1/31/2015 Consumer Protection

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Consumer Protection Forum.
Dec 29, 2014
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Background
Immediate Action On Your
Complaint.
The consumer movement in India is as old as trade and commerce. In Kautilyas
Arthashastra, there are references to the concept of consumer. However, there was no
organized and systematic movement actually safeguarding the interests of the consumers.

With the advent of the 20th century due to rapid industrialization and multifaceted
development in India after the Independence, there appeared a flood of consumer goods
and services in the Indian Market, which almost changed the relationship between the
Social-issues-and-Social-
consumer and the trader.
Justice
Technological advancements in the field of media led to flooding of advertisements of Welfare of the Vulnerable Section of
India
goods and services further worsening the otherwise grim situation. Lack of consumer
awareness, illiteracy, poverty, etc. further led to the exploitation of consumers. Consumer Protection

Awareness of consumer rights varies in different regions in the country. It is very poor NALANDA PROJECT ( Faculty
especially among the population in rural and far-flung areas of the country. Compared to Development Program)
the developed countries, the levels of consumer awareness in such a vast country with a
MAULANA AZAD SEHAT SCHEME
large population like India is much lower.
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This is rooted in economic inequality, low levels of literacy and ignorance. Because of this,
consumers are not able to assert their rights and on many occasions are exploited by the Revised Integrated Child Protection
trade and industry and service providers. Protecting and promoting the welfare of Scheme (ICPS)
consumers has thus become one of the major concerns.
Equal opportunities Commission (EOC)
Globalisation and liberalisation of trade and business has resulted in many products and
Women Welfare Scheme/Legislation/
services being available to the consumers. Growth in economy has resulted in increase in
Policies
the purchasing power of the middle class section, which is the largest segment of the
population. This has necessitated giving high priority for the protection of the consumers Justice Verma Committee Report
and promotion of responsible consumer movement in the country.
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Modern technological growth and complexities of the sellers techniques, existence of a vast
CAG report on MGNREGA
army of middlemen and unethical and untruthful advertisements have aggravated the
situation of consumer exploitation. The consumer has to be aware of his rights and play a MIGRATION
key role. The success of consumerism is a strong function of consumer awareness and to
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avoid exploitation consumer must become knowledgeable.

Consumer Rights : NSSO report on slums

The importance of consumer rights lies in their enforceability, which in turn depends largely on level Census terms

of consumer education and awareness. There must be an equal thrust on education of all citizens on
Urbanization in India
the consumer rights available to them and the mechanisms through which these rights, if violated
can be redressed. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 confers upon citizens following rights: More

The right to be protected against hazardous goods and services;

The right to be informed;

The right to access variety of goods and services at competitive prices;

The right to be heard;

The right to seek redressal against unfair or restrictive trade practices; and

The right to consumer education.

From all these rights, it is the right to consumer education that can be said to be of paramount
importance, since this is the gateway through which all the rights can be secured.

Consumer Awareness

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1/31/2015 Consumer Protection

In a world of information asymmetry the government has the responsibility to redress this
imbalance.
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The Department of Consumer Affairs is the focal point for different Departments and
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organizations to make the consumers aware of market realities as well as the rights of the
consumers. Get Admission in Top Univ/Colleges. Easy
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Accordingly, the Jago Grahak Jago campaign has become immensely popular and is now
being used by several Departments to communicate with consumers.

Increase in consumer awareness has propelled manufacturers and traders to ensure quality
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service to consumers.
Consumer marketing
However, consumer awareness is restricted to few. A study reveals that only 20% of
consumers in India are aware of the consumer protection law and just 42% of them have Naukri.com - Register
heard about consumer rights. Now
Legislative Measures on Consumer Protection Consumer Protection Act, 1986 AIIMS Question Bank
2015
This Act has been necessitated because the well-organized sectors of manufacturers, traders and
service providers with the knowledge of market and manipulative skills often attempt to exploit the 2BHK Flat in Vasant Kunj
consumers, in spite of the existence of various provisions of different laws for protecting their
interests. Moreover, the increase in population has resulted in enormous pendency and delay in Jobs in TCS
disposal of cases in the civil courts. Hence, the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted to better
protect the interests of consumers. The Salient Features of the Act are as under:
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The Act provides for establishing three-tier consumer dispute redressal machinery at the
national, state and district levels. Pregnancy Tip.
It applies to all goods and services.
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It covers all sectors, whether private, public or any person.

The Act provides for relief of a specific nature and also for compensation to the consumer
as appropriate.

The Act also provides for setting up of Consumer Protection Councils at the Central, State
and District levels, which are advisory bodies to promote and protect the rights of the
consumers.

The provisions of the Act are in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any
other law for the time being in force.

Consumer Protection Act has been in operation for about 25 years. A number of deficiencies and
shortcoming in respect of its operation have come to light thereby requiring Amendments. Concerns
have been expressed over pendency of cases in consumer courts. To overcome this, the
Government has plans to revamp the infrastructure and strengthen consumer courts.

In order to initiate a strong consumer protection regime and empower consumers against sub-
standard goods, the government is working on stringent Consumer Laws encompassing the
following:

A product liability clause to render erring manufacturers and suppliers liable to pay punitive
damages; a move, which is slated to substantially overhaul existing consumer laws.

Creation of a National Consumer Protection Authority to deal with misleading

advertisements and for filing class action;

Online filing of complaints by the Consumers at the place of the residence,

Restriction of lawyers appearance upto certain financial limits; and

Suo Motu cognizance by Consumer Fora.

Consumer Grievance Redressal

Consumer Protection Act, 1986 enables the ordinary consumers to secure less expensive
and often speedy redressal of their grievances through three-tier consumer fora. As per
government information, almost 91% of the cases filed with consumer fora have been
disposed off.

To ensure speedy disposal of cases, State Governments are advised to avoid any delay in
appointment of President and Members in Consumer Fora.

In order to dispose of the pending cases, Circuit Benches from National Commission
frequently visits the State.

Some of the State Commissions also held Lok Adalats for speedy disposal of the cases.

Under the scheme of Strengthening Consumer Fora (SCF), financial assistance is provided

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1/31/2015 Consumer Protection
to the States/Union Territories for strengthening infrastructure of building as well as non-
building assets.

A Scheme of computerisation was launched in 2005 to fully computerise the consumer fora.

Future Roadmap

Active participation of State Governments, academic and research institutions, schools and voluntary
organizations will be sought to create a vibrant consumer movement in the country.

12th Plan strategy and implementation plan:-

Mediation or in-house grievance redressal should be tried, but without giving up the right of
the consumer to obtain legal redress;

Of recent there has been derogation or poaching on the jurisdiction of Consumer Protection
Act in some of the areas due to the orders passed by the Courts. Such loopholes in the Act
should be plugged through appropriate amendments to the Act and Rules.

Computerisation and Networking of consumer fora across the country so that consumers
can file complaints and access their case status online.

Setting up counselling and a mediation mechanism at pre-litigation stage and so as to

reduce the burden of consumer courts and resolve disputes through out of court
settlements.

Provision of adequate infrastructure to Consumer fora so as to make them function

effectively.

Moving from manual system to computer based system to bring in more efficiency and
transparency.

Provision for monitoring the performance of functioning of District Fora by developing

dynamic MIS Reports on the performances related to total no. of cases filed/ disposed and
other related performance indicators.

Consumer protection and e-commerce:

Keeping in view the increased number of online fraud/cheating cases, the Government has initiated
steps for incorporating sufficient provisions for protection of consumers of online shopping/e-
commerce under Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Conclusion:

The prospect of the consumer justice system in our country appears to be bright in view of the
proactive policy, schemes/programmes adopted by the Government. However, the present drive and
direction need to be supplemented by adopting different channels of redressal. And there is a dire
need for the State Governments to give deserving priority to Consumer welfare and gear up
themselves to meet the challenges thrown up by market economy. Involvement of trade and
industry, civil society organizations and above all consumer themselves are vital for betterment of
consumer welfare in the years to come.

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