c



 is about making the consumer aware

of his/her rights.It is a marketing term which means that
consumers are aware of products or services, its
characteristics and the other marketing P¶s (place to buy,
price, and promotion).Though the firstconsumer 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
basicconsumer rights (choice, information, safety and to be
heard ) were recognized. Ralph Nadar, a consumer activist, is
considered as the father of µconsumer 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 inproduction and distribution of goods and services.
ºigh 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 O

 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 µArthashastra¶. ºowever, 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. -  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 


. 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 consumereducation.
· 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, K  ; Citizens Action group, Mumbai; Common Cause, New Delhi; Voice, New
Delhi; Consumer Utility and Trust Society, Jaipur

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Consequent upon the decision taken in the 50th 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 µEvolving 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 10th 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    during the Plan period, as per
details at Annex-I and proposes following National Action Plan;
1. 
      ! 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  "" 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. #

$ %&  ' $(!
(i) #

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Ä
  ! 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.
24th 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 5th 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 10th Plan . The gap of Rs. 4.50 crores is required to be met for full
construction of Upabhokta Bhavan.
(ii) *
+$ 
Ä
  ! 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) #

$ , ! 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 -
 
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.
?