India gained momentum.

Further liberalization of our economy in 1991 gave opportunity to Indian consumers to get quality products at competitive prices. Earlier in order to protect our own industries government restricted foreign competition. This led to a situation where consumers were getting very few choices and quality wise also our products were inferior. For purchase of car there used to be a huge booking and there were only two brands available. Nobody bothered about consumer interests and the attitude was towards protecting our own industry.

Thus the need for consumer satisfaction and consumer protection was recognized. A consumer is considered as an inevitable part of a socio-economic –political system, where the exchange initiated and transaction realised between two parties, namely buyers and sellers has an impact on a third party ie, society. However, the inherent profit motive in mass production and sales also offers the opportunity to many manufacturers and dealers to exploit consumers. Problems of defective goods, deficiency in service, spurious and duplicate brands, misleading advertisements are rampant and often the gullible consumer falls prey to it.

Protecting The Consumers' Rights

2012-01-04T23:01:00.001-08:00

Consumer protection is a term we often hear now-a-days.Whether it was the unprecedented industrial catastrophe of Bhopal in the aftermath of the gas leakage tragedy in 1984 or the purchase of faulty sewing machine, the plight of the sufferers is more or less the same. The consumers suffer due to the callousness on the part of some irresponsible people. They are duped and frustrated victims of injustice. The disillusioned citizens’ silent protest may not be heard often. But India has a large number of voluntary social organisations which register their protests over violations of basic rights. In fact, with the help of their intensive lobbying, the State also took up this genuine cause and armed its citizens with the Indian Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The Act is fully geared up to safeguard public interest. Since its inception, the State Commissions disposed of 1,24,048 out of 2,05,470 cases filed so far. Likewise, the District Forums have settled 11,64,315 out of 14,08,903 cases brought before them.

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted on 24th December, 1986 for better protection of consumers’ interests and settlement of consumer disputes and matters connected therewith. For this purpose, the Act provides for the setting up of a three-tier quasi-judicial machinery at the national, State and district levels to deal with consumer disputes in the fields of defective goods, deficient services, unfair trade practices, restrictive trade practices, over-charging and hazardous goods. There are also provisions for setting up consumer protection councils at the Central and State levels which are advisory bodies to promote and protect the rights of consumers. The enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was considered as a most important milestone in the area of consumer protection giving the necessary impetus to the consumer movement in the country.

The Department of Consumer Affairs, being the nodal Department in the field of consumer protection, is not only responsible for administering the Consumer Protection Act but also for strengthening the consumer movement in the country. Generating consumer awareness is the key to the success of the movement. The Government has also set up a Consumer Welfare Fund for encouraging voluntary consumer organisations and non-governmental organisations to undertake consumer-related activities to create consumer awareness and strengthening the voluntary consumer movement in the country, especially in the rural and backward areas.

The concern for consumer protection, both here and abroad, is not really new. It is centuries old. The consumers’ rights like the right to have safe, un-adulterated and defect-free commodities at appropriate prices have been recognised since ancient times. And to keep the consumer movement live, World Consumer Rights Day is observed every year on 15th March. On this day the then US President, John F Kennedy, made a landmark speech. He was the first one to identify and endorse the concept of consumer rights. With the adoption of UN guidelines in 1985, consumer rights have been accepted in principle by governments the world over. Since then World Consumer Rights Day has been observed every year.

The Department of Consumer Affairs being the nodal department for consumer protection and welfare, started observing the World Consumer Rights Day from 1988 onwards. The Department not only observes the Day in a befitting manner by undertaking various outdoor publicity programmes including audio/video/print publicity programmes and arranging seminars but also requests all the State governments, Central Government Departments/Ministries, voluntary consumer organisations, trade and industry associations and the media to do the same.

In the wake of the recent earthquake in Gujarat, this year’s theme for the World Consumer Rights Day is "Standards in Construction - Consumers’ Concern".

A flexible approach is needed on the part of all institutions under the Act while entertaining and disposing of complaints from consumers in minimum possible time. Consumer Forums, in turn, have also encouraged the complainants to approach them without the assistance of lawyers to prevent judicialisation of the whole process, a trend against which consumer activists have been warning.

The purchase of adulterated mustard oil by a poor housewife is in the same category as a fraud perpetrated on the rich investor. Small matters for some are inevitably big issues for others. It is all relative. Keeping the interest of such small consumers, the Government is all set to table the Consumer Protection Amendment Bill in the ongoing session of Parliament. The Bill will facilitate a quicker disposal of complaints and enhance the capabilities of redressal agencies.

Spreading Awareness About Consumer Protection

2012-01-04T22:57:00.000-08:00

Intensive multi-media campaign was mounted to generate consumer awareness across the country. Advertisements were released to more than 400 newspapers including national as well as regional dailies through DAVP. Apart from the issues that are directly relevant to the role of the Department such as ISI, Hallmark, labelling, MRP, weights and measures etc., a major initiative has been taken wherein issues that have come into focus on account of new emerging areas such as telecom, real estate, credit cards, financial products, pharmaceuticals, BEE etc. have been taken through the print advertisement either through joint campaigns with these departments or after joint consultations with these departments. Around 30 major issues were taken up as part of the print advertisements and more than 12000 insertions were given in the newspapers.

The Department got produced video spots of 30 seconds duration on various consumer related issues for telecast through Doordarshan and Satellite channels. Special programmes have been telecast on Lok Sabha TV also to highlight the issues relating to consumer awareness. Issues pertaining to rural and remote areas have been given prominence in the various advertisement spots.

Video spots produced in Regional languages of North Eastern States on various consumer related issues were telecast through Doordarshan Kendras of North Eastern States to ensure that the message reaches out in the local language.

The Department in consultation with Department of Post has disseminated consumer awareness messages through Meghdoot Post cards to reach far-flung rural areas including North East States. Calendars displaying messages on the various issues relevant to consumers were displayed in the network of more than 1.55 lakh post offices throughout the country. Similar initiative were also been taken for displaying posters on consumer awareness in the network of more than 25,000 Post Offices in the urban areas.

Publicity was also mounted on various issues of consumer interest such as real estate, education, medicines, banking sector, telecommunication etc. through the outdoor publicity mediums such as banners, hoardings etc. An innovative way of publicity was found out by printing of messages on railway tickets as well as utility bills such as electricity bills and also by printing of messages on railway reservation charts. This publicity was carried not only in Hindi and English languages but almost in all the regional languages so as to reach out to all consumers in their respective languages.

National Consumer Helpline

The Department had launched a National Help Line in 2005. A Toll Free Number 1800-11-4000 is being operated by Delhi University for counselling the Consumers to redress their grievances. The timing of toll free number facility is available to consumers from 9-30 A.M. to 5-30 P.M. on all the working days (Monday—Saturday) and 011-27662955-58 (Normal Call Charges apply). Through the various advertisements pertaining to Department of Consumer Awareness adequate publicity has been given to National Helpline so that the affected consumers could seek guidelines/counselling through the national helpline. Wide publicity was given to National Consumer Helpline by running scrollers on DD news channels throughout the year.

CONFONET

The scheme for “computerization and computer networking of Consumer Fora in the country”, which was launched through National Informatics Centre (NIC) as a turnkey project during the Xth Plan, has been extended into the XIth Plan during the year with an outlay of Rs.25.69 crores. Under this scheme, all Consumer Fora in the country are being computerized which would allow exchange and consumer to access the status of their cases. In the XIth Plan, greater stress is being laid upon continued HR support by means of technical support personnel (TSPs) as well as training.

Strengthening the Infrastructure of Consumer Fora

The Central Government has been extending financial assistance to States/UTs for strengthening the infrastructure of consumer fora so that minimum level of facilities are made available at each consumer forum, which are required for their effective functioning. These include construction of new building of the consumer fora, carrying out additional/alteration/renovation remuneration of existing buildings and grant for acquiring non-building assets such as furniture, office equipment etc. Rs.13.20 crores was released during 2009. A total amount of Rs.159.00 crores has been released to States/UTs from 1995-96 to 2008-09.

INTERNAL TRADE

During the year 2009, forward trading in 115 commodities continued at 4 national exchanges, viz. Multi Commodity Exchange, Mumbai; National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, Mumbai, National Multi Commodity Exchange, Ahmedabad and India Commodity Exchange Gurgaon. Trading was also done in some of the commodities at some of the 18 regional exchanges recognized for regulating trading in various commodities approved by the Commission under the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1952.

The National Commodity Exchanges, with the adoption of modern technology, have spread the facility of commodity futures trading across the country. The total value of trade for the calendar year 2009 (January 2009 to November 2009) was Rs.62.94 lakh crore as against Rs.46.65 lakh crore in the preceding calendar year, registering a growth of 34.9%. Bullion, base metals, energy products and agricultural commodities were the major group of commodities traded at the exchanges. Amongst these, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, chana, soy oil, guarseed, jeera, pepper and energy products were prominently traded during the year. During the period, futures trading was introduced in some new commodities viz: Almond, Heating Oil, Gasoline and imported Thermal Coal.

The endeavour of the Commission has been to prevent market manipulation and ensure market integrity, financial integrity and customer protection. The major Regulatory and Developmental initiatives taken by the Commission during 2009 were:-

Regulatory Initiatives

• Issue Guidelines for divestment of the equity by the existing National Exchanges after fifth year of their operation on 29th July 2009.

• Recognition of the India Commodity Exchange Limited, Gurgaon as a “national exchange’ on 9th October 2009.

• Inspection of books of accounts of Exchanges and their members: The Commission has been inspecting the books of accounts of the Exchange –Members, particularly of National level Commodity Exchanges, viz. MCX, Mumbai, NCDEX, Mumbai and NMCE, Ahmedabad on a regular basis since 2006-07. During the year 2009, 99 new audits in the case of members of National Commodity Exchanges were assigned. Besides, audit of 3 National Exchanges and 14 Regional Exchanges were also assigned to the auditors.

• The Forward Markets Commission undertook various regulatory initiatives to improve the delivery system at the Commodity Exchanges which would facilitate the participation of hedgers in these markets. The major Regulatory initiatives taken during 2009 in this regard are:

Introduction of Direct Delivery System

In order to enlarge the scope of delivery and widen the delivery base so that goods from warehouses located away from the existing limitations can be delivered, the Commission on 16.3.2009 has granted approval to the Direct Delivery mechanism at of NCDEX.

I. Introduction of Exchange for Physicals (EFP) and Alternate Future Settlement Mechanism (AFS):

II. Higher Position limits for NAFED to facilitate hedging and delivery by them.

III. Introduction of early delivery system in select commodities to facilitate hedging operations and encourage physical delivery.

IV. Issuing of Guidelines for bringing members of the commodity exchanges under the purview of the Money Laundering.

Besides, the Commission continued to effectively regulate the markets and intervened in the markets as and when required by way of increasing margins (potato, turmeric etc.)

Developmental Initiatives

The Commission has taken the following steps in recent years to ensure that the markets are broad based and its benefits reach all the stakeholders of the Commodity Markets.

• Promoting the participation of hedgers (producers, processors, exporters, importers, etc.) to counter balance the speculative element in the price discovery.

• Increasing the awareness level of different category of stakeholders especially farmers to make them aware of the existence of as well as benefits from the futures markets, sensitization of policy makers and capacity building in the commodity sector.

• Working on various models of “Aggregation” to enable the farmers to take the benefit of actual hedging on the Commodity Exchanges to manage their price risks.

• Working on a project of Price Dissemination through APMCs and other centres to empower the farmers with price information.

• Meeting with various stakeholders to understand their difficulties, problems and felt needs so as to align/ design policies to feasible/ desirable objectives.

Promotion of Hedgers’ Participation

The Commission has taken various measures to promote participation of Hedgers in the commodity futures markets. In order to understand the regulatory areas that required modification for facilitation of greater Hedgers’ participation in the commodity futures market, periodic discussions are held with exchanges and stakeholders. Besides these regular discussions, several meetings have been held with the corporate houses at

the all India level to take their suggestions for improving hedgers’ participation in agri-commodities, metals and Energy products.

Based on the feed back received during the meetings and market intelligence gathered, the Commission has taken several proactive steps to facilitate Hedgers participation including focusing on the delivery system of the Exchanges, expanding delivery period, direct delivery, exchange for physicals (EFP), duration of contracts, quality related issues and relaxing near-month open interest limit in certain commodities in which the hedgers were facing difficulties in giving adequate physical delivery in case of adverse price movement.

Creation of Awareness

Creation of awareness amongst the farmers and related bodies and organizations, including the ones which could be potential hedgers / aggregators has been one of the major activities of the Commission in last three years. During 2009, 208 awareness programmes for various stakeholders of the commodity futures market were conducted. Of this, 96 programmes were exclusively for farmers.

Project for Price Dissemination

The Forward Markets Commission has, in association with the Commodity Exchanges initiated a process of dissemination of futures and spot prices at various mandis, post offices, rural branches of the Banks and other areas frequented by the farmers. The dissemination of price information is expected to help farmers in their pre-sowing and post harvest decision making process and improving their bargaining capacity in the APMCs vis-à-vis traders. This will enable them to fetch a better price for their produce. The project for dissemination of spot and futures prices in commodities of relevance to particular States / areas / mandis is being implemented in consultation with AGMARK. 885 Mandis have already been identified for implementation of the project so far. The project would be extended to other Mandis

and locations where farmer footfall is high. The process of placement of electronic price ticker boards in mandis for displaying the price information has commenced.

ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES, REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT

To enable the State Governments / UT Administrations to take effective action for undertaking de-hoarding operations under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, it was decided with the approval of the Cabinet to keep in abeyance some provisions of the Central Order dated 15.02.2002 in respect of pulses, edible oils, edible oilseeds, rice, paddy and sugar. This has enabled the State Governments/UT Administrations to fix stock limits for these commodities and also prescribed licensing. In respect of first five items, the orders issued are valid till 30.09.2010 (extended vide order dated 25.09.2009published in the Gazette of India). As per reports received from the State Governments/UT Administrations, 23 States /UTs have either issued stock limits for all the items or for a couple of items or have issued only licensing requirements /stock declarations (of these 23, 18 State/UTs have actually issued stock limit orders / are in the process of issuing. Five States/UTs have issued licensing requirements / stock declaration requirements).

In respect of sugar, this order is valid till 08.01.2010 and the validity of this order is being extended further up to 30.09.2010 separately. Further, in respect of sugar, the Central Government have also issued orders providing for stock holding / turn over limits.

Consumer Protection Act – The Road Map Ahead

2012-01-04T22:51:00.000-08:00

With increasing globalisation, liberalisation and harmonisation of economies of various nations coming together the issues concerning consumer protection are now being accorded the topmost priority by the respective Government. The Consumer movement in India is as old as trade and commerce. In Kautilya’s Arthshastra there are references to the concept of protection of consumers by the king against exploitation by the trader and retailer with respect to quality, short rate, measurement and adulteration of goods.

The growing size and complexity of production and distribution systems, the high level of sophistication in marketing and newer methods of advertising, mass marketing methods and emergence of e-commerce result in reduction of personal interaction between buyers and sellers has contributed to the increased need of consumer protection.

Consumer Protection – Priority Area for Government

As the nation celebrates the National Consumer Day to commemorate the enactment of Consumer Protection Act on 24th December, 1986, the Government is treating consumer protection as one of its topmost priority areas.

However, making of a law in itself is not the end. Education and awareness is the most powerful tool for the progress of the country and an educated individual is able to make rationale choice as a consumer. An aware consumer protects himself from trade and business exploitation.

Basic Framework for Consumer Protection

Consumer protection initiatives by the Government hinge on 3 basic parameters. Firstly ensuring a legal framework that comprises of Consumer Protection Act (CPA). The Act enacted in 1986 has been recognised as one of the finest basis of legislation enacted in any part of the world and India can boast of being only country having such specialised legislation for consumer protection. The CPA has a three tier, simple, quasi judicial machinery at the National, State and District level for hearing cases raised by consumers. Secondly, evolving standards for different products to enable the consumers to make an informed choice about different products. Standards which are the essential building block for quality play a key role in consumer protection. Standard could be on technical requirement (specifications), improved specific standard terminology (glossary of terms), codes of practice or test methods or management systems standards. The standards are set generally by Government or inter-Governmental bodies but world wide it is being recognised that voluntary establishment of standards play an equally important role for protecting consumers. Thirdly, consumer awareness and education is the main building block for consumer protection. An enlightened consumer is an empowered consumer. An aware consumer not only protects himself from exploitation but induces efficiency, transparency and accountability in the entire manufacturing and services sector.

National Action Plan on Consumer Protection

Consequent upon the 50th National Development Council Meeting Planning Commission has identified consumer awareness, redressal and enforcement of Consumer Protection Act as a priority agency for action by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The allocation for consumer protection activities was significantly enhanced in the last two years and for the 11th Plan a sum of Rs. 409 crore has been embarked exclusively for mounting a publicity campaign to make consumers aware of their rights. The plan has been approved by the Expenditure Finance Committee and consequent upon getting Cabinet approval a comprehensive multi media campaign shall be launched with ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ as the theme to make consumers aware.

Consumer Protection – The Road Map ahead

The Department of Consumer Affairs has embarked on an ambitious array of activities with due support from Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance.

CONFONET Project

A project titled Computerisation and Computer Networking of consumer fora in the country is being executed on a turnkey basis by the National Informatics Centre. Under this scheme the consumer fora on all the three tiers would be fully computerised and interconnected enabling them to access information leading to quicker disposal of cases. Out of 35 State Commissions and 607 District Fora, 33 State Commissions and 555 district Fora have been covered under this project so far. The project ultimately aims at enabling online registration of complaints by the consumers and will prove to be a significant step forward in easier access to consumer fora.

Time Bound Disposal Of Cases

In a country of vast magnitude as India prompt redressal of complaints is a mammoth task inspite of various constraints a consumer forum have achieved remarkable success. They have disposed of around 88% cases out of more than 27 lakh cases filed so far. There have been occasional delays in disposal of cases by the redressal agencies. Taking due cognisance of the need to expedite, the Department of Consumer Affairs is in the process of amending the Consumer Protection Act further to prescribe a specific time frame for disposal of cases.
Awareness Campaign

In a big country like India, given the scenario of economic disparity and level of education and ignorance, educating the consumers remains a gigantic task. Government has taken up number of activities and schemes in creating consumer awareness. The slogan ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ has now been well established and through multi media publicity campaign revolving around this theme Government has endeavoured to inform the common man of his rights as a consumer.

Consumer Clubs

The scheme for setting up of consumer clubs in schools and colleges have been introduced to make the youngsters aware of their rights as a consumer. Research institutes/universities/colleges are also being involved in promoting consumer protection and consumer welfare.
Private Public Partnership

Role of academic and consumer organisations as well as the NGOs is therefore to educate and involve the consumers in the movement. Therefore, they have been given a prominent role in the Consumer Protection Act itself to take up cases on behalf of consumers which could be of an individual or a group of consumers. In fact CPA is a unique piece of legislation wherein it introduced the concept of what later came to be known more popularly as the PIL.
Alliance With FICCI

Various programmes have been undertaken under the Consumer Welfare Fund to strengthen the consumer movement in the country. The recent initiative of the Department was to involve trade and industry associations to make them redress the grievances of consumers through a voluntary code of conduct. A project known as “FICCI Alliance for Consumer Care” is being undertaken with the support of the Central Government. All these measures are expected to resolve consumers’ complaints at the first point of contact itself, thereby reducing the workload on the Consumer Fora.

Tie Up With Legal Institutions

A need has been felt to address the major concerns of consumers in some critical areas, which require technical expertise of high order. The Department has therefore, communicated with leading Institutions/Central Universities like IITs, IIMs, National Law Universities etc, with the objective of setting up Centres of Excellence or Chair on Consumer Studies focusing on a particular area of consumer welfare. As a result the Department has set up an exclusive Chair on Consumer Law and Practice in the National Law School of India University at Bangalore and a Centre for Consumer studies at Indian Institute of Public Administration.
Online Consumer Guidance

The Department has started a ‘Consumer Online Resource and Empowerment Centre (CORE Centre)’ for providing consumer related information, guidance and consumer complaint guidance mechanism through the online medium. It is being run by the Consumer Coordination Council (CCC), which is a coalition of 51 consumer organizations of this country. A Comparative Testing of products and services is being implemented by the VOICE Society, New Delhi in order to monitor the Quality Standards of Products and Services through comparative testing, and dissemination of information to consumers through publications.

Consumer Helpline (NCH)

To advise the consumers on the various issues concerning consumer protection a ‘National Consumer Helpline’ is being operated through the University of Delhi with the support of Department of Consumer Affairs. The toll no. 1800-11-4000 allows a consumer anywhere in the country to call this number and get proper advise regarding his problem. From its inception around 1,25,000 calls have been received which shows its efficacy. The NCH is being further strengthened with setting up of state level consumer helpline which will provide service in regional languages also.
Strengthening Of Infrastructure

Another area, which relates to consumer protection is the implementation of weights and measures laws. During 11th Plan, it has been proposed to augment the infrastructure available with the States/UTs at a cost of Rs. 325 crore. Under the scheme of Strengthening of Weights and Measures infrastructure of States/UTs, the standards laboratories of the States/UTs are being strengthened by providing them with 270 sets of working standard balances, 59 sets of secondary standard balances and 34 mobile kit of testing weighing bridges. The Package Commodity Rules 1977 has been amended in July 2006 for the benefit of the consumers.
Thrust On Standardisation

In helping the consumer exercise their rights, quality and standards have a crucial role to play. Standards provide consumers with reliable benchmarks of quality. Quality consciousness is not yet a way of life in India as it is in the West. The Bureau of Indian Standards has taken initiatives in introducing a certification scheme for foreign manufacturers and imported goods, food safety certification as per ISO Standards. Certification Scheme for Hallmarking of Gold jewellery and Silver artefacts is an important contribution of BIS in safeguarding consumer interests.

Responsibilities of Consumer

Every consumer in own interest has to realise the role and importance in the right perspective. In a competitive economic environment, the consumer has to exercise the choice either in favour of or against the goods and services. The choice is going to be vital and final. One would have to realise the importance and prepare to exercise their rights with responsibility. The consumers in society get a position in the market depending upon what they do or do not do.

Amendments Proposed in Consumer Protection ACT to Facilitate Faster Disposal of Cases

2012-01-04T22:45:00.000-08:00

An Alert Consumer Is A Protected Consumer

2011-12-02T00:03:00.001-08:00

Every citizen in the country becomes a consumer in one way or the other while purchasing various goods and services. Not being aware and alert, one has to pay the price of exploitation from trade, industry and service providers. But things have changed now. With most of the consumers becoming increasingly aware of their rights and also their civic responsibilities, protecting the consumers welfare has been one of the paramount concerns of the Government in the post- Independence period. Policies have been designed and legislation enacted to protect the interests of consumers and grant them the rights of choice, safety, information and redressal. A separate Department of Consumer Affairs has been created at the Centre to exclusively focus on protecting the rights of consumers and promotion of standards in goods and services.

Who is a consumer?

A consumer is anyone who buys or agrees to buy any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised or under any system of deferred payment.A consumer also includes any user of such goods other than the person who actually buys goods and such use is made with the approval of the purchaser. However, a person is not a consumer if he purchases goods for commercial or resale purposes. In the case of "services", a "consumer" means a person who hires or avails of any service or services for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised or under any system of deferred payment. It also includes any beneficiary of such service other than the one who actually hires or avails of the service for consideration and such services are availed with the approval of such person.

Consumer Protection Act

One of the most important milestones in the area of consumer protection in the country has been the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. This Act was necessitated since the well-organised sectors of manufacturers, traders and service providers with the knowledge of market and manipulative skills continue exploiting the consumers, despite the existence of various laws protecting their interests. It is one of the most progressive and comprehensive pieces of legislation and provides for a separate three-tier quasi-judicial consumer dispute redressal machinery at the national, State and district levels. Its National Consumer Policy statement takes into account, inter alia, the following two rights of the consumers: basic needs and a healthy environment. The right to basic goods and services includes adequate food, clothing, health care, drinking water and sanitation, shelter, education, energy and transportation. A healthy environment entails the right to a physical environment that enhances the quality of life. It includes protection against environmental damage and acknowledges the need to protect and improve the environment for future generations as well. One of the significant objectives of the National Consumer Policy is to make it mandatory that consumer impact assessment is required in every area of governance where consumer interests are affected. Unlike existing laws, which are punitive or preventive in nature, the provisions of this Act are compensatory in nature. The Act is intended to provide simple, speedy and inexpensive redressal to the consumers’ grievances and relief of a specific nature and award of compensation wherever appropriate to the consumer. It applies to all goods and services and it covers private public and cooperative sectors.

Consumer Courts

A three-tier quasi-judicial machinery, popularly known as consumer courts, at the national, State and district levels has been set up to render free redressal to the consumers’ disputes against any defective goods and deficient services which include unfair and restrictive trade practices. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission known as National Commission is based at New Delhi. Each State has a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission known as the State Commission. Similarly, every district in the country has a Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum – known as the District Forum.

Under the Act, a complaint means any allegation in writing made by a complainant in case of defective or hazardous goods, deficiencies in services, and charging of excess price by the trader other than the fixed price. If the cost of the goods or services and compensation asked for is up to rupees five lakh then the complaint can be filed in the District Forum where the cause of action has arisen or where the opposite party resides. It can also be filed at a place where the branch office of the opposite party is located. If the cost of goods or services and compensation asked for is more than five lakh rupees but up to twenty lakh rupees, the complaint can be filed before the State Commission. If the cost of goods or services and compensation asked for exceeds rupees twenty lakh, the complaint can be filed before the National Commission at New Delhi.

A complaint can be filed free of cost before the District Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission, the complainant or any of his/her authorised agent/person can present the complaint in person. It is not obligatory to engage a lawyer. Even a consumer organisation can be authorised to represent the case. The complaint can be sent by post to the appropriate Forum/Commission.

The facts relating to complaint and when and where it arose; supported by documents, relating to the allegations and the relief which the complainant is seeking should also be duly mentioned and signed by him. The complaint is to be filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action arose. This period can be condoned on merits by the Redressal Agency.

A consumer can file a complaint free of cost against the decision of a District Forum before the State Commission within a period of thirty days. Any appeal against the decision of a State Commission can be filed before the national Commission within thirty days. Appeal against the orders of the national Commission can be filed before the Supreme Court within a period of thirty days from the date of the order. This limitation period can be condoned on merits by the redressal forum. The procedure for filing the appeal is the same as that of complaint except that the application should be accompanied by the orders of the District Forum/State Commission as the case may be and grounds for filing the appeal should be specified.

The National Commission, State Commissions and District Forums are required to decide complaints, as far as possible, within a period of three months from the date of notice received by the opposite party where the complaint does not require analysis or testing of the commodities and within five months if it requires analysis or testing of commodities. Where the opposite party or its agent fails to appear on the date of hearing, the Commission/Forum may decide the complaint ex-parte. Not more than one adjournment shall ordinarily be given. Since inception till now, 16,02,706 cases have been filed in these three-tier agencies. Out of them 12,63,399 (78.8 per cent) of cases have been disposed of.

The governments at the Centre and the States continue their efforts to enforce the intent of the Act and make the consumer courts effective. Government efforts are also directed at the creation of consumer awareness through various agencies. The welfare of consumers now remains in their own hands. Hence alert consumers, aware of their rights and responsibilities, can not only protect themselves but can also make consumer sovereignty a reality.

Consumer Rights under Consumer Protection Act

2011-12-01T23:56:00.001-08:00

24th December is an important day in the history of consumer movement in India as on this day the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 came into existence. Consumer Protection Act is considered as the Magna Carta for protecting consumer rights through establishment of advisory and adjudication authorities. This year the theme proposed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is “Consumers! Discharge your Responsibilities: Assert your Rights” which clearly means ‘there cannot be rights without responsibilities’.

Consumer Rights under Consumer Protection Act

Section 6 of the Consumer Protection Act clearly mentions the six rights available to the consumers. These are -

· Right to Safety: To be protected against the sale of goods and services, which are spurious/ hazardous to life and property.

· Right to information: To know the quality, quantity, weight and the price of goods/services being paid for, so that one is not cheated by unfair trade practices.

· Right to Choose: To be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices.

· Right to be heard: To be heard and to be assured that the interest would receive due consideration at appropriate fora.

· Right to Seek Redressal: To seek legal redressal against unfair or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers.

· Right to Consumer Education: To have access to consumer education.

Gandhiji in the light of the above rightly said “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work - he is the purpose of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to serve him.”

Having examined the consumer rights and the purpose served by them, it is necessary to consider whether consumers should also be responsible enough to be entitled to exercise their rights. For instance, to be able to exercise their right to be heard, consumers should avail of the opportunities to know and be informed about consumer problems. To exercise their right to seek redressal of complaints, consumers must take all precautions to choose the right goods at the right price and learn how to use the products to prevent injury or loss. Some of the consumer problems can be avoided if we act responsibly.

Before Buying

As a responsible consumer we should plan our purchases in advance so that we get the right value for our money. We should try to enquire about the past performance of a product/service and also try to find out the reputation of the producer/ seller/service provider. Thus, self-help is the biggest tool in the hands of the consumers and they should make an informed choice. In this regard we can make use of comparative testing reports as published by voluntary consumer organizations such as, Voice and CERC for getting reliable and unbiased information about various brands which have been tested at various government approved laboratories.

While Buying

Consumers should collect information from various dealers regarding price and quality before purchasing products such as, cars, refrigerators, computers, etc. The proof of purchase and documents relating to purchase of durable goods should be obtained and preserved. It is important to get a cash memo with serial number, address and phone number to register a complaint, in a consumer courts, regarding defective product or deficiency in service. Similarly, durable consumer goods like TV, refrigerator, etc. carry warranty /guarantee cards issued by the dealers. The cards entitle the consumers to get the service for repairs and replacement of parts free of cost for a certain period after the purchase. Consumers should never sign a contract without first reading it. They should never sign a blank contract that a salesperson says will be completed later. If there is anything they do not understand, they can insist that it should be explained to them.

After Purchase
It is the responsibility of the consumer to use the product as per instructions given in the user manual. Further receipts, guarantee cards, terms of contract (photocopies), should be kept safely. In case of fault the dealer or the service center should be informed. Consumers should not meddle with the products themselves and should keep records for all correspondences and file them. Some consumers, especially during the guarantee period, make rough use of the product, thinking that it will be replaced during the guarantee period. This is not fair on their part. They should always use the products properly.

Besides the above responsibilities, consumers should be conscious of some other responsibilities. They should stick to the agreement made with manufacturers, traders and service providers. They should make timely payment in case of credit purchases. They should remember that they can exercise their rights only when they are willing to fulfill their responsibilities. As a dutiful consumer we should reduce waste, reuse and recycle products and think in terms of sustainable consumption. Thus, on the National Consumer Day we should be proud that we have rights but also should discharge our responsibilities.

Strengthening The Consumer Movement In India

2011-12-01T23:51:00.001-08:00

The consumer movement in India is as old as trade and commerce itself. Even in Kautilya’s Arthshastra, there are references to the concept of protection of consumers against the exploitation by trade and industry, short weighment and measurements, adulteration along with the punishment for these offences. There was, however, no organized and systematic movement actually safeguarding the interests of the consumers. Prior to Independence, consumer interests were considered mainly under laws like the Indian Penal Code, Agricultural Production Grading and Marketing Act 1937, and Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Even though different parts of India had varying degrees of awareness, in general the level of awareness was low.

It is generally believed that the consumer movement in India as of today is quite strong when it is compared with other developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. India is a vast country with a very large population of which a sizeable percentage lives below the poverty line. Because of economic inequality, low level of literacy and ignorance, particularly amongst women, the level of consumer awareness is not too high and , therefore, the consumers are not able to assert and protect themselves. They easily get exploited by trade and industry and service providers.With the liberalisation process which started in 1991 the entire economic scenario is undergoing a complete change from a government-driven economy to a market-driven economy. Protecting the interests of consumers has, therefore, become one of the paramount concerns of the Government than ever before. Hence, policies are being designed and legislations enacted to protect the consumers’ interest and grant them the right to choice, safety, information and redressal.

Consumer Protection Act, 1986

One of the most important milestones in the consumer movement in the country has been the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to better protect the interest of the consumers. This has revolutionised consumer rights. It is one of the most progressive and comprehensive pieces of socio-benevolent legislation covering all goods and services. The Act provides for a separate three-tier quasi-judicial consumer dispute redressal machinery, popularly known as consumer courts, at the national, state and district levels to provide simple, speedy and free redressal against consumers’ complaints. Filing of a simple complaint on plain paper with the details of the case with supporting documents seeking relief or compensation is enough and it is not obligatory to engage a lawyer. According to the objects and purposes of the Consumer Protection Act, these quasi-judicial bodies observe the principles of natural justice while adjudicating consumer complaints against defective goods, deficient services and restrictive and unfair trade practices through summary trials. The Act applies to all goods and services and covers all sectors, whether private, public or cooperative.

Amendments

The Act was amended in 1991 mainly to incorporate provisions for the quorum of District Forum, appointing persons to preside over State Commission/District Forum in case of absence of the President to enable the court function uninterruptedly. In 1993 the Act was again amended exhaustively to make it more effective and purposeful.

The Government has formulated comprehensive proposals for amending the Consumer Protection Act mainly based on the recommendations of the Working Group and Expert Group set up for the purpose and the wide-ranging consultations its had with the representatives of consumer interests, presidents of the national and state commissions and Central Government Ministries and Departments. These amendments are mainly aimed at facilitating quicker disposal of complaints, enhancing the capability of redressal agencies, strengthening them with more powers, streamlining the procedures and widening the scope of the Act to make it more effective to protect the consumers’ interest .

The Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2001 introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 26th April, 2001 among other things addresses the issues of quicker disposal of complaints, widening the scope of the Act, strengthening the Consumer Courts, streamlining the procedure and a proposal to strengthen the consumer movement. It is also proposed to establish a consumer protection council in every district in order to strengthen the consumer movement at the grassroot level.

Enactment of the Amendment Bill will not only further strengthen the consumer movement in the country but also help the large number of consumers in securing speedy and effective redressal of their complaints.

Government’s Role

A separate Department of Consumer Affairs was created in 1997 to act as the nodal outfit in the Central Government for promoting and protecting the welfare of consumers. It seeks to do this in various ways such as ensuring availability of essential commodities at reasonable prices including monitoring of prices, formulating standards of goods and services, regulation of weighing and measuring instruments and prepacked commodities and providing a legislative framework for safeguarding consumers’ interests and establishment of a machinery for redressal of consumer complaints.

To meet these objectives the Department has been undertaking various measures involving all concerned to strengthen the consumer movement in the country. Some of the important measures being taken to strengthen the consumer movement include initiating multimedia publicity programmes to educate the consumers, providing financial assistance through consumer welfare fund to the NGOs and State Governments to generate consumer awareness, setting up of district information centres to guide the public, national awards on consumer protection to encourage outstanding work by women and youth, observing national and World Consumer Rights Day to remind the consumers to be vigilant, interactions with various interests through Central and State Consumer Protection Council to promote and protect the rights of the consumers, formulation of citizens’ charters containing their entitlements to public services, standards of performance and redressal of grievances for providing an efficient and responsive administration.

The success of the consumer movement mainly depends upon the level of consumer awareness around the country. The Government can only be playing the role of a facilitator or catalyst. The growth of consumer movement is a voluntary effort involving the participation of one and all. Only alert consumers can protect themselves and the society.

Demands of Cell Phone Consumers

2011-12-01T23:47:00.001-08:00

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) had sought views of stakeholders, as part of a consultation process undertaken recently , regarding demand for single plan for all pre-paid consumers in the country. The majority of stakeholders are not in favour of the ‘One Plan for All’ suggestion.

TRAI had issued a Direction on 3rd May 2005, mandating all access service providers that no chargeable value added service shall be provided to a customer without his explicit consent and any value added service , being provided free of charge earlier, shall not be made chargeable without the explicit consent of the customer. TRAI issued further directions prescribing the manner in which the explicit consent of the customer is to be obtained before providing value added services. TRAI has recently issued a Direction to all the service providers, on 4th July 2011, prescribing that confirmation should be obtained from consumers through SMS or email or Fax or in writing within 24 hours of activation of value added service, failing which the service shall be deactivated without any cost to the consumer.

Department of Telecom(DoT) has adopted Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System(CPGRAMS), a web based on-line System, developed by National Informatics Centre for expediting the grievance redressal processes in respect of grievances received in Public Grievance(PG) cell of DoT.

Computerization of Consumer Forums in Country

2011-11-18T20:49:00.000-08:00

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has given very high priority to the consumer protection. Accordingly, the Department of Consumer Affairs has taken up computerization and computer networking of consumer forums in country . This has enabled easy access of information and facilitate quick disposal of cases at consumer forums.

Now the consumer can obtain required information about the provisions in Consumer Protection Act, details of consumer redressal mechanism, addresses of consumer forums and the status of his case filed at the consumer forum just with the click at the website www.confonet.nic.in. NGOs and lawyers can also access the list of cases to be heard on particular day and judgments delivered in the past by the consumer forums at the website.

Project of Computerization and Computer Networking of Consumer Forums (CONFONET) has been implemented to strengthen the consumer protection mechanism to protect consumers from all forms of exploitation. Under the provision of Consumer Protection Act, quasi-judicial machinery, namely, Consumer Forums at the district level and Consumer Dispute Redressal Commissions at the State and national level have been setup. With the objective to make the fruits of this benevolent Act reach its wide target audience, this project has been taken up.

Target Audience

The Confonet Project has been catering to a wide range of beneficiaries. These include:

· Consumers

· Consumer Activists and NGOs

· Members of Consumer Courts

· Bar Councils

· Advocates

Services

Consumers and other stake holders can access following services:

· Information on Consumer Rights and Protection- Consumers, NGOs, Consumer Rights Organizations and Consumer Activists can access information related to Consumer Rights and Consumer Protection through the Confonet Website.

· Online schedule of cases- List of cases to be heard by the courts on following day and search of date-wise list of cases has been made available on the website. Lists of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), various State Commissions and District Forums can be easily accessed online.

· Online Judgements - Date-wise free-text search for copies of judgments uploaded by National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), State Commissions and District Forums can be accessed on the website.

· Online case status and case history - Case status and history of various consumer cases can be accessed on the website.

Two options for Case Status Search have been provided:

Simple Search: This option allows one to obtain the case status when exact Case Number is known

Advanced Search: This option allows one to search for the case status when the exact Case Number is not known. The various search criteria include complainant’s name, respondent’s Name, advocate’s name, case type etc.

Statistical Reports

The Members and staff of the various Consumer Commissions and Forums can access statistical reports regarding filing, disposal and pendency of cases at their respective commissions/forums. These reports are also available on the website.

Citizens Right to Grievance Redress Bill 2011

2011-11-14T23:27:00.000-08:00

The Citizens Right to grievance Redress Bill 2011 marks the next milestone in the UPA government’s mission to enact a series of rights based legislations. Drawing on the framework of the Right to Information Act, the objective of this Bill is to ensure that the common man receives quick and efficient delivery of the goods and services to which he is entitled and which may have been delayed for any reason whatsoever.

The other objective of this Bill is to ensure that a person who is denied a public good or service to which he is entitled is able to take action against the person who is denying that service on a mala fide ground (such as a demand for a bribe in exchange for the service).

To this end the Bill directs all public authorities to draft and publish a ‘Citizens Charter’. This document contains a list of functions and obligations that the public authority can be reasonably expected to fulfil. In addition to this the name and addresses of individuals responsible for the delivery of goods or the rendering of services is to be provided as well. An illustrative list of contents for the ‘Citizens Charter’ is provide in the Bill itself. This Charter is to be updated annually.

The Bill establishes new authorities at the level of the Block, District, State and the Centre. A person can file a complaint with the ‘Grievance Redress Officer’ at the level of the concerned department itself. Within fifteen days of the filing of this complaint the aggrieved individual is to receive the public good or service he was denied. If his complaint is not addressed within fifteen days the same is automatically escalated to the level of the Head of Department along with an ‘Action Taken Report’ detailing the reason for the lack of action on the complaint. The Head of Department has to resolve the complaint within thirty days of receipt.

Appellate bodies to hear appeals from the Head of Department have been constituted at the level of the State and the Center. If an official is found to have denied a service unfairly or in a mala fide manner then penalties can be imposed against him.

In addition to this a new body called the ‘Information and Facilitation Center’ shall be established within each public authority to provide aid to any individual who wishes to file a complaint. This body along with the Grievance Redress Officer shall provide all necessary education and assistance to an aggrieved person.

Where it appears to the Head of the Department of the Public Authority that the grievance complained of its indicative or representative of a corrupt act on the part of the individual officer then it shall record the evidence in support of such conclusion and shall initiate criminal proceedings against the official.

The existing mechanisms have proven to be inadequate when it comes to redressing the grievances of citizens. Most of them are housed within the public authority complained against, thereby leading to an ostensible conflict of interest.

The Bill significantly strengthens the ability of the common man to demand delivery of public goods and services. It further promises to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the system by eliminating avenues for bureaucratic delays.

Govt to appoint five lakh grievance redressal officers to address consumer complaints

2011-11-08T04:03:00.000-08:00

Government is to appoint nearly five lakh Grievance Redressal Officers for addressing consumer complaints to weed out corruption at lower levels.

This is provided in the draft Citizens' Right to Grievance Redress Bill. Participating in the Public Speak programme of All India Radio last night, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's office V Narayanswamy said that these officers will be given proper training to file consumer complaints.

Under the draft bill , consumer complaints needs to be remedied within 15 days. The Minister informed that consumers can approach the higher authority if their complaints are not addressed by the Grievance Redressal officer within 15 days.

These will then have to be redressed within a month. The draft bill also has the provision of imposing penalities on the defaulting officers if the complaints are not redressed within a specified time frame. Mr Narayanswamy informed that to ease the process of filing complaints, a strategy to file complaints online or through SMS is also being worked out.

Government has invited suggestions from the general public on the draft Citizens' Right to Grievance Redress Bill. Mr Narayanswamy said that he is hopeful that the bill will be passed in the Winter session of Parliament.

Suo-motto action against misleading advts by Govt

2011-10-20T23:50:00.001-07:00

An independent agency is being set up to take suo-motto action against misleading advertisements. Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas told that the agency will have experts from various fields to check the exaggerated claims about their products and services in their advertisements.

Mr. Thomas said that his ministry is in consultation with Information and Broadcasting ministry along with other stakeholders to chalk out the strategy at the earliest.Expressing concern over rising consumer complaints against misleading advertisements, the Minister emphasized the need for co-ordination between different departments to keep a tab on such advertisements.

He added at present, the Food Processing, Health and Information and Broadcasting Ministries are dealing with misleading advertisements under various legislations separately.Stating that the proposed agency will work under the Department of Consumer Affairs, Mr. Thomas said that an inter-ministerial committee was constituted in August to look into these issues.

National Consumer Helpline Records 12,830 calls in September 2011

2011-10-20T23:46:00.000-07:00

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) received 11,138 calls during September 2011. In addition to these telephonic calls/complaints, 459 complaints were also received through online complaint system on NCH website. . The maximum calls were received from Delhi followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Break-up of calls in respect of top five States during September 2011 is as under:


S. No.	State	Complaints	% age of total calls
1	Delhi	3755	29.27
2	Uttar Pradesh	1953	15.22
3	Maharashtra	1535	11.96
4	Haryana	956	7.45
5	Rajasthan	837	6.52

The ‘Product’ sector contributed 16% of the total calls/complaints followed by ‘Public Distribution System’, ‘Banking’, ‘LPG’, ‘and ‘Telecom’ registering between 4%-13% complaints. As per feedback received from 398 callers, 352complaints were resolved under convergence with various companies.

Consumers from across the country can access the toll free National Consumer Help Line No. 1800-11-400 and seek telephonic counseling for consumer related problems faced by them. The Consumer Helpline also provides information, advice and guidance related to consumer issues. Complaints can be registered also on the website: www.nationalconsumerhelpline.in.

Self help Through Consumer Protection

2011-10-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work - he is the purpose of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to serve him”, said Gandhiji.

Consumers today want value for money, a product or service that would meet reasonable expectations, should be safe in use and full disclosure of the product specification. These expectations are termed as ‘Consumer Rights’. 15 March is observed as the World Consumers’ Day.

Consumer Protection Act, 1986

The most important milestone in Consumer Movement in the country has been the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The Act has set in motion a revolution in the field of consumer rights, that perhaps cannot be paralleled anywhere else in the World. The Act applies to all goods and services unless specially exempted by the Central Government, in all sectors whether Private, Public or Co-operative.

The Act enshrines all the consumers rights which are internationally accepted. As per the Act, the consumer protection councils have been established at Central, State and District levels to promote and protect the consumer rights. They are:

· Right to Safety: To be protected against the sale of goods and services which are spurious/ hazardous to life.

· Right to information: To know the quality, quantity, weight and the price of goods/services being paid for, so that one is not cheated by unfair trade practices.

· Right to Choose: To be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices.

· Right to be heard: To be heard and to be assured that the interest would receive due consideration at appropriate fora.

· Right to Seek Redressal: To seek legal redressal against unfair or restrictive trade practices or exploitation.

· Right to Consumer Education: To have access to consumer education.
Awareness

The success of consumer movement depends upon the level of consumer awareness generated among the masses about their rights and responsibilities. It has been observed that where literacy rate is high and social awareness is better, the consumer can not be easily exploited. Being a nodal department for Consumer Protection, the Department of Consumer Affairs has taken several steps to strengthen consumer movement in the country and protect consumer interest by involving State Governments, Voluntary Consumer Organisations, and Consumer Activists etc.

Consumer Protection in India received a shot in the arm in recent times with the Department of Consumer Affairs, introducing new schemes like setting up of Consumer Clubs in schools and the launching of Jagriti Shivir Yojana for spreading consumer awareness. The setting up of a National Consumer Helpline in Delhi University, to be run by the students and faculty with financial assistance from the Department is a major step in this direction. It has a toll free number 1800-11-4000, which allows a consumer anywhere in the country having a problem to ring up this number and get proper advice.

Children are the backbone of any society. Children in India constitute 18.7% of the World kids population and one-third of our country’s population is under the age of 15 years. Thus in India, children form a massive 30% of the total population and this segment is growing at a rate of 4% per annum. This means a huge target market of 300 million is available to advertisers and they are already focusing on the kid channels.

A survey by A C Nielsen UTV’s research partner showed that an average child watches TV for about three hours on week days and 3.7 hours on weekends, the time spent on television goes up with age, and the preferred language of viewing is Hindi across all age groups. Apart from the programmes children also view a lot of the advertisements.

In India the advertising expenditure per year on products meant for children but purchased by parents, like health drinks, is 12 to 15 per cent of the total Rs. 38,000 million. Ad expenditure per year on products meant for children and also bought by them such as chocolates is seven to eight per cent. By promoting awareness among them the Consumer Movement in the country will be further strengthened.

Consumer Courts

Many schemes have been started by the Government to empower the Indian Consumer. Like setting up of Consumer Courts.

To provide simple, speedy and inexpensive redressal to consumer grievances . Under the Act, a 3-tier quasi-judicial machinery have been set up at national, state and district levels. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) referred to as National Commission is the apex consumer redressal forum and is located in New Delhi. Each state has a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission known as the State Commission. Similarly, every district in the country has a Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum known as the District Forum.

Consumer -On Line

Another intervention is the “Consumer Online Resource and Empowerment Centre (CORE Centre)” for providing consumer related information, guidance and an online consumer complaint redressal mechanism. It is being run by the Consumer Coordination Council (CCC), which is a coalition of 51 consumer organizations of this country.

The country now has exclusive special law to protect the interest of the consumer with a foolproof redressal mechanism in case of defective goods and unsatisfactory services. Hence the welfare of consumers now remains in their own hands. If the consumers are responsible, vigilant and are able to assert their rights and responsibilities, resist/reject substandard goods/services wherever required and do not hesitate to seek justice through consumer courts if needed, the manufacturers, traders and service providers cannot afford to take them for granted while selling a product or rendering service on payment or to adopt any unfair trade practice. An alert consumer aware of his rights and responsibilities not only can protect himself but can also make consumer sovereignty a reality.

A Brief History

15th March has a historic importance as it was on this day in 1962, when the Bill for Consumer Rights was moved in the US Congress. During his speech President John F. Kennedy had remarked: “If a consumer is offered inferior products, if prices are exorbitant, if drugs are unsafe or worthless, if the consumer is unable to choose on an informed basis, then his dollar is wasted, his health and safety may be threatened, and national interest suffers.”

John F. Kennedy had equated the rights of the ordinary American consumer with national interest. He gave the American consumer four basic rights such as, right to safety, right to choose, right to information, right to be heard. Kennedy recognised that consumers are the largest economic group in the country’s economy, affecting and affected by almost every public and private economic decision. But they were also the only important group who were not effectively organised, whose views were not heard. These were the political circumstance in USA when the US economy was growing after the second world war and the middle class was expanding. As consumers faced exploitation by business, Kennedy the politician used consumer rights as a political opportunity during his election campaign. He received support from the American public. When he was elected as US President he took a series of steps to ensure the implementation of consumer rights.

Therefore, the US Federal Government, by nature the highest spokesman for all people, had a special obligation to the consumer’s needs. Thirteen years later President Gerald Ford felt that the four rights constituted in Kennedy’s Bill of Rights were inadequate for a situation where most consumers are not educated enough to make the right choices. So he added the Right to Consumer Education to these rights. An informed consumer cannot be exploited easily.

The Consumers International (CI), formerly known as International Organisation of Consumer Unions (IOCU), the umbrella body, for 240 organisations in over 100 countries, expanded the charter of consumers rights contained in the US Bill to eight, which in a logical order reads: 1.Basic Needs 2.Safety 3.Information 4.Choice 5.Representation 6.Redress 7.Consumer Education and 8. Healthy Environment.

This charter had a universal significance as they symbolised the aspirations of the poor and disadvantaged. On this basis, the United Nations, in April 1985, adopted its Guidelines for Consumer Protection.

Data on Under-Recoveries and Price Buildup of Sensitive Products Made Available On-Line

2011-10-15T04:11:00.001-07:00

As part of the efforts of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in introducing greater transparency regarding under-recoveries incurred by the Oil Marketing Companies ( OMCs) and calculations regarding the same, the Ministry has commenced placing updated and elaborate data on under-recoveries, prices of crude oil and price build-up of sensitive petroleum products, on its website (www.petroleum.nic.in). The information can be accessed on the following link on the home page of the ministry’s website:

Latest News
• POL Prices and under-recoveries
• Price Buildup of Sensitive Products

Information about product-wise under recoveries is also available on the website. Under-recoveries incurred is being updated on a fortnightly basis. It also includes the actual under-recoveries for the previous quarter. The Ministry has also uploaded details about price build-up of Diesel, Kerosene and LPG for prices prevailing at Delhi, on its website. The price buildup tables are accompanied by separate explanatory notes for each of these sensitive products.

Develop New Occupational Safety and Health Strategies at International, National and Company Level to deal with Work Related Stress- Mallikarjun Kharge

2011-09-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

Union Labour & Employment Minister Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, has called upon the world community to come together to develop new occupational safety and health strategies at international, national and company level to deal with work related stress.

Shri Kharge was addressing the XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in Istanbul, Turkey today. He said that globalization of economies the world over has taken deep roots in the recent years. Together with the development of the new information technology regime, it is bringing about radical changes in society. Occupational safety and health has not remained aloof from these changes. The greatest challenge today for the countries is transforming difficulties into opportunities.

He reiterated that the magnitude of the global impact of occupational accidents and diseases at workplace as well as major industrial disasters, in terms of human suffering and related economic costs, have been a long-standing source of concern both nationally and internationally. According to ILO estimates, over 2.3 million workers are killed due to work related accidents and diseases world-wide every year. This amounts to approximately 6,300 work related deaths per day. Economic losses because of work related accidents have been tremendous.

He mentioned that the downturn in the global economy in the past three years has led to loss of jobs. This has resulted in work related stress, depression, family break-ups, alcoholism, drug abuse and in some extreme cases, suicides.

Shri Kharge emphasized that the recession in the global economy has affected the profitability of a number of companies. Consequently, a number of companies have cut down their occupational safety and health budgets. Though the companies may think that they save some money in short term, the overall cost in terms of accidents, ill-health, injuries and downtime would be much greater. Investing in occupational safety and health can reduce both direct and indirect costs to the company. It would decrease the injuries and accidents, thereby improving efficiency and productivity. It would also decrease absenteeism and improve the worker morale. This could again result in better performance of the company reducing payments of insurance premium at company level and social security pay-outs at Government levels.

He called upon the international community for the development of an appropriate response to these issues, which should rely on and make use of the collective body of knowledge, experience and good practice in this area. Safety and health measures are necessary to create and sustain a safe and healthy working environment. Furthermore, such measures can also improve quality, productivity and competitiveness.

He informed the House that Government of India has factored all these issues in its National Policy on Safety, Health and Environment at the Workplace in 2009. The policy seeks to provide a statutory framework on Occupational Safety and Health in respect of all sectors of economic activities. It lays down the rules for designing a suitable control system of compliance, both, through enforcement and incentives. It focuses on improving administrative and technical support services along with enhancement in research and development capability. It also emphasizes an improved data collection system.

While talking about improvements in Occupational Safety and Health standards, he emphasized the importance of OSH in the agriculture sector. This is a special concern for countries like India, where almost 65% of the population is engaged in agriculture and related activities. There is a huge scope for research and development in safe agriculture equipment, pesticide, fertilizers and other agricultural practices. There is a need to develop a comprehensive policy comprising guidelines, awareness generation, education, training, implementation, follow up, data collection, research & development.

He mentioned that we need to go much beyond legislation for a comprehensive solution to all these issues. Governments, employers, workers and NGOs all over the world must help to generate a nation-wide campaign to raise public awareness about giving importance to occupational safety and health in the national agendas.

The minister concluded with a call to ensure that Occupational Safety and Health policy should sub-serve the equitable cause of all the workers in the work of world collectively.

The World Congress on Safety and Health at Work Congress is held every three years, the last one being held in Seoul. The Congress is being organised this year by Turkey jointly with International Labour Organisation and International Social Security Association.

Jaago Grahak Jaago

2011-06-29T00:48:00.001-07:00

Consumer Rights Violations made by Banks

2011-06-29T00:46:00.000-07:00

Know About Consumer Rights Improve your Credit Rating

2011-06-29T00:43:00.000-07:00

Consumers International

2011-06-29T00:36:00.001-07:00

National Consumer Helpline Records 10,760 Calls in May 2011

2011-06-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) received 10,760 calls during May 2011. In addition to these telephonic calls/complaints, 383 complaints were also received through online complaint system on NCH website. The maximum calls were received from Delhi followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan

Break-up of calls in respect of top five States during March 2011 is as under:

S. No.	State	Complaints	% age of total calls
1	Delhi	3251	30.0
2	Uttar Pradesh	1539	14.30
3	Maharashtra	1360	12.64
4	Haryana	889	8.26
5	Rajasthan	702	6.52

Of the total calls/complaints, 19% relate to ‘products’ sector followed by telecom, Insurance, Banking ‘and’, ‘LPG’. As per feedback received from the callers, 323 complaints were resolved.

Consumers from across the country can access the toll free National Consumer Help Line No. 1800-11-4000 and seek telephonic counseling for consumer related problems faced by them. The Consumer Helpline also provides information, advice and guidance related to consumer issues.

Strict Action against Misleading Advertisements

2011-06-03T06:34:00.000-07:00

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution will soon convene a meeting to discuss the issue of misleading advertisements with various service sector ministries and related agencies. Expressing concern over such advertisements for various consumer products and services, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Prof. K V Thomas has said that a committee of experts will be set to suggest measures to deal with misleading advertisement effectively.

During his visit to the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), a public service project of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, functioning out of University of Delhi here today, Prof. Thomas said that his ministry is deeply concerned about consumer issues and problems and has already had discussions in this regard with various service sectors and stakeholders. He said National Consumer protection policy drafted by his ministry would go to the Cabinet soon for approval.

National Consumer Helpline is the state of art call centre, which provides information, advice and guidance to consumers from across the country, over toll free number 1800 11 4000, and assists in redressal of consumer complaints in respect of defective products and deficiency in services.

During the visit, the minister was briefed about the activities and functioning of NCH. A short presentation was made before the Minister outlining the steps taken by NCH to educate and empower consumers to use Consumer Grievances Redressal Mechanism effectively to resolve their issues and problems. The minister was also explained the CONVERGENCE process which seeks to enlarge the concept of corporate willingness to address consumer complaints received at National Consumer Helpline. Convergence @ NCH has a tie up with more than 150 manufacturers and service providers to solve consumer grievances in a cordial manner. This initiative is being carried out in partnership with Consumer Voice since 2006

The Minister was also informed that the Department of Commerce, University of Delhi where this project is operating has a specialization in Consumer Affairs and is offering a Paper on “Consumer Affairs” to BA Programme Students in their final year. The department of Commerce has also introduced a new paper for B.Com (Hons.) students for the Final year entitled “Consumer Relations and Customer Care” under the new B.Com (Hons.) programme under the semester system which commences in the new academic year in July 2011. The Minister expressed the hope that these courses would go a long way in sensitizing consumers as well business executives regarding consumer grievances and services.

Initiatives of the Government for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms

2011-06-01T06:03:00.001-07:00

The Government is taking various initiatives to improve justice delivery system in the country and for improving justice delivery and legal reforms and steps to reduce pendency in courts from 15 to 3 years by 2012. These are as under:

National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms: The Government has ‘in principle’ approved setting up of National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms. The National Mission would help implementing the two major goals of

(i) increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system

(ii) enhancing accountability at all levels through structural changes and setting performance standards and facilitating enhancement of capacities for achieving such performance standards.

The Law Minister has on 28th April 2011 personally written to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the High Courts on the launching of a campaign mode approach for pendency reduction and filling up of vacancies in Subordinate & High Courts. The campaign will be from June-December, 2011 and after a review, will be extended for another 6 months.

Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010: To bring about greater transparency and accountability in the higher judiciary, the Government has introduced a Bill in the Parliament to lay down judicial standards, to enable declaration of assets and liabilities by the Judges, and to establish a mechanism to enable investigation and follow-up action into complaints against judges. The Bill has been referred to the Standing Committee on 1st December, 2010 and is presently under its consideration.

13th Finance Commission grant: With the objective of improving justice delivery, the Thirteenth Finance Commission (TFC) has recommended a grant of Rs. 5000 crore to be utilized over a period of five years up to 2010-2015. An amount of Rs.1000 crore has been released to State Governments in the year 2010-11. This grant is aimed at providing support to improve judicial outcomes. Many States have already formulated State Litigation Policies as per the requirement for further release of TFC grant.

National Litigation Policy : The Government has already announced a National Litigation Policy effective from 1st July, 2010 to to reduce government litigation in Courts so that valuable court time would be spent in resolving other pending cases so as to achieve the goal in the national legal mission to reduce average pendency time from 15 years to 3 years.

ICT enablement of courts: The Government has implemented a central sector scheme for computerization of the District and Subordinate Courts (e-Courts project) in the country and for upgradation of the ICT infrastructure of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, at a cost of Rs. 935 crore for the first phase which will connect 14,249 courts in the country including video conferencing facilities.

Access to Justice for the marginalized section: Provision of legal aid enables the marginalized sections of the society in accessing justice. To strengthen Legal aid authorities a sum of Rs 200 crores had been provided under the TFC grants. The mission launched for release of under trial prisoners last year had appreciable results and is continuing. In the period 26 January 2010 to 31 May 2011, 562379 under trials have been released on bail, 77940 have been discharged, 68744 convicted, adding to a total of 709081 cases that have been disposed off. Software to trace cases of under trials by courts is also under consideration for integration into the e-courts software.

Gram Nyayalayas : The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 was enacted to provide for the establishment of Gram Nyayalayas, a new tier of courts, at the grass-root level for the purpose of providing access to justice to the citizens at their doorsteps and to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen. The Act came into force on 2 October 2009 and enables the State Governments to establish Gram Nyayalayas at Intermediate Panchayat levels.

The Central Government provides assistance to the State Governments for establishment of Gram Nyayalayas(Rs. 18 lakhs/court) and Rs. 3.20 lakhs per court per annum for the first 3 years towards recurring expenses. About 144 Gram Nyaylalays have been set up(notified) in the States of Madhya Pradesh (89), Rajasthan (45), Orissa (1), Maharashtra (9), till date of which 47 are operational – 40 in Madhya Pradesh, 1 in Orissa, and 6 in Maharashtra. Out of the budgeted Rs. 150 crores for Gram Nyayalayas, Rs. 20.92 crores have been disbursed to the 4 states which have notified the Nyayalayas.

Family Courts: The Government has pursued with the States the matter of setting up of Family Courts, providing 50% of the cost of construction and Rs 5 lakh annually. 211 such courts have been set up in 23 states.

Increase in the age of retirement of Judges of High Courts: The Government has introduced ‘the Constitution (One Hundred and Fourteenth) Amendment Bill, 2010’ in the Lok Sabha on 25th August, 2010 for increasing the age of retirement of Judges of the High Courts from 62 to 65 years. It aims at retaining the judges for three more years which would avoid occurrence of new vacancies on account of superannuation and result in continuance of judges to clear the backlog of cases in the High Courts. The Bill has been examined by the Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances and Law and Justice is to be slated for discussion in the Parliament.

Infrastructure Development at Subordinate courts: In the financial year 2011-12, the allocation for the Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Infrastructure Development has been increased 5 folds from Rs.100 crores to Rs. 500 crores.

Setting up of a Legal e-Library: The Government is finalizing the setting up a ‘National Legal e-library’ focusing on 933 law schools in India. ,It is expected to benefit the students and practitioners of Law. It is proposed to get operationalised on 15 August 2011.

Rajiv Gandhi Advocate’s Training Scheme: The Rajiv Gandhi Adhivakta Prashikshan Yojna to be launched on 27June 2011, will select about 10 practicing advocates from each state and impart a two-month long professional training by a National Law School/College - to them and encourage them to to serve the need of law professionals at the grass root level.

Creation of All India Judicial services: The proposed to set up an All India Judicial Service is awaiting Cabinet approval. This service is expected to attract the best of talent to the judiciary.

Comprehensive Electoral Reforms:

• The Government has held 6 Regional Consultation on Electoral Reforms. The seventh is scheduled on 12 June 2011 in Guwahati to be followed By the National Consultation in New Delhi on 2-3 July 2011. Following this, Comprehensive Amendments will be brought about to the Electoral System.

• The Government has also passed legislation and has enabled NRI Voting.

• The Maximum limits of Election Expenses have been increased for both Parliament and Assembly Elections.

National Consumer Helpline Receives 10,170 Complaints in April

2011-05-27T05:55:00.001-07:00

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) received 10,170 calls during April 2011 for redressal of consumer complaints. In addition of these calls, 639 complaints were also received through online complaint system on NCH website.

The maximum calls were received from Delhi followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra , Rajasthan and Haryana.

Break-up of calls in respect of top five States during March 2011 is as under:

S. No.	State	Complaints	% age of total calls
1	Delhi	2906	28.57
2	Uttar Pradesh	1581	15.55
3	Maharashtra	1247	12.26
4	Rajasthan	840	8.26
5	Haryana	820	8.06

The telecom sector contributed 19% of the total calls i.e. 1955 followed by Products, LPG, Banking and Insurance registering between 16%-5% calls.

Feedback was received from 353 consumers. Out of these 263 complaints were resolved under convergence with various companies. It has observed that most of the consumers do not get back to the helpline after resolution their companies.

Consumers from across the country can access the toll free National Consumer Help Line No. 1800-11-4000 and seek telephonic counseling for consumer related problems faced by them. The Consumer Helpline also provides information, advice and guidance related to consumer issues.

Morocco and India to Share Expertise in Consumer Protection

2011-04-28T04:30:00.001-07:00

India may provide expertise and best practices for effective implementation of consumer protection measures to Morocco for its recently enacted act. This was conveyed by Prof. K.V.Thomas, Minister of Food to Mr. Abdellatif Maazous, Moroccan Minster for Foreign Trade during a call on by an official delegation of Morocco here today.

Recalling traditional relations with Morocco, Prof. Thomas said both the countries can further strengthen their relations in various fields and exchange experts to train officials in the area of standardization of products, packaging and managing Food Distribution System.

Briefing about the latest developments in the field of retail marketing, consumer protection and standardization of goods in Morocco, the visiting minister said that his country can provide edible oil and pulses to India. He said that both the countries can share technology and expertise in related fields.

National Consumer Helpline Records 10,384 Calls in March 2011

2011-04-15T04:14:00.000-07:00

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) received 10,384 calls during March 2011. It is the highest number of calls received in any month since its launch in March 2005. In addition to these telephonic calls/complaints, 171 complaints were also received through online complaint system on NCH website.

The maximum calls waere received from Delhi followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Haryana.

Break-up of calls in respect of top five States during March 2011


1	Delhi	3084	29.70
2	Uttar Pradesh	1673	16.11
3	Maharashtra	1161	11.18
4	Rajasthan	939	9.04
5	Haryana	790	7. 61

Of the total calls/complaints, 17.74% relate to telecom sector followed by ‘products’, ‘general enquiry’, ‘LPG’ and banking. As per feedback received from the callers, 314 complaints were resolved.Consumers from across the country can access the toll free National Consumer Help Line No. 1800-11-4000 and seek telephonic counseling for consumer related problems faced by them. The Consumer Helpline also provides information, advice and guidance related to consumer issues.

Right to Consumer Education

2011-03-21T05:56:00.001-07:00

Means the right to acquire the knowledge and skill to be an informed consumer throughout life.Ignorance of consumers, particularly of rural consumers, is mainly responsible for their exploitation. They should know their rights and must exercise them. Only then real consumer protection can be achieved with success.

Right to Seek redressal

2011-03-21T05:55:00.000-07:00

Means right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers. It also includes right to fair settlement of the genuine grievances of the consumer.

Consumers must make complaint for their genuine grievances.Many a times their complaint may be of small value but its impact on the society as a whole may be very large. They can also take the help of consumer organisations in seeking redressal of their grievances.

Right to be heard

2011-03-21T05:53:00.001-07:00

Means that consumer's interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums. It also includes right to be represented in various forums formed to consider the consumer's welfare.

The Consumers should form non-political and non-commercial consumer organizations which can be given representation in various committees formed by the Government and other bodies in matters relating to consumers.

Right to be Informed

2011-03-21T05:52:00.001-07:00

Means right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices.

Consumer should insist on getting all the information about the product or service before making a choice or a decision. This will enable him to act wisely and responsibly and also enable him to desist from falling prey to high pressure selling techniques.

Right to Safety

2011-03-21T05:50:00.001-07:00

Before purchasing, consumers should insist on the quality of the products as well as on the guarantee of the products and services. They should preferably purchase quality marked products such as ISI,AGMARK, etc

Consumers for Fair Financial Services

2011-03-21T05:40:00.001-07:00

As we celebrate the World Consumer Rights Day 2011 on March 15th the Consumers International which represents 220 consumer organisations in 115 countries has this year proposed to safeguard consumer interests and put this agenda in G20 Summit. Consumers International (CI), with its members around the world, is calling for concrete action from international decision-makers to strengthen financial consumer protection and to demand access to safe, fair and competitive markets in financial services for all. Thus, “Consumers for Fair Financial Services” is a global campaign to increase consumers' access to stable, fair and competitive financial markets.

The World Consumer Rights Day, which was first observed in 1983, is celebrated on March 15 every year and the need for consumer satisfaction and consumer protection has been recognized. Consumers today want value for money, a product or service that would meet reasonable expectations, is safe in use and there is full disclosure of the product specification. These expectations are termed as ‘Consumer Rights’. As proposed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs in India consumers should be on a constant vigil to safeguard their financial investments and spend prudently to stop falling in a debt trap. New technologies, such as the internet, debit cards, credit cards, ATM’s on one hand are making the life of the consumer easier, but again pose a challenge of safety and security. As consumers we need to separate the chaff from the grains.

The Indian financial market has increased manifold and several services such as investment services, mutual funds, car, home and personal loans, credit cards, equity market, mobile banking, insurance, etc. are available and customers have multiple choices to choose from. However, it is a pity that the consumers fall in trap of financial companies and lose their hard earned money.

Exploitation of Consumers

Moreover, financial risks are involved where the consumers may not get the value for money spent or they may be overcharged or there may be hidden price components which may leave them exploited. Instances abound where a claim on an Insurance Policy takes an unduly long time to be settled, or there may be over-billing, double debit, billing delays, pension disbursement, non-rectification of wrong bills, misleading advertisements and non-adherence to offers made. Cases of wrongful dishonor of cheques, loss of cheques that have been deposited in a bank, cheques with forged signatures, etc. are not rare. Instances abound where companies advertise lucrative schemes offering attractive rates of return or make offer for doubling of money in a short period of time, and, after having collected funds, have shut shops and vanished. Consumers also face innumerable problems with credit card companies. The most common issue is the company demanding an annual fee despite assuring that there would be no such charges. Several written complaints later, the issue has not been sorted out and the company keeps adding interest and late payment charges on the annual fee. Consumers refute this, hold back this amount, and settle the balance payment due on the card. Eventually, consumers get vexed and surrender the card. After a year or so, the company starts sending statements and agents to collect a huge sum which is the supposed due from the consumer when actually, it is the so-called annual fee that has multiplied. The consumers are also enlisted as defaulters with the credit rating company. There are umpteen such issues where consumers are penalised and their rights flouted.

Prevention is Better than Cure

Whenever consumers take an insurance policy they should not allow agents to influence their decision of purchasing it either on phone or through direct mail. Consumers should gather all data from agent, evaluate the same independently and only then decide about its purchase. They should read the policy documents carefully before signing it and should not rely fully on the agent to fill up the entire form without having knowledge about anything. Further crossing the terms by writing "N/A" which are not applicable in one’s case always helps. According to Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) all insurance policies have a free look period of generally 15 days from the receipt of the policy, when the policy holder can return the policy back to the company. Therefore, if you have got a wrong insurance policy it is your right to return it back to the Insurance company and ask for a fresh one. Moreover all receipts issued by the insurance company should be carefully maintained and we should pay the premium regularly and surrender our policy on time. Spouse or nominee need to be well informed about the policies taken and the procedure of filing the claim. All doubts and benefits should be clarified in writing before taking up a policy.

Credit cards offer many benefits but can become a trouble if they are used unwisely. Banks can now charge an annual interest rate up to 49 per cent from credit card customers for late payment, therefore it is advisable that all credit card payments should be made on or before in time. Consumer should insist on all the Terms & Conditions in writing in order to avoid any dispute later. There must be clarity in all aspects regarding payment terms, interest charges and fee etc levied on the Credit Card. Consumers should always keep a photocopy of the ‘Most Important Terms and Conditions’ and ‘Application Form’ filled at the time of applying of credit card. Consumer should keep the information on call center number, bank head office address, and nodal officers addresses and phone number on record to call immediately in case of lost card or any other emergency. Credit cards should never be put in office drawer or at any place, which is publicly and easily accessible. Further consumers should be careful while using credit card in Internet transactions and use portals which use adequate safeguards. Thus, well educated and empowered consumers are an asset for a country.

Consumer Price Index Numbers for Rural, Urban and Combined (Base 2010=100)

2011-02-17T23:53:00.000-08:00

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has introduced a new series of Consumer Price Indices for all-India and States/UTs separately for rural, urban and combined for the purpose of intra temporal price comparison with effect from January, 2011 with 2010 as the base year. Provisional indices for the month of January, 2011 are being released with this note for all-India and for States/UTs. Indices for some States/UTs are not being released since adequate number of schedules for these States/UTs could not be received. These indices will be revised at the time of release of provisional indices for the month of March 2011. Therefore, for a period of one year this practice will be continued till the series gets stabilized and adequate timely receipt of price data is achieved. Since these indices are being introduced for the first time, annual inflation rates have not been compiled.

All India indices

All India provisional General, Group and Sub- Group level CPI of January, 2011 for rural, urban and combined (rural+urban) are given in Annex I. The General Indices for rural, urban and combined are 107, 104 and 106 respectively.

State/UT indices

State/UT wise General and Group level provisional Consumer Price Indices for rural, urban and combined (rural+ urban) are at Annex II, III and IV respectively.

All India General, Group and Sub-group wise provisional Consumer Price Indices for rural, urban areas and combined (Base: 2010=100).

Month: January, 2011 Group	Sub-group			Description		Rural		Urban			Combined (Rural+Urban)
a.		Cereals and products			105		102			104
b.		Pulses and products			98		95			97
c.		Milk and products			106		105			106
d.		Oils and fats			109		114			111
e.		Egg, fish and meat			106		106			106
f.		Vegetables			129		130			129
g.		Fruits			114		110			112
h.		Sugar etc			98		98			98
i.		Condiments and spices			110		109			110
j.		Non-alcoholic beverages			106		104			105
k.		Prepared meals etc			106		105			106
l.		Pan, tobacco and intoxicants			106		105			106
I		Food, beverages and tobacco			108		107			108
II		Fuel and light			107		105			106
a.		Clothing and bedding			108		108			108
b.		Footwear			106		104			106
III		Clothing, bedding and footwear			107		107			107
IV			Housing			100			100
a.		Education			103		102			103
b.		Medical care			104		103			104
c.		Recreation and amusement			104		101			102
d.		Transport and communication			106		104			105
e.		Personal care and effects			104		102			103
f.		Household requisites			106		103			105
g.		Others			108		105			107
V		Miscellaneous			105		103			104
General Index( All Groups)			107			104			106

Consumer Protection in India

2011-01-04T23:26:00.000-08:00

The Consumer Protection Act in India celebrates its silver jubilee next year. Consumer is considered as an inevitable part of the socio-economic-political system, where the exchange initiated and transactions realized between two parties, namely buyers and sellers has an impact on a third party i.e., society. The inherent profit motive in mass production and sales also offers the opportunity to many manufacturers and dealers to exploit consumers. Thus the need for consumer satisfaction and consumer protection has been recognized.

This year the theme proposed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is “Consumers Discharge your Responsibilities: Assert your Rights”. The consumers have eight rights empowering them to voice their opinion in case of defective goods, deficiency in service, restrictive trade practices or unfair trade practices.

The Government as the policy making body helps empower the consumers to act responsibly. The “Jago Grahak Jago’ campaign run by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is a good example of how the common man can be made aware about his rights and responsibilities. India as a country has never fallen behind in introducing progressive legislation.

The most important milestone in Consumer Movement in the country has been the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The Act applies to all goods and services unless specially exempted by the Central Government, in all sectors whether private, public or co-operative. This Act has been regarded as the most progressive, comprehensive and unique piece of legislation. In the International conference on consumer protection held in Malaysia, the Indian Consumer Protection Act was described as one “which has set in motion a revolution in the fields of consumer rights, the parallel of which has not been seen anywhere else in the world.”

As consumers we are dependant on the markets for meeting our needs and wants. At present we have around 24 legislations in India for protecting the consumers. We have moved from the situation of caveat emtor, ie let the buyer beware to a situation of caveat venditor ie, the marketer or the vendor needs to be careful and responsible when he sells goods and services to the consumers. Amongst the various laws for the protection of the consumers, the foremost is the Consumer Protection Act in India.

Salient Features

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted for better protection of the interests of consumers. Consumer Protection Act imposes strict liability on a manufacturer, in case of supply of defective goods by him, and a service provider, in case of deficiency in rendering of its services. The term “defect” and “deficiency”, as held in a catena of cases, are to be couched in the widest horizon of there being any kind of fault, imperfection or shortcoming. It covers to all the sectors whether private, public, and cooperative or any person. The provisions of the Act are compensatory as well as preventive and punitive in nature and the Act applies to all goods covered by sale of goods act and services unless specifically exempted by the Central Government.

The Act enshrines the following rights of consumers right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property; right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services so as to protect the consumers against unfair trade practices; right to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices; right to be heard and to be assured that consumers’ interests will receive due consideration at the appropriate fora; right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers; and right to consumer education.

The Act also envisages establishment of Consumer Protection Councils at the centre, state and district levels, whose main objectives are to promote and protect the rights of consumers. To provide a simple, speedy and inexpensive redressal of consumer grievances, the Act envisages a three-tier quasi-judicial machinery at the national, state and district levels. These are the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission known as National Commission, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions known as State Commissions and District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum known as District Forum. The provisions of this Act are in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force.

The country now has exclusive special law to protect the interest of the consumer with a foolproof redressal mechanism in case of defective goods and unsatisfactory services. Hence the welfare of consumers now remains in their own hands. If the consumers are responsible, vigilant and are able to assert their rights and responsibilities, resist/reject substandard goods/services wherever required and do not hesitate to seek justice through consumer courts if needed, the manufacturers, traders and service providers cannot afford to take them for granted while selling a product or rendering service on payment or by adopting any unfair trade practice. An alert consumer aware of his rights and responsibilities not only can protect himself but can also make consumer sovereignty a reality.

Consumers! Discharge your Responsibilities : Assert your Rights”

2011-01-04T23:24:00.000-08:00

24^th December is an important day in the history of consumer movement in India as on this day the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 came into existence. Consumer Protection Act is considered as the Magna Carta for protecting consumer rights through establishment of advisory and adjudication authorities. This year the theme proposed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is “Consumers! Discharge your Responsibilities: Assert your Rights” which clearly means ‘there cannot be rights without responsibilities’.

Consumer Rights under Consumer Protection Act

Section 6 of the Consumer Protection Act clearly mentions the six rights available to the consumers. These are -

· Right to Safety: To be protected against the sale of goods and services, which are spurious/ hazardous to life and property.

· Right to information: To know the quality, quantity, weight and the price of goods/services being paid for, so that one is not cheated by unfair trade practices.

· Right to Choose: To be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices.

· Right to be heard: To be heard and to be assured that the interest would receive due consideration at appropriate fora.

· Right to Seek Redressal: To seek legal redressal against unfair or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers.

· Right to Consumer Education: To have access to consumer education.

Gandhiji in the light of the above rightly said “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work - he is the purpose of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to serve him.”

Having examined the consumer rights and the purpose served by them, it is necessary to consider whether consumers should also be responsible enough to be entitled to exercise their rights. For instance, to be able to exercise their right to be heard, consumers should avail of the opportunities to know and be informed about consumer problems. To exercise their right to seek redressal of complaints, consumers must take all precautions to choose the right goods at the right price and learn how to use the products to prevent injury or loss. Some of the consumer problems can be avoided if we act responsibly.

Before Buying

As a responsible consumer we should plan our purchases in advance so that we get the right value for our money. We should try to enquire about the past performance of a product/service and also try to find out the reputation of the producer/ seller/service provider. Thus, self-help is the biggest tool in the hands of the consumers and they should make an informed choice. In this regard we can make use of comparative testing reports as published by voluntary consumer organizations such as, Voice and CERC for getting reliable and unbiased information about various brands which have been tested at various government approved laboratories.

While Buying

Consumers should collect information from various dealers regarding price and quality before purchasing products such as, cars, refrigerators, computers, etc. The proof of purchase and documents relating to purchase of durable goods should be obtained and preserved. It is important to get a cash memo with serial number, address and phone number to register a complaint, in a consumer courts, regarding defective product or deficiency in service. Similarly, durable consumer goods like TV, refrigerator, etc. carry warranty /guarantee cards issued by the dealers. The cards entitle the consumers to get the service for repairs and replacement of parts free of cost for a certain period after the purchase. Consumers should never sign a contract without first reading it. They should never sign a blank contract that a salesperson says will be completed later. If there is anything they do not understand, they can insist that it should be explained to them.

After Purchase

It is the responsibility of the consumer to use the product as per instructions given in the user manual. Further receipts, guarantee cards, terms of contract (photocopies), should be kept safely. In case of fault the dealer or the service center should be informed. Consumers should not meddle with the products themselves and should keep records for all correspondences and file them. Some consumers, especially during the guarantee period, make rough use of the product, thinking that it will be replaced during the guarantee period. This is not fair on their part. They should always use the products properly.

Besides the above responsibilities, consumers should be conscious of some other responsibilities. They should stick to the agreement made with manufacturers, traders and service providers. They should make timely payment in case of credit purchases. They should remember that they can exercise their rights only when they are willing to fulfill their responsibilities. As a dutiful consumer we should reduce waste, reuse and recycle products and think in terms of sustainable consumption. Thus, on the National Consumer Day we should be proud that we have rights but also should discharge our responsibilities.

National Consumer Helpline

2010-06-14T22:48:00.000-07:00

National Consumer Helpline Registered 4099 Calls in May 2010; Telecom Sector Leads the Tally
The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has registered 4099 calls during May 2010. With 1545 calls, Delhi is on the top forming 37.69% of the total calls followed by UttarPradesh,Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Haryana, registering between 11.03% -7.73% calls. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka have recorded an increase in share of complaints.

April 2010				May 2010
S. No.	State	Complaints	% age	Complaints	% age
1	Delhi	2594	45.44	1545	37.69
2	Uttar Pradesh	533	9.34	452	11.03
3	Maharashtra	413	7.23	374	9.12
4	Rajasthan	333	5.83	327	7.98

Most calls/complaints have been received relating to the telecom sector (14.06%). Other sectors/areas on which calls were received include Pharmacy Council of India (6.76%), banking (6.52%), PDS (5.59%), LPG (3.10%) and insurance (2.95%).
As per feedback received from the callers, 180 complaints were resolved. Consumers from across the country can access the toll free National Consumer Help Line No. 1800-11-4000 and seek telephonic counseling for consumer related problems faced by them. The Consumer Helpline has been operating since March 15, 2005 and plays an important role in guiding consumers and resolving their problems.

Pilot Project For Direct Disbursement of Food Subsidy

2010-04-24T01:21:00.000-07:00

Government has no plan to give subsidy of Rs.13 per kg of rice directly to the BPL family member like old age pension. However, State Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi submitted proposals for direct disbursement of food subsidy in cash to BPL families in lieu of foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) on pilot basis in five districts i.e. Lakhimpur Kheri and Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh, Panchkula and Jhajjar in Haryana and Central District in Delhi. Based on these proposals, a draft scheme has been prepared for approval to test the feasibility of this alternative mode of transfer of food subsidy under TPDS to BPL/AAY families.

Proposals Under Food Security Bill

2010-04-24T01:18:00.000-07:00

Government is committed to the enactment of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) which, inter-alia, envisages entitling every Below Poverty Line (BPL) family to a certain quantity of foodgrains each month at subsidized prices. An Empowered Group of Ministers is examining various issues relating to the proposed Act.

As regards the criteria for identification of BPL families and estimates of the number of BPL families, it may be stated that the Planning Commission is the nodal agency of the Government of India for estimating poverty at national and State levels. The guidelines and methodology for identification of BPL families in the rural areas are issued by the Ministry of Rural Development, while the actual survey of BPL families is carried out by the State Governments.

At present, Government makes allocations under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) to the States for 6.52 crore BPL families, including 2.43 crore Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families. This number is based on the March, 1993 poverty estimates of the Planning Commission and the population estimates of the Registrar-General of India as on 01.03.2000. As reported by the State Governments by 31.03.2010, the number of BPL ration cards (including AAY ration cards) issued by the States stood at 11.08 crore.

The present scale of issue of foodgrains under TPDS to BPL and AAY families is 35 kg per family per month. The Supreme Court, in an interim order in a Public Interest Litigation (WP(C) No.196 of 2001) pending before it, has modified its earlier interim order dated 28.11.2001 “to the extent that the allotment shall be 35KG in view of the increase, subsequent to the order.” A decision on the scale of issue of foodgrains, as also other issues under the proposed NFSA, is yet to be taken.

Central Government employees drawing Grade Pay of Rs. 4200 are entitled to travel by 2nd AC by train while on official tour.

2010-04-24T01:14:00.000-07:00

As per recommendations of the 6th Central Pay Commission as accepted by the Government, the Central Government employees drawing Grade Pay of Rs. 4200 are entitled to travel by 2nd AC by train while on official tour. So far as LTC is concerned, the entitlements are the same as for tour.

However, Railway employees are not governed by Central Government LTC provisions as far as travel entitlements are concerned. They are governed by Railway Servants (Pass) Rules, 1986 which entitle them to train journeys on duty/leave. Revision of entitlements for travel including travel in 2nd AC as per revised scales of pay/grade pay arising out of implementation of recommendations of the 6th Central Pay Commission are under examination.

National Action Plan for Consumer Awareness

2010-04-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

Consequent upon the decision taken in the 50^th National Development Council (NDC) meeting held on 21.12.2002, Consumer Protection was identified as a thrust area, and the Department of Consumer Affairs has been assigned ‘Evolving a National Action Plan for Consumer Awareness and Redressal and Enforcement of Consumer Protection Act, 1986’.

It is relevant to mention here that during the 10^th Plan Department received approval of Rs. 27.20 crores only for consumer protection and related activities under Plan. The Department has proposed enhancement of this allocation of Rs. 312 crores during the Plan period, as per details at Annex-I and proposes following National Action Plan;

1. Undertaking Consumer Awareness programmes: Educating more than 100 crore of people of various categories on various subject matters of consumer interest which are being dealt with by different Ministries/Departments is a gigantic task and the same cannot be undertaken as a sustained national programme unless the Planning Commission approves a substantial budget. Therefore, Department of Consumer Affairs has proposed an allocation of Rs.200 crores during the 10th Plan period for generating and strengthening consumer awareness in the country.

A media Plan has also been prepared in consultation with DAVP during this Plan period for Rs. 200 crores and is enclosed at Annex-II.

With the existing annual allocation of Rs. 3.10 crores for Consumer Protection Department is having, a regular 15 minutes weekly radio programme on AIR, a recently started video programme of 30 minutes on Doordarshan. In addition an educational video programme for school children on CD has been prepared and print publicity is undertaken occasionally. These programme will be continued.

2. Strengthening Consumer Grievance Redressal Machinery:

(i) Strengthening Infrastructure of National Commission: In terms of the provisions of sections 9 and 20 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the responsibility for setting up of the National Commission and also for providing necessary infrastructure and staff rests with the Central Government. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) which is the apex consumer court, has been functioning since 1988 at New Delhi in Janpath Bhavan. The present accommodation provided by the Ministry of Urban Development is grossly inadequate to meet their requirements of office space. It has no parking facilities and is situated in a highly crowded area, which is not at all convenient for the consumers. In view of this it was felt necessary to have a separate building for the National Commission, commensurate with the status it deserves as it is a five member Commission presided over by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court and the appeal against their decision lies before Supreme Court. With the amendment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 in December, 2002 now National Commission can have additional benches. The second Bench has started functioning w.e.f. 24^th September, 2003. Two addiotnal posts of Members in the Commission have been created with the notification of the Consumer Protection (Amendmet) Rules, 2004 vide GSR No. 175(E) dated 5^th March, 2004 which will enable the Department to have third bench of the Commission shortly. For these Benches further accommodation is needed. On the request of the Government, Ministry of Urban Development had allotted a piece of land at INA Complex at the cost of Rs.27 lakhs. As per the estimates provided by CPWD, Rs.11 crores is required for completion of the building, against which Planning Commission had agreed to provide Rs.6.50 crores in the 10^th Plan . The gap of Rs. 4.50 crores is required to be met for full construction of Upabhokta Bhavan.

(ii) Holding Circuit Benches of National Commission: National Commission is located at Delhi and consumers from all the country have to come to delhi with their cases. For the convenience of consumers, it has been decided that National Commission will hold Circuit Benches for a period of 2-3 weeks in different States. Arrangements are being worked out in consultation with State Govts. which are required to provide for basic facilities and infrastructure for the purpose.

(iii) Strengthening Consumer Forums: In so far as the consumer forums at the State levels are concerned, though the responsibility for establishment of these forums in the States as well as providing all necessary infrastructure for their effective functioning rests with the State Governments, in view of the financial position of the States, many of the States are not able to meet even the minimum infrastructural requirements of the Consumer Forums which affect the efficiency of the forums. Therefore, the Planning Commission had allocated Rs.61.80 crores during 1995-99 at the rate of Rs.50 lakhs for each of 32 State Commissions and Rs.10 lakhs each for 458 District Forum which were functioning in 1995 to strengthen their infrastructure as a one-time grant so as to supplement the efforts of the State Governments. Since 1995, 113 district forums and three State Commissions have been added in newly created Districts/States. States are repeatedly asking for additional funds to enable them to provide proper infrastructure for all the consumer forums.

In view of above position Department proposes for the following;

(a) For strengthening the infrastructure of Forums created after 1995 a sum of Rs.19.20 crores may be allocated @ Rs.75 lakhs for each the three State Commission and @ Rs.15 lakhs for each the 113 District Forum

(b) A sum of Rs.1.62 crores is proposed to strengthen infrastructure for U.Ts of Andaman N. Islands, Daman & Diu and Chandigarh as they could not draw full amount on previous occasion.

(c) A sum of Rs. 30.90 crores is proposed to further assist @ Rs.5 lakhs for each District Forum and @ Rs.25 lakhs for each State Commission which were covered under the one-time grant allocated during the year 1995 .

(d) In order to establish complete interlinking of computer networking of consumer courts, namely, National Commission, 35 State Commission and 571 District Forums for its monitoring and accessing various kinds of data and for the effective functioning of these forums in the interest of consumers, a sum of Rs. 27.39 crores is proposed as per the estimates worked out by NIC.

3. Strengthening Standards Laboratories of Weights & Measures: The Department of Consumer Affairs also administers the Standards of Weights & Measures Act, 1976 and Standards of Weights & Measures Enforcement Act, 1985 for regulating all the weighing and measuring instruments used in trade and commerce. In the interest of consumers, it is, therefore, necessary that these instruments are accurate so that the consumers get the right quantity, which they pay for. Any inaccuracy in weighing and measuring instruments used by the trade and commerce would lead to loss to the consumer in general to the extent of thousands of crores. Therefore, the weighing and measuring instruments are controlled by periodical checking against the Standards of Weights & Measures as required to be maintained. The enforcement of the provisions of the Acts and Rules, however, rests with the State Governments. They are not able to effectively calibrate against the standards required to be maintained in their State Standard Laboratories (secondary standards) by upgrading the standards which were mostly purchased during 1960s due to the financial constraints. Non replacement of the Standards results in inaccuracy in measurements in trade and a huge loss to the consumers in crores of rupees on day to day basis. It is, therefore, absolutely necessary that the State Weights & Measures Laboratories are upgraded by providing one set of standard balances to each laboratory so that it may serve as a bench mark and all other standards used in the State could be calibrated against them. There are 102 secondary standard laboratories functioning in different States of the country which need urgent upgradation to protect the interest of the consumers. The Central Government has already upgraded the standards for 9 laboratories located in different areas through Consumer Welfare Fund (CWF).

It is proposed to provide funds for one-time grant of Rs.14 crores @ Rs.15 lakhs for providing one set of standard balances per secondary standard laboratory for strengthening the remaining 93 State Standard Laboratories in the 10th Plan in a phased manner.

4. Additional Staff for Regional Reference Standard Laboratories : This Department has established five Regional reference Standard Laboratories to provide calibration and verification to States and industries in the five regions of the country. These scientific institutions are functioning as the main link for disseminating the values of National Standards of Weights & measures to commercial standards of weights & measures. Proper functioning of these institutions will ensure that measurements made in commercial transactions are error free. However, the functioning of these institutions has been gravely affected due to inadequacy of technical staff. Therefore, Department has mooted a proposal for providing sufficient staff, either by reviving all the vacant posts or exempting them from lapse as constitutionally required posts. Similarly, revision of pay scales has also been proposed, so that these posts attract qualified personnel.

5. Greater Involvement of States/UTs with Consumer Welfare Fund (CWF) : The Central Government amended the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944 in the year 1991 to create the Consumer Welfare Fund. The Fund has been set up by the Department of Revenue and is being operated by the Department of Consumer Affairs. Since 1994. The money, which is not refundable to manufacturers, is being credited to the Fund. The main objective of the Fund is to provide financial assistance for promoting and protecting the welfare of consumers, generate consumer awareness and strengthening consumer movement in the country particularly in the rural areas. In order to have greater involvement of States/UTs and their voluntary consumer organizations Department has taken following decisions;

(i) To decentralize CWF and to place certain funds for specific CWF programme with the State governments and UT administrations for speedier and effective distribution and monitoring of funds among the consumer organizations.

(ii) To encourage States/UTs for setting up of their own Consumer Welfare Fund Centre will provide seed money in the ratio of 50:50 (Centre & State).

6. Greater Involvement of District Administration: With the amended provision of 2002 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 now District Consumer Protection Councils are to be set up in every district of the country chaired by the District Collector/Magistrate with the objective to promote and protect the rights of the consumers at grass root level. Department has also requested to all the States/UTs to designate an officer as District Consumer Protection Officer to act as nodal officer in the district.

Department has also evolved Action Points for effective involvement of DCs/ DMs and proposes to convene an annual Conference of the District Collectors so that the consumer movement is propagated in a systematic manner. It will also help the Department in dealing with specific problems/ requirements in the country and in developing not only better awareness amongst the consumer but also to have better coordination with the consumer forums.

7. National Policy on Consumer Protection: Department also proposes to evolve a National Policy on Consumer Protection so that priority concerns of consumers are addressed systematically by all stake holders. It will also make the various other Ministries/Department of Central and State Governments to be more responsive to the cause of consumers.

8. Working Groups: On the recommendation of the 23^rd meeting of Central Consumer Protection Council held on 16.7.2003 following six working groups have been set up in the Ministry to consider ways and means of protecting interests of the consumers in these critical areas:

S.No	Name of the Working Group	Constituted on
1.	Food Safety;	10.10.2003.
2.	Misleading Advertisements;	1.1.2004
3.	Drugs, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices / Equipments;	7.1.2004
4.	Consumer Health & Safety concerning Tobacco Products;	8.1.2004
5.	Counterfeit, Fake, Spurious, Contraband products;	12.1.2004
6.	To formulate the following New Acts/for including the proposals for amending in the existing Acts relating to Consumer Interest, e.g. a. Product Liability Act; b. Unfair Terms of Contract Act; c. Builders Licensing Boards Act; d. Whistle Blowers Protection Act	16.1.2004

9 A Standing Committee for Promotion of Consumer Interest has also been constituted with the following terms of reference :

(i) To identify the key concerns of consumers;

(ii) To identify ways and means of giving publicity to educate as well as to address the concerns of consumers;

(iii) To identify ways and means of involving various stakeholders for protecting consumer interest; and

(iv) To identify ways and means of bringing consumer interest to the forefront of all operations, be they in Government, public or private sector.

10 Consumer Clubs : Under Consumer Welfare Fund (CWF) a new scheme has been initiated for involving students with consumer protection related issues in a playful and informal manner. On the occasion of National Consumer Day on 24^th December, 2003 Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution launched “Consumer Clubs” in schools of Delhi . Proposal to set up consumer clubs are being received from different States of the country. All the States/UTs will be covered under the scheme.

11. Involvement of Research Institutes/Universities/Colleges: Another scheme under CWF has been prepared with the objectives to sponsor research and evaluation studies in the field of consumer welfare to research institutes, universities and colleges. Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi has been identified as a nodal organization to initiate seminars and workshops to promote involvement of research institutions etc. with and to evolve proposals which are received from such institutions.,

12. National Consumer Helpline: Department is also considering to set up a National Consumer Helpline in Delhi with the assistance of leading institutions like IIT, Delhi, Delhi University etc. by utilizing funds from CWF. Delhi University has shown interest in the scheme and is working out a detailed proposal for the purpose. The objectives of the scheme are;

(i) To create awareness amongst consumers regarding their rights and responsibilities.

(ii) To provide telephonic as well as personal counseling to consumers.

(iii) To provide assistance for out of court settlements of consumer disputes.

The methodology to be adopted for the Helpline would include, publicty through leading newspapers at regular interval, Toll Free telephone lines, covering the entire country and trained manpower to provide counseling and assistance.

13. Consumer Activist Group: A small Consumer Activist Group has been set up within the Department which includes senior officers of the Department and a few very reputed and experienced activists. This Group will identify critical areas in which Department should initiate proactive action for safeguarding the interest of consumers and various ways in which this can be done. This Group will guide the Department on dealing with day to day consumer related problem appearing in newspapers etc. which require immediate attention.

14. Gold Hall Marking : Keeping in view, the consumer interest and market demand, Gold Jewellery Certification (popularly known as Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery ) was started in the year April 2000 on a voluntary basis. The scheme is aimed at providing third party assurance to consumers on the purity of gold or its fineness. This scheme is operated through BIS network of regional and branch offices all over the country. As of today. 14 Hallmarking Centres have been recognized for this purpose and more than 600 jewellers have been certified under this scheme. BIS and National Test House laboratories also proposed to be equipped for undertaking testing and providing assurance certificate for hallmarked gold articles. A National Plan is also being prepared to enhance the network of Hall Marking of Gold all over the country.

15. Action Plan of States/UTs:

The Ministry has also requested States/UTs to prepare their Action Plan for consumer awareness , redressal and enforcement of Consumer protection Act, 1986 and allocate suitable budget for the same. State Governments have been asked to make provisions in their State Annual Plans for strengthening the consumer protection machinery and also to undertake educating the consumers in their respective States in a sustained manner involving all concerned.

16. Reviewing the Progress made by States /UTs:

To improve the efficiency and disposal of pending cases in consumer courts, State Govts./ Union Territories, have been advised to take following measures urgently:

To set up a separate Department with full fledged Secretary to deal with Consumer Protection.
To set up circuit/additional benches of the State Commissions and additional District Forums for disposal of cases within time limit of 90-150 days.
To fill up the vacant posts of Presidents/Members to make non-functional consumer forums functional.
To provide all functional posts for utilizing full potential of existing Presidents/Members .
To keep a panel of Presidents/Members ready for appointment against future vacancies.
To provide with adequate infrastructure including computer networking to the Consumer Forums
To set up their State and District level Consumer Protection Councils and ensure that they meet twice a year.
Designate a suitable officer in each District as District Consumer Protection Officer.

Regular monitoring of the actions taken by State Governments is also being done through Review Meetings, field visits and monitoring formats.

Consumer Rights and Redressal mechanism

2010-03-19T01:04:00.001-07:00

in reference to:

"Consumer Rights and Redressal mechanism"
- IN FOCUS:UPA: Consumer Rights and Redressal mechanism (view on Google Sidewiki)

New Measures for Strengthening Transparency & Public Accountability

2010-02-26T02:10:00.000-08:00

The Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee in his Budget speech in Lok Sabha today announced that the Government proposes to set up a Financial Sector Reforms Commission to re-write and clean up the financial sector laws. This would bring the laws in line with the requirements of the sector doing away with the ambiguity and complexity crept in these old legislations with amendments and changes made in them over the years.

The Government also proposes to set up a Technology Advisory Group for Unique Projects like Tax Information Network, New Pension Scheme, National Treasury Management Agency, Expenditure Information Network, Goods and Service Tax which are in different stages of roll out. The Finance Minister said that the proposed Technology Advisory Group will oversee the creation of these reliable, secure and efficient IT projects needed for effective tax administration and financial governance.

The impact of flagship programmes would be evaluated by Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) to be set up as independent entity under a Governing Board chaired by Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission. The findings will be placed in the public domain to bring in more transparency and accountability in the implementation of these schemes.

With the objective to reduce legal backlog from an average of 15 years at present to three years by 2012 and provide timely justice to all, the Government has approved to set up the National Mission for Delivery of Justice and Legal Reforms. The Finance Minister said that it would also help in improving the legal environment for business.

The Government has also decided that the Planning Commission would prepare an integrated action plan for affected areas to address the development problems of the 33 left wing extremism affected districts. Adequate funds will be made available to support the action plan. A Task Force has already been formed headed by the Cabinet Secretary for promoting coordinated efforts across a range of development and security measures.

THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 1986

2010-01-24T02:13:00.000-08:00

Though consumer is the purpose and most powerful motivating force of production, yet at the same time consumer is equally vulnerable segment of the whole marketing system. Attempts have been made to guard the interest of the consumer in a sporadic way till 1986, when Government of India enacted a comprehensive legislation-Consumer Protection Act, to safe guard the interest of the consumer then ever before. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, applies to all goods and services, excluding goods for resale or for commercial purpose and services rendered free of charge and under a contract for personal service. The provisions of the Act are compensatory in nature. It covers public, private, joint and cooperative sectors.

The Act enshrines the rights of the consumer such as right to safety, right to be informed, right to be heard, and right to choose, right to seek redressal and right to consumer education. Consumer: A consumer is any person who buys any goods for a consideration and user of such goods where the use is with the approval of buyer, any person who hires/avails of any service for a consideration and any beneficiary of such services, where such services are availed of with the approval of the person hiring the service.
The consumer need not have made full payment. Goods: Goods mean any movable property and also include shares, but do not include any auctionable claims. Service: Service of any description such as banking, insurance, transport, processing, housing construction, supply of electrical energy, entertainment, board or lodging.
Nature of complaint: a) Any unfair trade practice or restrictive trade practice adopted ;by the trader b) Defective goods b) Deficiency in service c) Excess price charged ;by the trader d) Unlawful goods sale, which is hazardous to life and safety when used Consumer Courts:
A three-tier-system a) National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission: claims above Rs. 20 lakh (a) Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission or State Commission: Claims from Rs 5 to 20 lakh. (a) Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum or District Forum: Claims upto Rs 5 Lakh Complaint: A complaint, hand written or typed, can be filed by a consumer, a registered consumer organisation, central or state Government and one or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same interest.No stamp or court fee is needed. The nature of complaint must be clearly mentioned as well as the relief sought by the consumer.

It must be in quadruplicate in district forum or state commission. Else, additional copies are required to be filed. Grant of relief: (a) Repair of defective goods (b) Replacement of defective goods (c) Refund of the price paid for the defective goods or service (d) Removal of deficiency in service (e) Refund of extra money charged (f) Withdrawal of goods hazardous to life and safety (g) Compensation for the loss or injury suffered by the consumer due to negligence of the opposite party (h) Adequate cost of filing and pursuing the complaint Normally, complaints should be decided within 90 days from the date of notice issued to the opposite party. Where a sample of any goods is required to be tested, a complaint is required to be disposed of within 150 days; it may take more time due to practical problems. Consumer Protection Councils: Councils have been setup in all states and at the center to promote and protect the rights and interest of consumers. These councils are advisory in nature and can play important role in recommending consumer oriented policies to the state and central Government.

The best sites on consumer information .

2009-12-24T23:16:00.000-08:00

www.advantageconsumer.com:

The purpose of this site is to increase consumer awareness. For consumers knowledge is power and their ignorance about their rights as a consumer can cause exploitation. This is the official website for a voluntary organization that invites public and visitors to communicate their valuable feedback. If you don't want to be exploited as a consumer then visit this site. It has loads of info for you to tap on consumer rights.

www.consumer-voice.org

As the name suggests, the site aims to voice the customers' experiences against exploitation. Its table of content introduces you to the development of national information gathering mechanism on consumer related issues. Its other objective is to provide online support and pursue consumer omplaints. To become well aware of the consumer's rights, come to this site.

www.ammas.com

If you need some legal advice on consumer related issues then this site will provide you with quick and required response. So, if you have consumer related queries, you can send your questions here. It has several sections that deal with all consumer information. In addition to that it also has links to other top sites on consumer information.

This site presents a web directory on consumer information. Here, in this site you will find information on consumer related matters. For example, it provides an independent guide to self-storage, guide to choosing a moving company, resource that analyses and reports on free gift offers, counseling on foreclosure process and mortgage payments.

www.hthelplinelaw.com

This site contains and extensive article that elucidates on consumer rights. It deals with four different aspects of consumer rights, namely food adulteration, MRTP, consumer protection act, Medical negligence and standard weight and measures. It elaborates on each of the topic, informs the consumers and advices about what could be done when they face such situations.

www.indbazaar.com

This site serves as a complete guide for consumers. It informs you about different aspects of consumer rights and related issues like world consumer rights day, consumer backlash, misleading offers, complaint cells and many more relevant topics. To see other features, consumer law, rights & wrongs, about consumer related issues and FAQs you must visit this site.

www.consumereducation.in

Welcome to the official website of consumer protection and consumer welfare. The Indian Consumer's Affair department has already decided to set up numerous centres which will act as watchdogs on behalf of consumers. In addition to that it has also decided to introduce another scheme for promoting involvement of research institutions in consumer protection. Log into this site to know more.

www.complaintbook.com

As a consumer if you want to register a complaint against any individual, organization or a government but feel helpless about how to proceed in this, then visit this site. In the section named Happy Ending you can click to view the complaints that it had successfully resolved. Apart from that you can also view other complaints, corporate plan, reviews, a statistical report on all complaints and other links related to consumer information.

www.planetcustomer.com

Do you feel confused about making a smart choice when you see loads of branded products around you? View other customers' complaints, compliments and suggestions to companies and you can also send your feedback here.

Search through the above list of sites for increasing knowledge in consumer information.

International Consumer Rights Protection Council (ICRPC)

2009-11-29T21:47:00.000-08:00

Consumer help and guidance to the needy; Fearless action against corruption

International Consumer Rights Protection Council is a registered NGO that helps and guides grieved consumers to file their consumer complaint with the consumer court in India. . You may be located in any part of the world. We will help you by first sending notice to OP for out of court settlement, but if the company does not respond favorably, we will help you in preparing of your consumer court case papers. No need to hire a lawyer, as you will be guided to handle your own consumer case through our advice, help, and guidance. Address of consumer courts, Right to Information Act, Lok Adaalat, Ombudsman, MRTPC and other powerful channels of action are all provided in this website FREE to you. Do not mark us copies of your correspondence with other companies as we are not interested to know what you write to others, and will not respond to such mails. First know the procedure for filing complaint by sending request to procedure@consumergrievance.com You will receive the procedure within 5-10 minutes.

CONSUMER AWARENESS

2009-11-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

Anyone who consumes goods is a consumer. Consumers get exploited in the market. They respond to advertisements and buy goods. Generally advertisements do not give all the information that a consumer needs to know or wants to know about a product. Some of the common methods of exploitation are Under weight and under measurements
–not measured or weighed correctlySubstandard Quality
–defective home appliances and medicines beyond expiry dateHigh prices
—charging above the retail priceDuplicate Articles
—selling fake items in the name of the originalAdulteration and Impurity
—is done to get higher profitsLack of safety Devices
—absence of inbuilt safeguardsin appliancesArtifical Scarcity
—hoarding and black marketingFalse and Incomplete Information
—misleading information on quality, durability, and safety.Unsatisfactory after sales Service
—high cost items like eletronics and cars require constant and regular service.Rough behaviour and Undue conditions—harassment in getting LPG connection or a telephone connection.. Factors causing exploitation of Consumers. Limited Information
—providing full and correct information will help in the choiceLimited Supplies
—when goods and services are in short supply then price shoots upLimited Competition.
—single producer may manipulate the market in terms of price and stocks.Low Literacy.—illiteracy leads to exploitation.Hence Consumer Awareness is essential.
Rise of consumer Awareness : Kautilya was one of the earliest to write in his Arthasastra about the need for Consumer awareness and protection. With the growth of private sector there is a greater need for discipline and regulation of the market. Consumers must be aware of the sale and purchase of goods, the health and security aspects also. Ensuring the safety of food items sold in the market is essential these days. Legal measures for consumer safety and consumer awareness must be uniform, and transparent in terms of prices, quality of goods, and stocks. Consumers must have the tools to combat malpractices and protect their rights. Rights and Duties of Consumers As codified under the Indian Laws the Consumers have the following Rights Right to Safety—to protect against hazardous goodsRight to be Informed—about price, quality, purityRight to Choose—access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices.Right to be Heard—consumers interest and welfare must be taken care ofRight to seek Redressal—protection against unfair trade practicesand settling genuine grievances.Right to Consumer Education.—Kowledge about goods and issues related to consumers. Duties Get a bill for every important purchase and also the Warranty cardCheck the ISI mark or Agmark on the goodsForm consumer awareness groupsMake a complaint on genuine grievances.Consumers must know to exercise their rights.
Consumer protection Measure
1. Legislation concerning Consumer Rights. The Consumer Protection Act 1986 provides for consumer disputes redressal at the state and national level. With the help of this law the agencies can solve grievances in a speedy, simple and inexpensive manner. A separate department of consumer affairs was set up at the state and central government. A three tier system of consumer courts at the National, State and District levels were set up.
These agencies have done good work by handling lakhs of cases.
2. Public Distribution System. To protect the poor from price rise and black marketing the government food security to the poor by supplying essentials through the ration or Fair price shops.
3. Standardisation of Products. These are done to assure the quality of products. The ISI stamp on goods is placed by the Bureau of Indian standards. This caters to industrial and consumer goods. These goods can be trusted to confirm to specific standards. Agmark is meant for Agricultural products. At the International level the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) located in Geneva sets common standards. The FAO and WHO provide food standards. Legal formalities for filing a complaint. The complaint can be written on plain paper. The supporting documents like the warranty card must be attached. A lawyer is not required. We can argue our case.

Go to a consumer court and make your claim.

2009-11-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

Consumer awareness is about making the consumer aware of his/her rights.IThe first consumer movement began in England after the Second World War, a modern declaration about consumer’s rights was first made in the United States of America in 1962, where four basic consumer rights (choice, information, safety and to be heard ) were recognized. Ralph Nadar, a consumer activist, is considered as the father of ‘consumer movement’. March 15 is now celebrated as the World Consumer Rights Day.
The United Nations in 1985 adopted, , certain guidelines to achieve the objectives of maintaining protection for consumers and to establish high level ethical conduct for those engaged in production and distribution of goods and services. High prices, duplicate articles, underweight and under – measurements, rough behavior, undue conditions, artificial scarcity are some of the ways by which consumers are exploited by manufacturers and traders. Limited information, limited supplies and low literacy are factors causing exploitation of consumers.
In India, the concept of consumer protection is not new. References to the protection of consumer’s interest against exploitation by trade and industry, underweight and measurement, adulteration and punishment for these offences, were made in Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’. However, an organized and systematic movement to safeguard the interest of consumers, is a recent phenomenon. The consumers have to be aware not only of the commercial aspects of sale and purchase of goods, but also of the health and security aspects. Food safety has become an important element of consumer awareness these days. In case of food products, its quality depends not only on its nutritional value, but also on its safety for human consumption. Consumption of contaminated or adulterated food is a major cause of human illness and suffering. This called for strong legal measures to ensure that the manufacturers and sellers observe uniformity and transparency in prices, stocks and quality of their goods.Enactment of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was one of the most important steps taken to protect the interests of consumers. The provision of the Act came into force, with effect from July 1, 1987. The act recognizes consumer’s right to seek redresses and right to consumer education.
The salient features of the Act are as follows:-
• Applies to all goods and services unless specifically exempted by the Union Government;
• Covers all the sectors whether private, public or cooperative;
• Enshrines the consumer’s rights related to safety, information, choice, representation and redress and consumer education.
• The act gives consumers an additional remedy besides those which may be available to them under the provisions of other existing laws and they are free to choose the remedy.
• Empower consumers seeking discontinuance of certain unfair and restrictive trade practices, defects or deficiencies in services and stopping in services or withdrawal of hazardous goods from the market. There are no legal formalities for filing the complaint. Suppose, you find yourself cheated by trader or a manufacturer and wish to make a complaint to consumer court, you can write the details on a plain paper. Attach the supporting documents, that is, guarantee or warrantee card and cash memo with the complaint and submit it in the district consumer court. You do not have to go to any lawyer or professional for legal assistance. You yourself can plead the case in the consumer court.Since, the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act and even before that, newspapers and magazines have been responding to the needs of consumers. Apart from publishing articles, columns etc newspapers have also tried to come to the rescue of harassed consumers. The Indian Express was one of the first newspapers to start a consumer complaint column.
There are 500 consumer associations, which are working in the field of consumer protection. They deal with various aspects of consumer exploitation. Some of the prominent ones are: Consumer Guidance Society of India, Mumbai; Citizens Action group, Mumbai; Common Cause, New Delhi; Voice, New Delhi; Consumer Utility and Trust Society, Jaipur. So next time you find yourself at the wrong end of a purchase don’t just sit back and blame, go to a consumer court and make your claim.

Decisions taken to broad-base and upscale the Investor Education Initiatives

2009-10-28T22:41:00.000-07:00

The three professional Institutes - Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Institute of Company Secretaries of India and Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India – will be organizing 300 investor awareness camps specifically targeting the investors in smaller cities and semi-urban areas. It has been planned to organize 120 camps in the first phase with each institute taking responsibility for 40 programmes.

· Secretary, Corporate Affairs will be holding a separate meeting next week with the three Institutes to review the progress in the matter.

· In addition, the field offices of the Ministry (RDs and ROCs) in will also be supplement the outreach effort by organizing topical workshops on investor issues in collaboration with the local trade and industry chambers, educational institutions and voluntary organizations.

· The Committee also approved various proposals for undertaking programmes/activities by NGOs and Investor Associations spread throughout the country under a framework where technical as well as financial assistance is made available through the Investor Education and Protection Fund.

· It was also decided that the educational content available on the Ministry’s website, www.iepf.gov.in, will be made available in Hindi within next two months and other major regional languages thereafter.

Awareness is the key to Consumer Protection

2009-01-26T21:37:00.000-08:00

Recognising that consumer awareness and education programme play a pivotal role in protecting consumers, “Jago Grahak Jago” campaign by the Government of India shall be intensified in the coming months. Shri Yashwant Bhave, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs gave these comments during a function to celebrate the National Consumer Day in the capital today. He said that enactment of Consumer Protection Act on 24 December, 1986 has proved to be a milestone in consumer movement and on this day, all stakeholders should take a pledge to protect the interest of consumers.

Shri Bhave exuded confidence that an aware and enlightened consumer shall play a crucial role in enabling the transition to a knowledge base society. He highlighted that a 3-tier structure comprising of legal framework, Standards and consumer redressal is paramount for protecting the interest of consumer. Giving a small example regarding purchase of gold, Shri Bhave observed that about 18 to 39% samples of gold were found to be of lower Caratage which roughly translates into an annual lose of 7500 crores to consumers. To protect the interest of the consumers, the Government has started the hallmarking scheme and shall be expanding it further in the coming months.

Shri Bhave also highlighted that other issues concerning the interest of the consumers such as MRP, Labeling, Standardisation etc. were being taken up by the Department through its consumer awareness publicity campaign. He also praised the efficacy of consumer forums and pointed out that out of 28 lakh complaints received by the consumer fora till now, more than 25 lakh cases have been disposed off.

Delivering the keynote address, Shri S. Joe Bhatia, President and CEO, of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) emphasized the importance of framing standards to protect consumer interest. Citing the example of the concerns raised regarding toy safety in America, Shri Bhatia said that ANSI is playing the role of a facilitator for the industry to adopt voluntary standards so that consumers can get products with well-defined quality standards. He pointed out that the industry should come forward and adopt voluntary standards which are quick to respond and flexible.

In his concluding address, Justice J.R. Kapoor, President, State Consumer Fora, Delhi described the Consumer Protection Act as a magnificent and one of the finest pieces of legislation ever enacted by any Government world wide. He remarked that if used effectively, Consumer Protection Act can drive all the unscrupulous traders out of business. Highlighting some of the recent judgments of consumer courts relating to penalty on airlines for delay in the flight, penalty on a bank for using strong arm tactics for loan recovery etc Justice Kapoor asked the consumers to become aware of their rights and take pro-active steps in seeking redressal.

Earlier in her welcome address, Smt. Alka Sirohi, Addl. Secretary, in the Department of Consumer Affairs highlighted the various measures being taken by the Government for protecting consumers. She said that the computerization of consumer forum network is being undertaken and soon consumers will have the facility of online registration of complaints. She also pointed out that amendment to Consumer Protection Act to ensure disposal of cases in a specific timeframe is being envisaged.

On the occasion, Monographs on various issues concerning ‘Consumer Protection’ were also released. The monographs in Hindi have been brought out jointly by Indian Institute of Public Administration and the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India.

Consumer Protection Act – The Road Map Ahead

2009-01-26T21:35:00.000-08:00

The growing size and complexity of production and distribution systems, the high level of sophistication in marketing and newer methods of advertising, mass marketing methods and emergence of e-commerce result in reduction of personal interaction between buyers and sellers has contributed to the increased need of consumer protection.

Consumer Protection – Priority Area for Government

As the nation celebrates the National Consumer Day to commemorate the enactment of Consumer Protection Act on 24^th December, 1986, the Government is treating consumer protection as one of its topmost priority areas.

However, making of a law in itself is not the end. Education and awareness is the most powerful tool for the progress of the country and an educated individual is able to make rationale choice as a consumer. An aware consumer protects himself from trade and business exploitation.

Basic Framework for Consumer Protection

Consumer protection initiatives by the Government hinge on 3 basic parameters. Firstly ensuring a legal framework that comprises of Consumer Protection Act (CPA). The Act enacted in 1986 has been recognised as one of the finest basis of legislation enacted in any part of the world and India can boast of being only country having such specialised legislation for consumer protection. The CPA has a three tier, simple, quasi judicial machinery at the National, State and District level for hearing cases raised by consumers. Secondly, evolving standards for different products to enable the consumers to make an informed choice about different products. Standards which are the essential building block for quality play a key role in consumer protection. Standard could be on technical requirement (specifications), improved specific standard terminology (glossary of terms), codes of practice or test methods or management systems standards. The standards are set generally by Government or inter-Governmental bodies but world wide it is being recognised that voluntary establishment of standards play an equally important role for protecting consumers. Thirdly, consumer awareness and education is the main building block for consumer protection. An enlightened consumer is an empowered consumer. An aware consumer not only protects himself from exploitation but induces efficiency, transparency and accountability in the entire manufacturing and services sector.

National Action Plan on Consumer Protection

Consequent upon the 50^th National Development Council Meeting Planning Commission has identified consumer awareness, redressal and enforcement of Consumer Protection Act as a priority agency for action by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The allocation for consumer protection activities was significantly enhanced in the last two years and for the 11^th Plan a sum of Rs. 409 crore has been embarked exclusively for mounting a publicity campaign to make consumers aware of their rights. The plan has been approved by the Expenditure Finance Committee and consequent upon getting Cabinet approval a comprehensive multi media campaign shall be launched with ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ as the theme to make consumers aware.

Consumer Protection – The Road Map ahead

The Department of Consumer Affairs has embarked on an ambitious array of activities with due support from Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance.

CONFONET Project

A project titled Computerisation and Computer Networking of consumer fora in the country is being executed on a turnkey basis by the National Informatics Centre. Under this scheme the consumer fora on all the three tiers would be fully computerised and interconnected enabling them to access information leading to quicker disposal of cases. Out of 35 State Commissions and 607 District Fora, 33 State Commissions and 555 district Forahave been covered under this project so far. The project ultimately aims at enabling online registration of complaints by the consumers and will prove to be a significant step forward in easier access to consumer fora.

Time Bound Disposal Of Cases

In a country of vast magnitude as India prompt redressal of complaints is a mammoth task inspite of various constraints a consumer forum have achieved remarkable success. They have disposed of around 88% cases out of more than 27 lakh cases filed so far. There have been occasional delays in disposal of cases by the redressal agencies. Taking duecognisance of the need to expedite, the Department of Consumer Affairs is in the process of amending the Consumer Protection Act further to prescribe a specific time frame for disposal of cases.

Awareness Campaign

In a big country like India, given the scenario of economic disparity and level of education and ignorance, educating the consumers remains a gigantic task. Government has taken up number of activities and schemes in creating consumer awareness. The slogan ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ has now been well established and through multi media publicity campaign revolving around this theme Government has endeavoured to inform the common man of his rights as a consumer.

Consumer Clubs

The scheme for setting up of consumer clubs in schools and colleges have been introduced to make the youngsters aware of their rights as a consumer. Research institutes/universities/colleges are also being involved in promoting consumer protection and consumer welfare.

Private Public Partnership

Role of academic and consumer organisations as well as the NGOs is therefore to educate and involve the consumers in the movement. Therefore, they have been given a prominent role in the Consumer Protection Act itself to take up cases on behalf of consumers which could be of an individual or a group of consumers. In fact CPA is a unique piece of legislation wherein it introduced the concept of what later came to be known more popularly as the PIL.

Alliance With FICCI

Various programmes have been undertaken under the Consumer Welfare Fund to strengthen the consumer movement in the country. The recent initiative of the Department was to involve trade and industry associations to make them redress the grievances of consumers through a voluntary code of conduct. A project known as “FICCI Alliance for Consumer Care” is being undertaken with the support of the Central Government. All these measures are expected to resolve consumers’ complaints at the first point of contact itself, thereby reducing the workload on the Consumer Fora.

Tie Up With Legal Institutions

Online Consumer Guidance

The Department has started a ‘Consumer Online Resource and Empowerment Centre (CORE Centre)’ for providing consumer related information, guidance and consumer complaint guidance mechanism through the online medium. It is being run by the Consumer Coordination Council (CCC), which is a coalition of 51 consumer organizations of this country. A Comparative Testing of products and services is being implemented by the VOICE Society,New Delhi in order to monitor the Quality Standards of Products and Services through comparative testing, and dissemination of information to consumers through publications.

Consumer Helpline (NCH)

To advise the consumers on the various issues concerning consumer protection a ‘National Consumer Helpline’ is being operated through the University of Delhi with the support of Department of Consumer Affairs. The toll no. 1800-11-4000 allows a consumer anywhere in the country to call this number and get proper advise regarding his problem. From its inception around 1,25,000 calls have been received which shows its efficacy. The NCH is being further strengthened with setting up of state level consumer helpline which will provide service in regional languages also.

Strengthening Of Infrastructure

Another area, which relates to consumer protection is the implementation of weights and measures laws. During 11^th Plan, it has been proposed to augment the infrastructure available with the States/UTs at a cost of Rs. 325 crore. Under the scheme of Strengthening of Weights and Measures infrastructure of States/UTs, the standards laboratories of the States/UTs are being strengthened by providing them with 270 sets of working standard balances, 59 sets of secondary standard balances and 34 mobile kit of testing weighing bridges. The Package Commodity Rules 1977 has been amended in July 2006 for the benefit of the consumers.

Thrust On Standardisation

In helping the consumer exercise their rights, quality and standards have a crucial role to play. Standards provide consumers with reliable benchmarks of quality. Quality consciousness is not yet a way of life in India as it is in the West. The Bureau of Indian Standards has taken initiatives in introducing a certification scheme for foreign manufacturers and imported goods, food safety certification as per ISO Standards. Certification Scheme for Hallmarking of Gold jewellery and Silver artefacts is an important contribution of BIS in safeguarding consumer interests.

Responsibilities of Consumer

Every consumer in own interest has to realise the role and importance in the right perspective. In a competitive economic environment, the consumer has to exercise the choice either in favour of or against the goods and services. The choice is going to be vital and final. One would have to realise the importance and prepare to exercise their rights with responsibility. The consumers in society get a position in the market depending upon what they do or do not do.

Consumers Right

IS THE CONSUMER PROTECTED ?

Consumer protection act-an important milestone in consumer movement

Right to be Informed

Right to Choose

Right to be Heard

Right to Seek Redressal

Right to Consumer Education

Common problems faced by Consumers

Grievance Redressal mechanism under CPA

Who can file a complaint?

Limitation period

Format of Complaint

Maximum Retail Price

Role of regulators in helping the consumers

Industry

Regulator

How effective have been the Consumer Courts

Social responsibility of Consumers

Impact of Consumer Protection Act becoming Perceptible

Amendments Proposed in Consumer Protection ACT to Facilitate Faster Disposal of Cases

Amendments in Consumer Protection Act Under Consideration

Central Consumer Protection Council to Review Consumer Protection Measures

Consumer Rights and Redressal mechanism

Protecting The Consumers' Rights

Spreading Awareness About Consumer Protection

Consumer Protection Act – The Road Map Ahead

Amendments Proposed in Consumer Protection ACT to Facilitate Faster Disposal of Cases

An Alert Consumer Is A Protected Consumer

Consumer Rights under Consumer Protection Act

Strengthening The Consumer Movement In India

Demands of Cell Phone Consumers

Computerization of Consumer Forums in Country

Citizens Right to Grievance Redress Bill 2011

Govt to appoint five lakh grievance redressal officers to address consumer complaints

Suo-motto action against misleading advts by Govt

National Consumer Helpline Records 12,830 calls in September 2011

Self help Through Consumer Protection

Data on Under-Recoveries and Price Buildup of Sensitive Products Made Available On-Line

Develop New Occupational Safety and Health Strategies at International, National and Company Level to deal with Work Related Stress- Mallikarjun Kharge

Jaago Grahak Jaago

Consumer Rights Violations made by Banks

Know About Consumer Rights Improve your Credit Rating

Consumers International

National Consumer Helpline Records 10,760 Calls in May 2011

Strict Action against Misleading Advertisements

Initiatives of the Government for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms

National Consumer Helpline Receives 10,170 Complaints in April

Morocco and India to Share Expertise in Consumer Protection

National Consumer Helpline Records 10,384 Calls in March 2011

Right to Consumer Education

Right to Seek redressal

Right to be heard

Right to be Informed

Right to Safety

Consumers for Fair Financial Services

Consumer Price Index Numbers for Rural, Urban and Combined (Base 2010=100)

Consumer Protection in India

Consumers! Discharge your Responsibilities : Assert your Rights”

National Consumer Helpline

Pilot Project For Direct Disbursement of Food Subsidy

Proposals Under Food Security Bill

Central Government employees drawing Grade Pay of Rs. 4200 are entitled to travel by 2nd AC by train while on official tour.

National Action Plan for Consumer Awareness

Constituted on

Consumer Rights and Redressal mechanism

New Measures for Strengthening Transparency & Public Accountability

THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 1986

The best sites on consumer information .

International Consumer Rights Protection Council (ICRPC)

CONSUMER AWARENESS

Go to a consumer court and make your claim.

Decisions taken to broad-base and upscale the Investor Education Initiatives

Awareness is the key to Consumer Protection

Consumer Protection Act – The Road Map Ahead

Time Bound Disposal Of Cases

Awareness Campaign

Private Public Partnership

Alliance With FICCI

Tie Up With Legal Institutions