CONSUMERS POWER

Consumers

POWER1.1

A bi-monthly resource for the consumers

Rs.25May 2010

Inaugural Issue

Are YOU the Kingin India?

09 Charter of Telecom Services

19 Consumer’s Role in Dispute Redressal System in India

PA G E 5

Impact of Adson Rural ConsumersPA G E 1 0

Standards:A Part of Your LifePA G E 2 3

State of Consumersin ShimlaPA G E 1 6

BASIC INFORMATION

Telecom tariff / charges and rates related issues

+ The customer must be given complete details of tariff plan including charges payable for every item included in the plan within a week of activation of service.

+ While taking the new connection, you can obtain the contact details of the Call Centre, Nodal Officer and appellate authority of service provider for making your complaints.

+ No hike in any tariff item or charges is permitted during six months from the date of enrolment of the subscriber in a tariff plan.

+ In tariff plans having validity of more than six months including lifetime plans no tariff item or charges shall be increased at any time during the promised validity period.

+ 'Lifetime validity' means the duration of the current license or renewed license of the service provider.

+ The customer is free to move from one tariff plan to another, including post paid to pre paid and vice versa without paying any fee or charges for migration and without change of telephone / mobile number.

+ Even if the talk time value has been exhausted, the prepaid customers should get all the services, which do not affect “talk time value”, like incoming calls/SMS etc. during the entire validity period.

+ Unused balance in the prepaid card at the end of the validity period is to be carried forward if recharged during the grace period specified for the purpose.

+ Fixed line and broadband customers to be given rental rebate for faults not rectified within 3 days of making complaint.

+ No rental for national roaming facility. Receiving SMS is free while national roaming.

+ Processing fee, if any, in the talk time top-up recharge shall not exceed Rs.2/-.

+ Calling Line Identification Presentation (CLIP) facility cannot be made a compulsory item of tariff in any tariff plan. If chargeable, it shall be optional for customers.

Customers of Mobile & Fixed Telephone & Television

must read this for getting better services

Whom to contact in case of telephone / mobile complaints?

How to stop getting unwanted telemarketing Calls and SMSs?

Basic information about Cable TV Services in Conditional Access System (CAS) Areas

TV services under Direct to Home (DTH)

Individual consumer complaints / disputes

TRAI invites all the stakeholders to visit its website: www.trai.gov.in for full Details of the

Regulations, Tariff Orders, and Directions issued by the Authority from time to time.

(Issued in public interest by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

Mr. J.S. SarmaChairmanTelecom Regulatory Authority of India, New Delhi

CONSUMERS POWER | May 2010 | 1

am happy to know that the Citizens' Awareness

Group (CAG) is publishing bi-monthly magazine I"Consumers Power". The Citizens' Awareness

Group was registered with TRAI as Consumer’s

Advocacy Group in 2007 and has acquired good

knowledge about telecommunication services,

regulations governing its provisions and redressal of

consumer grievances. It has been organizing several

seminars and workshops to generate awareness about

the rights of consumers.

Consumer Advocacy Groups play significant

role in empowering consumers, particularly in matters

connected with Telecommunications, Broadcasting and

Cable Services. I am confident that the Citizens'

Awareness Group would supplement the efforts of

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in protecting the

interests of consumers and generating awareness

about their rights. I wish the organization great success

in its endeavors.

J. S. Sharma

EDITORIAL TEAM

Processed and Printed at :Nex-Gen GraphibizPlot No. F-191, Industrial Area, Phase 8-B, SAS Nagar, MohaliPunjab

Printed & Published by Mr. Surinder Verma, ChairmanCitizen Awareness Group.

All articles and advertising material should be forwarded to :

The Editor

CITIZENS AWARENESS GROUP Room No. 3 (Basement) Karuna Sadan, Sector-11-B Chandigarh-160011

Tel & Fax : 0172-4007412 Mobile: 094170 08805 093177 25073 E-mail : [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Websitewww.cagchandigarh.in

Mr. Surinder Verma Dr. Navleen KaurMs. Manjeet KaurMrs. Sudesh KumariMs. Richa PriyaMs. Medha Kapoor

Design & LayoutCore Communications Pvt Ltd0172 [email protected]

Volume 1 . Issue 1

Mr. R.N. Prabhakar (Retd.)

MemberTelecom Regulatory

Authority of India, New Delhi

Mr. Ram NiwasHome Secretary

Chandigarh Administration

t gives me immense pleasure to know that Citizen’s Awareness Group has Istarted a bi-monthly magazine

“Consumers Power” for the consumers of this region. I appreciate the working of the group with the objective of creating awareness about various issues related to health, literacy and consumer problem from its inception. I hope that this magazine will empower the consumers of this entire region by providing them timely information about the intricacies of market.

I personally welcome the launch of the magazine here in this region, and congratulate the entire team of CAG for creating consumers.

Mr. Jagroop Singh MahalPresident

Consumer Disputes, Redressal Forum UT, Chandigarh

am happy to note that Citizen’s Awareness Group has started a bi-monthly magazine I“Consumers Power” and this issue will focus on

the consumer awareness in the telecom and broadcasting sectors.

The mission of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is to ensure that the interest of consumers are protected and at the same time to nurture conditions for growth of telecommunication, broadcasting and cable services in a manner and at a pace which will enable India to take a leading role in the emerging global information society.

The service providers should ensure quality of service and attend to consumer grievances as per the benchmarks and procedures prescribed by TRAI. This is one of the concern of the regulator. In order to this concern and to achieve its Mission, TRAI has been conducting various regional workshops for capacity building of Consumer Advocacy Groups (CAGs) and consumer education at regular intervals at different places. The sole aim of this exercise is to raise consumer awareness as end users through CAGs. TRAI have been consistently striving towards improving the response of the service providers to the consumer needs and consumer complaints. Print media has always been playing a significant role in raising consumer awareness amongst consumers and service providers by raising consumer centric issues. I am sure your magazine will also contribute towards this aspect.

I wish the Citizens Awareness Group all success in their foray to launch “Consumers Power” magazine and hope that the content of the magazine will be such that will enlighten the consumers about their rights and obligations for getting proper quality telecommunication and broadcasting services.

t gives me pleasure to say that Citizens Awareness Group Chandigarh has Istarted a bi-monthly magazine titled

"Consumers Power". As we all know, consumers are the largest social group in any society. They face a number of problems relating to the goods purchased by them and services hired on payment. It is a common knowledge that in every sphere whether it is airlines, banks, railways, insurance, courier agencies, housing, building activity, trading, investments, education, telephone/mobile, electricity, water supply, hospital etc., the consumers hire services and in many cases face, problems like the cancellation or delay, repudiation of claims, levying of' heavy charges, medical negligence or non supply or short supply of goods. The consumers are the most unorganized group and need to be educated about their rights. Many of the consumers suffer deficiencies, losses and humiliation simply because they are not aware of the remedy or they feel that the damage caused is bearable as compared to the harassment and delay which they may suffer in pursuing the remedy before the Courts. The "Consumers Power" magazine being launched by the Group is expected to take care of these problems and impart not only education to the consumers about their rights but also assist them to redress their grievances.

I wish success to the Citizens Awareness Group, is the need of the hour.


R.N. Parbhakar

Ram Niwas

Jagroop Singh Mahal

Ms. K. K. NarangDeputy Director General

Bureau of Indian Standards

t gives me immense pleasure to know

that the Citizen’s Awareness Group is Ilaunching 'Consumer’s Power' a

b i -month ly journa l ded ica ted to

consumers.

The Group has been playing a vital role in

spreading awareness amongst the

masses about various consumers related

issues. Their contribution in spreading

public awareness about the rights of

consumers has significantly supplemented

the endeavor of Bureau of Indian

Standards in creating awareness about

various activities of BIS.

Kindly accept my heartiest congratulations

and best wishes for your magazine which I

am sure will go a long way in further

promoting the values concerning the

consumers.

BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS

Ekkud% iFkizn’Zkd%

Arun Kumar Gupta, IASGeneral Manager

Food Corporation of IndiaHaryana Region

t gives me immense pleasure to know

that Citizen’s Awareness Group has Istarred a bi-monthly magazine

“Consumers Power” about various issues

related to health, Literacy and Consumer

problems for the consumers of this region.

I convey my best wishes to the group and

wish it all success.

Food Corporation of India


Arun Kumar Gupta

Ms. K. K. Narang

am pleased to know that Citizen’s

Awareness Group (CAG), a voluntary Iorganization, has decided to publish its

bi-monthly magazine “Consumers Power”

with an objective to generate awareness

among citizens about their rights and

responsibilities and simultaneously assist

them in redressal of their grievances. I am

sure that this effort of the CAG, would go

a long way in fostering a sense of

fraternity among the citizens. I

congratulate the organizers and wish the

publication a grand success.

Nilkanth S. Avhad

Nilkanth S. Avhad, IASGeneral Manager

Food Corporation of IndiaPunjab Region

Food Corporation of India

Editor SpeaksCITIZENS AWARENESS GROUP


5

9

10

14

16

19

23

Is Consumer Really the King in India?

Telecom Services

Impact of Advertisements

TRAI Basic Information

Consumer Awareness

Role of Consumer

Standards :A part of our Life

Dear Readers

I am greatly pleased to present to our natured readers- the consumers community- with this newest

magazine “Consumers Power”. In today's world, consumers wield the power…..the power to demand

the best.

In this issue, we had brought forward the rights of consumers in Telecom Industry. I am extremely

delighted on sharing Basic information on Telecom tariff and rate related issues and about the Role

of consumers.

I am heartly thankful to Mr. Bejon Mishra, Professor MC Pal, Dr. Akshat Mehta, Dr. Babita Aggarwal,

Dr. Meenu Aggarwal, Dr. Mamta Mokta and Ms. Renuka Salwan for their intresting articles.

Apart from the introduction to TRAI by Dr. Akshat Mehta, you will also come to know about the

Common Charter of Telecom Services in this issue.

I feel extremely proud in incorporating the write-up on National Seminar on Role of Cosumer

Disputes Redressal system in India: “Issues, Challenges and opportunities”. Seminar was

co-ordinated by Professor MC Paul, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New

Delhi. Seminar was organised as a mark of respect to the true spirit of “UN Guidelines for Consumer

Protection (UNGCP) issued 25 years ago in 1985.

In a past few years Telecom industry has grown at a rapid pace with an upcoming of loads of

telecom companies, which had left the consumer in a state of confusion. The choice is extremely

difficult for the consumers of telecom industry as so many big brands have stepped into, leaving the

market overloaded.

This issue is just one step forward in helping you to make the right choice and to update your

knowledge as being a consumer. We shall appreciate your feedback and suggestions to help us in

helping you. Queries are also welcomed.

Surinder Verma

24 TRAI :An Introduction

26 Child Labour in India

28 The Consumer Panchayat:

30 Consumer Awareness -

Rights & Responsibilities

Investor Association recognised by Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

Consumer Advocacy Group, registered byTelecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

onsumers are

considered to be Cking in a free

market; the sellers are

guided by the will of a

consumer. Webster's

dictionary defines

Consumerism as "the

promotion of the

consumer's interests" or

alternately "the theory

that an increasing

consumption of goods is

economically desirable".

"Consumerism" is likely to

dominate the Indian

market in the coming

years, thanks to the

economic reforms in the

present years and

increased direct foreign

investment in the retail

sector. The transition will

be from a predominantly

"sellers market" to a

"buyers market" where the

choice exercised by the

consumer will be

influenced by the level of

consumer awareness

achieved. By

"consumerism" we also

mean the process of

realising the rights of the

consumer as envisaged in

the Consumer Protection

Act (1986) viz. Right to

safety, Right to be

informed, Right to choose,

Right to be heard, Right to

redress, Right to

consumer education,

Right to satisfaction of

basic needs and ensuring

right standards for the

goods and services for

which one makes a

payment. The big

multinationals will leave

no stone unturned to gain

the attraction of the

consumer and will try to

gain a respectable market

share. However, some of

the companies try to

engage in unscrupulous,

exploitative and unfair

trade practices like

defective and unsafe

products, adulteration,

false and misleading

advertisements,

hoardings, black-

marketing etc. The earlier

approach of caveat

emptor, which means

“Let the buyer beware”,

has now been changed to

caveat venditor (“Let the

seller beware”). There is

an active need for having

awareness on the

consumer protection

rights.

Evolution of Consumer

Protection Rights in

India

The consumer movement

in India is as old as trade

and commerce. In

Kautilya's Arthashastra,

there are references to the

concept of consumer

protection against

exploitation by the trade

and industry, short

weights and measures,

adulteration and

punishment for these

offences. However, there

was no organised and

systematic movement

actually safeguarding the

interests of the

consumers. Prior to

independence, the main

laws under which the

consumer interests were

considered were the

Indian Penal Code,

Agricultural Production,

Grading and Marketing

Act, 1937, Drugs and

Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Even though different

parts of India exhibited

different levels of

awareness, in general, the

level of awareness was

pretty low. Indian

consumer movement

began with Passengers

and Traffic Relief

Association (PATRA) in

Mumbai, in 1915. The

growth from there has

been incredible and the

momentum of this growth

started during the ‘60s.

In 1969, Monopolies and

Restrictive Trade

Practices MRTP act was

enacted and MRTP.

Commission was set up

under the provision of the

act. The act deals with

cases of restrictive trade

practices, adversely

affecting competition, and

with unfair trade

practices arising largely

out of false and

misleading

advertisements. After this

act, consumer

groupscame into force,

emerged. The emergence

Is Consumer Really the King in India?"Consumerism" is likely to dominate the Indian market in the coming years, thanks to the economic reforms in the present years and increased direct foreign investment in the retail sector. The transition will be from a predominantly "sellers market" to a "buyers market" where the choice exercised by the consumer will be influenced by the level of consumer awareness achieved.

C o v e r S t o r y


of the Amartya Bag, B.A.

LL.B. (1st Semester), KIIT

Law School, KIIT

University, Bhubaneswar,

Orissa. Consumer

Education and Research

Centre in Ahmedabad, in

1978, was a milestone in

the consumer movement

of India. It provided a

thrust and a direction to

the movement in terms of

a result-oriented approach

through effective use of

the law and the courts,

and injecting professional

inputs into the movement.

In the 1980s was the time

for the consumer rights

and many consumer

groups were formed in

different parts of the

country. In 1986 the

Consumer Protection Act

was enacted. In 1987, the

Indian Standards

Institute (ISI), which was

started around 1947 as a

membership society,

largely dominated by

industries, was turned

into a statutory

corporation called the

Bureau of Indian

Standards with greater

participation by consumer

organizations. Thereafter.

in 1993, the Consumer

Protection Act was

amended overcoming few

limitations and making it

more effective and

inducing the concept of

consumer courts. Three

tier consumer courts at

the nation, state and

district level known as the

District Consumer Dispute

Redressal Forum, State

Consumer Disputes

Redressal Commission,

and the National

Consumer Disputes

Redressal Commission

respectively were

established under the

provision of the act.

Consumer Welfare Fund

was also created during

that time. We have the

Securities and Exchange

Board of India, 1992, the

Telecommunication

Regulatory Authority of

India, 1997, and the

Central Electricity

Regulatory Commission,

1998. Apart from these, a

number of acts like Indian

Contract Act, Sale of

Goods Act, The Essential

Commodities Act, The

Agricultural Produce

(Grading and Marking)

Act, The Prevention of

Food Adulteration Act,

The Standards of Weights

and Measures Act have

been enacted by the

Indian legislature from

time to time to protect the

interest of the consumer.

The system has been

considered as one of the

best in the world in the

matter of consumer

protection.Consumer

Awareness and Rights – a

Ground Reality. Even with

so many milestones, the

system is not perfect and

there are still hurdles in

providing justice to the

consumer in some cases.

In spite of having a

separate ministry or

department of consumer

affairs at centre and in

every state, the reality is

that consumer loses the

battle every time and

bows before the big wigs

that own the industries

and rein the huge

consumer market in

India. The consumer is

nothing but a crownless

king; the real power lies

in the hands of big

multinationals and retail

chains. Another reason

may be the lack of

awareness amongst the

consumer about their

rights. A recent study

found that although the

people have basic

knowledge about the

Weights and Measures Act

but very few people have

knowledge about the

other laws like the Drug

and Cosmetic Act

Prevention of Food

Adulteration, Food

Product Order, The

Essential Commodity Act

Display of Price Order;

Prevention of Black

Marketing and

Maintenance of Supplies.

It was also found in the

survey that the males are

much more aware about

the consumer protection

laws than the females. It

was also found out that

the people were not aware

about organizations

working at district and

national level. Out of total

sample, 48 percent males

and 20 percent females

were aware of both

consumer courts as well

as consumer forums. Only

6 percent each of male

and female respondents

were aware about the Sub-

Divisional Magistrate

(S.D.M.) office. Very few

knew about the public

supply office. Majority of

respondents i.e. 50

percent males and 12

percent females were

aware about the National

Consumer Forum at Delhi.

2 percent males were

aware of Consumer

Guidance Society,

Hyderabad and Consumer

Forum, Bombay. None of

the female respondents

were aware about

Consumer Guidance

Society and Forum. This

survey shows how the

consumer’s in India are

unaware about their legal

rights. Indian consumer’s

want quantity not quality,

they prefer to compromise

rather than complain.

Though charging of a good

above the maximum retail

price (MRP) is against the

law, it is a very common

observance that the seller

tends to charge a good

above the

MRP. It is common that

one has been charged

above MRP for buying a

bottle of mineral water at

railway station or

multiplexes. There are

many goods which are

sold in the market

without much

information about their

quality, quantity and

purity. In case of goods

meant for mass

consumption like, food,

milk products, edible oils

etc. the ingredients are

not known.

The big multinational

companies make a huge

profit from whatever they

sell; they try to gain the

attention of an average

consumer through catchy

slogans and

advertisements with

bollywood celebrities and

cricket players as their

brand ambassador’s to

promote the goods. The

consumer lured by the

advertisement follows the

preference of their silver

screen idol’s blindly

without knowing the

ingredients of an article

and suffers. Sometimes

the sellers offers

unrealistic schemes on


anything ranging from

soap to a two-wheeler or a

computer, the consumer

is deceived by these

schemes offered by the

manufacturers, who

spend crores of rupees on

their brand ambassadors.

The poor consumer, who

is caught-up in ‘buy-one,

get one schemes’ hardly

finds time to apply his

mind that it is he who

pays everything, even for

those so-called free-gifts

and gold coins that are

used as marketing tools.

The tragic part of all this

is that at the time of

purchasing the goods, the

consumer is never shown

the clauses of warranty,

written in the microscopic

fonts, with so many

“conditions apply”

mentioned in the foot-

notes of these documents

hidden somewhere in

‘owner’s manual’. The

consumer gets this

owner’s manual only

after he makes the

payment of the product he

intends to purchase.

However, a closer look at

such ‘warranties’ makes

one to ponder upon the

fraud most of the

companies commit with a

consumer. Take an

example of a two-wheeler

or a four-wheeler

purchased from any

‘reputed’ automobile

company. The warranty

says like this: “This

warranty doesn’t apply to

proprietary parts like

tyres, tubes, battery,

plastic items, bulbs,

indicators, rubber

components, grommets,

‘O’ rings, bellows etc.”

Then what is left that

comes under warranty?

There is another fraud

attached to such goods. A

branded company uses

and assembles the tyres

and spare-parts of lesser

known companies. The

consumer hardly knows

about this arrangement,

as no such trade secrets

are revealed through the

advertisements by the

brand ambassadors. The

poor consumer, who

intends to bring home the

‘leader’ from the firm of

international fame, comes

to know about such fraud

only after the purchase of

the goods that are over

stuffed with low quality

desi spare-parts. Now

have a look at the

warranty card provided

with any electric or

electronic goods item,

including television sets,

DVDs, computers etc. The

consumer is again duped

in the similar fashion.

Here again, the hidden

warranty speaks

something like this: “In

the event of damage on

account of high or low

voltage, fluctuation in

current, lightening etc,

the warranty

automatically null and

void.” Is a consumer

responsible for the high

or the low voltage that is

supplied by the electric

department? Again, in

case of refrigerators or air

conditioners, the

companies claim that they

will not be responsible for

the “leakage in the gas”,

for which extra money is

to be paid. Further,

similar conditions prevail

in case of automobiles,

which say that there will

be no replacement on

rubber or plastic items,

notwithstanding the fact

that the ACs or fridges are

mostly made of such stuff.

If there is no warranty on

such items, then what is

the warranty all about?

Just to deceive the Indian

consumer who simply

purchase the goods

thinking that the same

can be repaired or

replaced within the

warranty period, while

remaining ignorant of the

basic difference between

‘guarantee’ and

‘warranty’. And when any

aware consumer dares to

challenge such ‘self-made

clauses’ in the court of

law in the event of any

defect in the goods within

the warranty period, he

comes across with

another problematic

clause in the warranty

that reads like this: “This

contract is effective at a

place where the company

has a manufacturing unit

(say at Mumbai) and

claims if any, shall be

made only before the

courts having the

jurisdiction in Mumbai

and no claims shall be

made outside Mumbai,

notwithstanding that the

refrigerator, two-wheeler,

TV, etc may have been

sold or delivered or any

stipulation or

commitment in respect

thereof may have been

made elsewhere.” Have

another look at the clause

in the warranty: “This

warranty is in vogue only

for a period of 12 months

from the date of

purchase.” The fact is that

AC or fans remain off for

at least six months a year

in most parts of the

country. Yet another

clause says that if a

machine has been

negligently used, then the

company is not

responsible for the

damages. Despite the

existence of consumer

forums at various levels,

many people are

compelled to go to the

courts seeking remedies.

In India sellers try to

corner and catch the

consumers on wrong foot

in the courts of law by

putting the onus of

damage on to the

consumer, declaring him

as ‘untrained’ to operate

the consumer goods,

while arguing the cases

through highly paid

advocates. And the poor

consumer, who is already

depressed on account of


InsuranceInstitutefor Education &Training

UGSE-

SCO 62-63, Top Floor, Sector 17-A, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh - 160 117Telefax : 0172 5077054, 4643054Email : [email protected]

Bank: A place that will lend you money only when you don't need it.

CEO: Chief Embezzlement Officer.

CFO : Chief Fraud Officer.

-----------------

What's the difference between buying a lottery ticket and buying a penny stock? In the first case, you help finance your local community swimming pool. In the second case, you help finance the stock promoters home pool.

-----------------

A long term investment is a short term investment that failed.

-----------------

A stockbroker is someone who invests your money till it's all gone!

-----------------

A market analyst is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen today!

-----------------

Momentum Investing: The fine art of buying high and selling low.

-----------------

Value Investing: The art of buying low and selling lower

Bear: What your trade account and wallet will be when you take a flyer on that hot stock tip your secretary gave you.

Bull: What your broker uses to explain why your mutual funds tanked during the last quarter.

-----------------

QUESTION: When does a person decide to become a stockbroker?

ANSWER: When he realizes he doesn't have the charisma to succeed as an undertaker.

-----------------

A stockbroker is a man who is always ready, willing, and able to lay down your money for his commission.

-----------------

The Pessimist sees the glass as half empty. The Optimist sees the glass half full. The Stock Market Day Trader JUST ADDS WHISKEY ...

Jokes for

Funhaving purchased a

defective item, thinks

twice before moving

consumer protection

forums or NGOs for the

redressal. Can he afford to

hire the services of a good

advocate to fight the case

against such

multinational companies

who have a turnover in

crores of rupees per year?

And then such forums too

show inability at times to

help the consumer, after

going through the

cunningness hidden in

every ‘term and condition’

written in the ‘owner’s

manual’. One wonders,

who has authorised such

companies to incorporate

all such conditions that

suit only them and not

the consumer. The

concerned ministry is

aware of all this deceit

and yet, the consumer is

far from being the king.

Why? For one, he is

averse to be a litigant and

prefers to suffer in

silence. For another, the

courts are so over-

burdened with cases,

majority being trivial, that

justice is invariably

delayed, if not denied. The

Consumer Courts were

created with an objective

to dispose the cases

within a very short span

of time, but the ground

reality is that the case

remains without trial for

many years, thus defying

the very objective of its

establishment. Presently,

the courts are located at

district headquarters. This

prevents consumers of

far-flung areas,

particularly in big states

like Uttar Pradesh and

Madhya Pradesh, from

approaching the courts

for justice. A more

desparate distribution of

the redressal machinery

is desirable. The

cumbersome procedure

for filing a case adds to

the burden of a consumer

in the process of getting

justice. Consumers thus

have the social

responsibility of exposing

the manufacture

suppliers or the service

providers for resorting to

illegal trade practices.

Unethical notings like

“Goods once sold will

never be taken back” are

in sharp contrast to the

practice in some of the

developed countries,

where the sellers declare;

“In case you are not fully

satisfied with our

product, you can bring

the same to us within a

month for either

replacement or return of

your money.” This is the

result of consumer

consciousness.

Consumers have to realize

their role and

importance. The

consumer movements can

be winner movements

only with our active

involvement by knowing

our rights and enforcing

them. Formation of

consumer associations in

every town would be the

first step towards this

path. It requires a

voluntary effort involving

the participation of one

and all. If the consumers

remain passive, they will

continue to be exploited.

It is necessary that

consumers take action

with solidarity to get a

fair deal and timely


redressal. An alert

consumer is a safe

consumer! There is a need

for a fresh look at the

machinery already set up

to protect consumer

interests. Establishment

of more number of mobile

consumer courts and fast

track consumer courts to

resolve minor issues

should be done to make

the judgement procedure

fast. In the coming years,

every consumer in his

own interest has to

realise his role and

importance in the right

perspective. In a

competitive economic

environment the

consumer has to exercise

his choice either in favour

of or against the goods

and services. His choice is

going to be vital and final.

He should realise his

importance and prepare

himself to exercise his

rights with responsibility.

It is very often stated

"Customer is sovereign

and consumer is the

King." If that is really so,

why do we have the

Consumer Protection Act?

Why is there a need for

protecting the King?

Should it not be rightly

called "Consumer

Sovereignty Act"? It is for

the consumers to decide.

After all the dictum in

democracy is, the citizens

get a government they

deserve. Similarly, the

consumer’s in society get

a position in the market

depending upon what

they do or do not do. It is

agreed on all hands that

"consumer empowerment"

in India has a long way to

go. This is the right time

to act.

ll Service

Providers Aacknowledge the

rights of citizen’s to have

a free choice in selecting

their Service Providers

and agree to promote their

services in the best spirit

of competition and

traditions of service to

consumer’s. All Service

Providers agree to

promote the consumers'

right to education, choice,

representation and

redress.

All service providers

assure that the privacy of

their subscribers (not

affecting the national

security) shall be

scrupulously guarded.

All Service Providers

assure that their

subscribers shall be

entitled to interact with

them, either personally or

through their authorized

representatives.

For information and

education of subscribers,

all Service Providers agree

to inform their

subscribers of the broad

range of services offered,

the individual plans

available to them at any

given point of time, the

tariff rates applicable to

each of these, their

validity, terms and

conditions, payment

policies, the billing

processe’s and

procedure’s and the

structure within the

organization where

information and

clarification on consumer

redress systems for

complaints and billing

disputes will be available

with all their relevant

contact numbers.


agree to arrange human

interface with responsible

company executives

whose name and identity

are made known during

the process of disputes

resolution in addition to

arrangements like

Customer Care Service

through Call Centres.


agree to inform their

subscribers on the reverse

of each* bill, their

consumer grievance

redress process with

respect to fault

complaints and billing

disputes. They also agree

to resolve the disputes as

per the guidelines of TRAI

issued from time to time.


agree to provide an

applicant basic telephone

connection within 7 days

of registration, subject to

technical feasibility and

the mobile connection

immediately subject to

compliance of all required

formalities by the

subscriber.


agree to repair the faults

within 24 hours of receipt

of complaint from a

subscriber, wherever

technically feasible.


agree to ensure shifting of

telephone connection

within 3 working days

within the same

exchange, 5 working days

for intra city and 30

working days for inter

city exchanges and

closure (disconnection) of

telephone connection

within 3 days, on receipt

of a letter of request from

the subscriber. An

authenticated copy of the

last telephone bill shall

accompany the letter of

request.


agree to provide in their

bills related call and tariff

details, payment

procedures and list of

points at which payments

can be made by

subscribers.


agree to register

complaints in all areas of

their service immediately,

if delivered in person or

by e-mail and within 24

hours on receipt of the

complaint by post.


shall render service

without discrimination to

every citizen as per his

eligibility defined below

and who undertakes to

pay all charges and

deposits:

“For the purpose of this

clause, a citizen shall be

defined as an individual

above the age of 18 or an

institution, NGO or

business/service

organization engaged in

any activity which is

permissible under the

laws of the land”.

Common Charter of

Telecom Services2005


Continued on Page 15

n this story there are

no heroes and Ivillains; just people

who believe they can buy

happiness, and

advertisers who support

this belief. Consumerism

is one of religion's modern

replacements and like

religion it actively

encourages, then exploits,

dissatisfaction with

everyday reality.

P. Lutus in Consumer

August - 2001

Choice is a fundamental

problem for all human

beings and it is also a

complex problem because

we are living in a kinds of

entertainment of Riches”

age. There are new

products, new kinds of

entertainment and new

services coming along

constantly. Window-

shopping, newspapers,

magazine, radio and

television, influence us

and increase our desire

more and more. Choice of

any thing is very difficult.

Because now a days

different brands of the

same product /materials

are available in the

market. How do rural

consumers decide what to

buy? Sometimes the price

for the same commodity is

different at different

places and at times one

gets inferior quality

product for higher prices.

Lack of awareness on the

part of rural consumer

and absence of rural

consumer organizations

to protect their interests

have complicated the

process of product

evaluation by the rural

consumers' aware about

their rights and the

objects available in the

market. All human beings

have been consumer in

every moment of their

life, night and day. A

rural consumer thus

participates actively in the

economy from the day he

spends his first paise for

candy, lemon, drops etc.;

his first contact with the

economy begins in a retail

store. As a rural

consumer he has an

important role to play in

the economy. The way he

performs will in turn

affect the performance of

the economy. Anyone who

consumes goods is a

consumer. Rural

consumers get exploited

in the market. They

respond to advertisement

and buy goods. Generally

advertisements do not

give all the information

that rural consumer’s

needs to know or wants to

know about a product. In

recent years behaviour of

the rural consumer’s has

changed. A few decades

ago rural consumer’s was

a silent person who

uncomplainingly

purchased the goods from

any place. But this is not

so today. Now the

consumer is the choice

empowered consumer

who decides the fate of

the product with the

rising of his earnings.

Thus, the manufactures

are continuously engaged

to understand the

complex consumer

behaviour better and

respond by offering goods

and services as desired by

them. However, in

scarcity, the buyer is

compelled to buy things

whatever is available in

the market. The key to

ensure consumer

satisfaction lies in under-

standing the consumers -

his likes and dislikes, his

expectations and

motivations, in short it

may be called as

“Consumer

Behaviour.”Consumer

Impact of

Advertisements on Rural Consumer Education and Behaviour

Dr. Meenu Aggarwal Reader & Head, Economics, Ginni Devi Modi Girls (PG) College, Modinagar


Consumerism is one of religion's modern

replacements and like religion it actively

encourages, then exploits, dissatisfaction

with everyday reality.

Behaviour refers to the

acts of individuals directly

involved in obtaining and

using economic process

that precedes and

determines there acts

Consumers behaviour

research also considers

that rural consumers

make use of the goods

they buy and the

evaluation of these goods

after use.

Rural consumers make

choice under the

influence of two factors

Purpose, need or desire.

Behavioral pattern.

Purpose, need or desire.

A rural consumers will

not buy a medicine unless

someone is sick, if he is

rational. But he may buy

a cake if he is with his

friends. He may not do so

if he is alone. Event such

as festival, marriages,

birthdays, transfers etc.

may occur which gives

rise to needs for a specific

period of time.

Behavioral Pattern It is

a familiar phenomenon to

find people reacting to a

situation or environment

in different ways at

different times; Behaviour

and attitudes depend on a

number of factors such as

habit, recognition, and

price impulse, emotion

and unpredictability.

These are briefly

discussed below:

Habit

Recognition

Price

Impulse

Emotion

Unpredictability

In general, rural

consumers behaviour are

influenced by tradition

culture, religion, and

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

society of which consumer

is a part. In addition,

environment influences

and purchasing power

affects choices to a large

extent. Rural consumer’s

behaviour is also guided

by those needs, which are

as yet not satisfied.

Factors Influencing

Consumer Behaviour

Needs / Attitudes/ Habits

That influence

Consumption decisions

Consumer Choice

Behaviour/ experiences

that Reduce/ maintain or

enhance Lifestyle

resulting in Consumer

satisfaction Consumer

lifestyle

History of Consumer

Movement

An important socio-

economic movement

confronting the business

is the growth of

consumerism and the

legislative measures to

produce the consumers. It

is said that Indian

consumers are cheated to

the tune of Rs. 2000

crores annually through

the various devices

invented by the

businessmen and traders

and hence, the need for

consumer protection. The

protection that the

consumer’s required is of

the following types:

Protection against unfair

and deceptive trade

practices.

Protection from monopoly

and restrictive practices.

Protection against unsafe

or harmful products that

endanger the health and

the well being of

consumer.

Protection against all

types of pollution.

The consumer movement

in India started in the

begging of 20th century.

The first known collective

body of consumer’s in

India was set up in 1915,

with the 'Passengers and

Traffic Relief Association'

in Mumbai. It was formed

with a view to reduce the

hardships and trouble`

faced by the passengers

travelling by railways and

steamers and also to

redress the grievances of

the Indian Trading

Community.

The 'Indian Association of

Consumer (IAC)' was set

up in Delhi in 1956, and

all India Association for

consumers' interest with

government support. This

body had luminaries like

Shri Manmohan Sehgal,

Mrs. Shushila Nair and

Shri Guljarilal Nanda,

among others.

The world has witnessed

rapid growth in

consumerism and hence

consumer protection has

become an important

aspect of modern life. To

protect the consumer

various countries have

enacted consumer

protection laws. India has

also witnessed a slow

growth rule in India. The

colonial masters brought

with them mass

consumption age in India

and thus also came the

exploitation of

consumers. With the

growing of numbers of

atrocities on consumer’s

the government enacted

series of consumer's

protection laws.

Impact of

Advertisement on Rural

Consumer

Advertisements have

become an important part

of modern business and

industry. It is therefore

not surprising that we are

confronted by them

wherever we go, We see

them in newspapers and

magazines on television

and the internet, hear

them over the radio and

see them on buses, taxis

and trains.

Advertising as an

industry has been a

steadily growing industry

since the eighties. It is a

complimentary

relationship that develops

for mutual benefits.

Product and services'

promotion through

advertising requires large

and extensive canvas and

far-reaching and

penetrating means of

communication.

Advertisements are

created by sellers of goods

and services to boost the

sales of their products

and often published or

broadcast repeatedly in

the media. The idea is that

through repeated

reminders, a customer

comes to remember the

product and, hopefully,

ends up using it.

All advertising is

psychological. Their

purpose is to create a

demand, desire

impression and to expand

sales. This is to

accomplish by attracting

attention creating

perception and interest

and making the

advertisement being

understood easily, thereby

arousing and creating a


favorable image. There are

several so many impacts

that accrue to consumers

as a result of growth of

large-scale advertising.

These are as follows:

Advertising is

educational, as newer

products are known;

standard of living is

improved and thus

increased satisfaction in

daily lives.

Advertisements do benefit

consumer’s in certain

ways. For example,

consumer’s are exposed

to variety of brands for a

given product. They are

then able to compare the

choices available and

select the one that suits

them best. Businesses

also use advertisements to

introduce new products.

Consumer’s therefore

receive information on

the latest goods and

services available in the

market. As more and

more new products

become available,

businesses are forced to

produce goods of better

quality and improve the

level of their service to

keep up with the

competition. The

availability of better

quality and services

obviously benefits

consumer’s.

Advertising helps in

communication.

Advertising is the

brainchild of a

mechandise. Advertising

pays for most of our

means of communication.

It leads to communication

at lower prices, thus

permitting consumer’s, to

have more purchasing

power for other

merchandise. Advertising

pays for most of our

means of communication.

Even a newspaper cost

would be beyond the

reach of a common man.

The press and a large part

of the entertainment

industry like television,

radio and magazines are

at large supported by

advertisements.

Advertisement serves the

public. Red cross etc. have

been aided in many ways

and as such it serves

public welfare also. It

informs consumers about

where to shop. There is

not a day of the week

when consumers, are not

advised of special sales in

departmental stores,

super markets or

specialty shops. Home-

owners receive valuable

hints and proper product

selection.

Advertisement provides

useful information for

rural consumers also

about products and their

uses. It helps them to

develop better habits and

they improve better life

style.

For Example

Advertisement reminds

you to brush your teeth

two times a day, use

better shampoo for hair

falling problem.

Advertising maintains

high standards. Since a

vast majority of products

succeed in acquiring a

reputation, which leads to

good public acceptance as

a direct result of effective

advertising, the sellers

are forced to assume the

responsibility to maintain

the original specification

of the products they seek

to sell.

Advertisements awares

you about the product like

product price, availability

about the product,

sources, company name,

even ingredients of the

product.

This information helps

the rural consumer’s to

save consumer’s time and

efforts. Those people who

are illiterate the see the

advertisements and

become aware about the

product. They spend our

money in the right way.

Administration,

advertisers of drug food,

cosmetics preparations

and vitamins frequently

misrepresent their

products by label

advertising literature

containing magic words.

Advertising very often

winds even greater

victories through the line

of appeals to sub

conscious needs. Modern

advertising specialists

have learnt to successfully

control feelings of quit,

fears, loneliness, doubts

and insecurity. One might

properly classify the

advertisers as:- Vultures

who feast on the secrets,

miseries, misfortunes and

weaknesses of human

beings. They work on

man's mind and his soul”.

Know a day's

advertisement is an

important source of

income for websites, any

show of the college also so

many big and small

company sponsors the

shows, newspaper,

magazines, radio,

television etc.

Advertisement provides

direct and indirect

employment to a large

number of people creative

director, writer, junior

artist etc.

Recently, the greatest

emphasis has been on the

depth approach. Clever

advertising copy is

especially aimed to

promote purchasing

through non-rational and

impulsive logics instead of

rational and logical

approaches. The

advertising has become a

professional persuasion to

manipulate the

consumer's buying

attitude. Advertiser’s reap

rich dividend from the

knowledge, that consumer

on the whole are gullible

and that few people have

mastered the art of

reading advertising

material with a critical

eye.

For these reasons it is

indeed like looking for the

proverbial ”needle the

haystack as contact less

in a summing pool to

collect a food sampling of

straight honest

advertisement”.

Forms of Advertising

There are so many forms

of advertisements,

including so many things

in the advertisement

which are as follows :

Direct-Mail Advertising

Informational

Advertising

Institutional

Advertising

Outdoor Advertising

Product Advertising

Speciality Advertising

Media

Social network

advertising

A new form of advertising

that is growing rapidly is

social network

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

+


advertising. It is online

advertising with a focus

on social networking

sites. This is a relatively

immature market, but it

has shown a lot of

promise as advertiser’s

are able to take advantage

of the demographic

information the user has

provided to the social

networking site.

Friendertising is a more

precise advertising term

in which people are able

to direct advertisements

toward others directly

using social network

service.

Celebrities Advertising:

This type of advertising

focuses upon using

celebrity power, fame,

money, popularity to gain

recognition for their

products and promote

specific stores or

products. Advertisers

often advertise their

products, for example,

when celebrities share

their favourite products

or wear clothes by specific

brands or designers.

Celebrities are often

involved in advertising

campaigns such as

television or print adverts

to advertise specific or

general products.

Covert advertising:

Covert advertising is

when a product or brand

is embedded in

entertainment and media.

For example, in a film, the

main character can use

an item or other of a

definite brand, as in the

movie “Minority Report”

where Tom Cruise's

character John Anderton

owns a phone with the

Nokia logo clearly written

in the top corner, or his

watch engraved with the

Bulgari logo.

Consumer Education

Government and private

agencies in India offer

rural consumers

education programmer

and widely disseminated

consumer information

system. Some of the

reputed private

companies involve

themselves with rural

consumer’s education

giving high emphasis to

the motto “educated

consumers make better

consumers” along with

their selling portfolio.

Even after, consumer

education in India is still

practically not so widely

spread, the Union

Government has been

making efforts to educate

the rural consumers. The

right to consumer

education means the right

to acquire the knowledge

and skills to be an

informed consumer. Thus,

the right to consumer

education envisages the

right to knowledge and

skills needed for taking

actions to influence

factors, which affect

consumers' decisions.

According to the

guidelines, the

governments should

develop and encourage

the development of

general consumer

education programmes,

bearing in mind the

cultural traditions of the

people concerned. The

aim of such programmes

should be to enable people

to act as discriminating

rural consumers, capable

of making informed

choice of goods and

services, and conscious of

their rights and

responsibilities. In

developing such

programmes special

attention should be given

to the needs of

disadvantaged consumers.

The important points of

Consumer Education are

as follow :

1.Introducing rural

consumer education in

the basic curricula of

the education system;

2.Governments to develop

consumer education

programmes in mass

media aimed at rural

and illiterate

consumers.

3.Education programmes

particularly for the

benefit of low-income

consumers in rural and

urban areas;

4.Business to

undertake/participate in

factual and relevant

consumer education

programmes; and

Governments to organize

training programmes

for education, mass

media professionals etc.

In the modern era it is

mandatory to protect the

rural consumers rights

and empowering them by

education. They should

not take the decision

always on the basis of

advertisement. The cost of

making advertisement is

usually very high.

Businesses have to spend

large sums of money to

get consumer’s to notice

and recognize their

product. Part of this

money goes to the

production of the

advertisement, packaging

of the product and buying

of advertisement space in

newspapers and

magazines, on billboards,

television and the radio.

The cost of advertising is

partly borne by

consumers, who end up

paying more for a product

than they would

otherwise have to.

Advertisement can be

misleading. To boost sales,

they are made to appeal to

the purchaser's vanity-this

expensive face cream will

make you look beautiful;

that vitamin supplement

will help you stay young;

these pills will make you

slim without the need for

exercise. Such claims are

often exaggerated but

believe by many.

Advertisement was once

upon a time the tool for

creating awareness about

their product among the

people. But now-a-days it

creates problem among

the people and putting

problematic burden on

the families.

Awareness has to be

created among the rural

consumers about the good

quality of products and

services. Largest number

of consumers live in the

rural areas in India. So

protecting the rural

consumer has to be a

priority.


The governments should develop and

encourage the development of general

consumer education programmes.

Basic Information on Telecom tariff/charges and rates related issues from Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indiathat specifies your rights.

he customer must

be given complete Tdetails of tariff plan

including charges payable

for every item included in

the plan within a week of

activation of service.

While taking the new

connection, you can

obtain the contact details

of the Call Centre, Nodal

Officer and appellate

authority of service

provider for making your

complaints.

No hike in any tariff item

or charges is permitted

during six months from

the date of enrolment of

the subscriber in a tariff

plan.

In tariff plans having

validity of more than six

months including lifetime

plans no tariff item or

charges shall be increased

at any time during the

promised validity period.

'Lifetime validity' means

the duration of the

current license or

renewed license of the

service provider.

The customer is free to

move from one tariff plan

to another, including post

paid to pre paid and vice

versa without paying any

fee or charges for

migration and without

change of telephone /

mobile number.

Even if the talk time value

has been exhausted, the

prepaid customers should

get all the services, which

do not affect “talk time

value”, like incoming

calls/SMS etc. during the

entire validity period.

Unused balance in the

prepaid card at the end of

the validity period is to be

carried forward if

recharged during the

grace period specified for

the purpose.

Fixed line and broadband

customers to be given

rental rebate for faults not

rectified within 3 days of

making complaint.

No rental for national

roaming facility. Receiving

SMS is free while national

roaming.

Processing fee, if any, in

the talk time top up

recharge shall not exceed

Rs.2/-.

Calling Line Identification

Presentation (CLIP)

facility cannot be made a

compulsory item of tariff

in any tariff plan. If

chargeable, it shall be

optional for customers.

Customer consent a

must for providing

Chargeable Value Added

Services

No chargeable value added

service like ring tone,

caller tune, missed call

alert, music / songs etc.

shall be provided to a

customer without his/her

explicit consent.

All communications/

advertisements relating to

premium rate services e.g.

ring tones, wallpaper,

astrology, quiz etc. should

have the pulse

rate/charges for the

service.

Whom to contact in case

of telephone / mobile

complaints?

All service requests/

complaints are to be made

to the Call Center. The

Call Center shall register

the complaint / request

and provide docket

number to the

complainant.

In case the customer is

not satisfied with the

redressal of his complaint

at the Call Center level, he

may approach the Nodal

Officer and then the

appellate authority. For

contact details of Call

Centre, Nodal Officer and

appellate authority, you

may visit the Website of

your service provider.

Complaints pertaining to

service disruption / faults

are to be attended within

a maximum period of 3

days and billing

complaints within 4

weeks by telecom service

provider. In the event of a

request for termination,

the services shall be

terminated by telecom


Your Rights as a

Telecom Consumer

Do you know?

Fixed line and broadband customers to be

given rental rebate for faults not rectified

within 3 days of making complaint.

service provider within a

maximum period of 7

days and bills to be raised

after adjustment of

security deposit.

How to stop getting

unwanted

telemarketing Calls and

SMSs?

A customer who does not

wish to receive unwanted

commercial calls or SMSs

can register his telephone

number in the National

Do Not Call (NDNC)

Registry by dialing '1909'

or sending SMS by typing

“START DND” and send it

to 1909.

In case the customer

receives unsolicited

call/SMS even after 45

days of registration in the

NDNC registry, complaint

can be lodged with the

service provider within 15

days of receipt of such

unsolicited commercial

communication.

Basic information

about Cable TV Services

in Conditional Access

System (CAS) Areas

CAS is only available in

Chennai and parts of

Delhi, Mumbai and

Kolkata.

All customers in CAS area

will get 30 Free to Air

channels without Set Top

Box (STB) by paying

Rs.82/- (excluding taxes)

per month.

CAS allows consumers

choice of selecting

individual pay channel.

No compulsion to take

bundle of channels or

bouquets.

Pay channels will be

available at the rate of

Rs.5.35 per channel per

month (excluding taxes).

STB only required for

getting pay channels.

STB to be made available

for a deposit of Rs.200/-

with a monthly rental of

Rs.34/- or deposit of

Rs.750/- with a monthly

rental of Rs.22/- to the

new customers.

Your Multi System

Operator (MSO) is

required to maintain

Customer Service Center

for receiving your

complaints.

All complaints made will

be registered and given a

docket number.

Monthly bills with details

to be given to the

customer by the cable

operator compulsorily.

TV services under

Direct to Home (DTH)

The DTH operator has to

make schemes and offer

Set Top Box (STB) on

rental, hire-purchase

basis and outright

purchase basis. The

customer has the freedom

to choose from schemes

being so offered.

In case of termination of

connection, the service

provider has to give a

notice to the customers.

A subscription package

offered to a customer

cannot be changed to the

disadvantage of the

customer for 6 months

from the date of

subscription.

STB not to be disabled

in case there are no

dues.

In case of any complaint

or problem with the

services, the customer

may contact the Call

Centers on toll free

numbers of the service

provider.

Individual Consumer

Complaints / Disputes

Individual consumer

complaints / disputes

which are maintainable

before Consumer Forum

are not handled by TRAI.

Customer has to seek

redressal of the grievance

with the service provider

as per the regulations or

can seek remedy in the

Consumer Forum

Complaints alleging

violation of the

Authority's direction/

orders/regulations are

handled in TRAI.

TRAI invites all the

stakeholders to visit its

website: www.trai.gov.in

for full details of the

Regulations, Tariff

Orders, and Directions

issued by the Authority

from time to time.

(Issued in public interest by

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)


Common Charter of

Telecom Services 2005

Continued from Page 9

All service providers agree to provide information on

Directory Services and book complaints on toll free

number for registering complaints.

All service providers agree to provide their subscribers

satisfactory connectivity to their services and

interconnectivity to the extent of their respective legal

obligation under the relevant interconnection agreement

and to ensure that subscribers do not suffer on account of

poor service.

All service providers agree to allow emergency services

like police, fire and ambulance for a period of 15 days

during which incoming facility is allowed, if technically

feasible, even after the telephone connection is

suspended.

All Service Providers agree to achieve the minimum

benchmarks prescribed by TRAI with respect to the

quality of service and also commit themselves to improve

upon the standards of service at different points of time.

Mutual courtesy and respect are the hallmarks of any

durable relationship between the Service Providers and

subscribers and both agree to abide by these principles.

Though this charter is non-justiceable, service

providers agree to strive to adhere all the points

contained in this charter and to make every effort to abide

by the charter.

Clause 7 amended as agreed in the meeting of the CAGs

and service providers held on 24th January 2006 so as to

inform the subscribers through “each bill” instead of

informing “periodically”.


State of

Consumer Awareness in Shimla City

“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. He is not an outsider in our business. He is a part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.” Mahatma Gandhi

he world is a global

village and the Tconsumer is king,

yet he is striving to create

a niche for himself. The

growing interdependence

of the world economy and

international character of

many business practices

have contributed to the

development of consumer

protection (Gambhir

,2007) Citizens have

always been exploited by

agencies and institutions,

both in private and public

sectors, as they are not

orgnanised formally to

take remedial action.

Such complaints are more

in public utility services

like electricity, water, gas,

railways, and transport.

(Goel 2004)

The term consumer has

been defined as any

person who seeks or

acquires goods for

personal, family or

household purpose.

Moreover, the goods must

be acquired for final

consumption and not for

the purpose of

manufacture or resale

(Agarwal, 1989) Every

individual irrespective of

his age, sex, religion,

status is a consumer and

thus they are required to

exercise proper check and

caution while making

purchase of item (Sharma

2005).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.

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

purpose (Rakesh

2000).The process of

development coupled with

increasing liberalization

and globalization across

the country has enabled

consumers to realize their

increasingly important

role in society and

governance( Aggarwal

2006).

Consumerism under

Himachal Pradesh

Consumer Protection

Rules 1988 Himachal

Pradesh State Consumer

Disputes Redressal

commission, District

Consumer Dispute

Redressal Forum were

established in 1989.

According to provisions of

these rules Himachal

Pradesh has established

four District Consumer

Disputes Redressal

Forums at Shimla, Mandi,

Kangra and Una. The

district forum Shimla has

its jurisdiction over four

Districts of Shimla,

Solan, Sirmour & Kinnaur

District. While Mandi

district forum has its

jurisdiction extended over

Districts Mandi, Kullu

and Lahual Spiti. District

forum Kangra's

jurisdiction extends over

Kangra Chamba & District

Forum Una's jurisdiction

extends over District Una,

Hamirpur and Bilaspur.

The District Consumer

Dispute Redressal Forum

has jurisdiction to

entertain the claim,

where the value of the

goods and services and

compensation claimed

does not exceed Rs.20 lacs

the state consumer

dispute redressal

commission has

jurisdiction to entertain

the claims where the

value of goods and

services and

Dr. Mamta MoktaChairperson, Department of Public Administration,Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla.

compensation exceeds

Rs.20 lacs but does not

exceed Rs.1 Crore. The

complaint can be filed

within a period of 2 years

from the date, cause of

action arose within the

local limits of forum/

commission and the fee

for making complaint is

Rs.100/- for total value of

goods or services and

compensation claimed

upto Rs. One lac, Rs. 200/-

above compensation of Rs.

Two lacs to Rs. Five lacs,

Rs.400/- is the fee- above

Rs. Five lacs to Rs. Ten

lacs compensation , Rs.

500 is the fee above Rs.

Ten lacs to Rs. Twenty

lacs. Fees of Rs. 2000/is

levied above compensation

of Rs. Twenty lacs to Rs.

Fifty lacs. Rs. 4000 is fees

above Rs. Fifty lacs and

upto Rs. One crore and

Rs. 5000/is the fee charges

above Rs. One crore to be

paid in the form of

Crossed Demand Draft or

Crossed Indian Postal

order. (Administrative

Report, 2006-07)

Extent of consumer

awareness Data Analysis

and Findings

The awakening among

consumer of their rights

and duties, social and

legal obligation of the

business or government

toward the consumer is

called consumer

awareness. It was found

during a study conducted

in Shimla city in 2009,

that majority of

consumer’s, that is

70.90% were aware of the

malpractices and 29.06 %

were not aware of them.

Only 45. 45 % had made

complain about it to the

concerned authorities.

Consumers give different

reasons for not

complaining. Majority of

respondents, that is

42.85% believed that

problem is not so serious

as to make a complaint. It

was observed that

consumers in Himachal

Pradesh do not have the

initiative to complain to

the authorities concerned

despite of the fact that

they know malpractices

are going on. 50.90%

consumers respondents

very often take cash-

receipt after purchasing

the goods. Thus majority

of consumer in Himachal

Pradesh had not fully

comprehended the

importance of cash-

receipt. Without it,

consumers, can not

exercise their rights, as a

consumer and seek

redressal before the

consumer court. Majority

of the educated

respondents have no

knowledge about

Consumers Protection

Laws and 70.90%

consumers respondents

had no knowledge of

Consumers Rights,It was

observed, that majority of

respondents i.e. 81.81%

were unaware about

World Consumer Rights

Day 15th March. With

regard to the most

significant Act, Consumer

Protection Act 1986 only

48.18% were aware of the

existence of State

Commission and 57.27%

were aware about District

Forum. But only 20% had

made complaint before

District Forum and

respondents had lodged

complaint before State

Consumer Commission.

Awareness level of

redressal procedure was

46.36 %. Those 23.07%

respondents, which were

not satisfied with the

response of redressal

machinery, have given

reason that the procedure

is very complex. Thus it

can be concluded that

much more is required to

be done in the direction of

consumerism to make

consumers aware about

their rights.

Suggestions To Strengthen

The State Of Consumerism

In Himachal Pradesh

The consumers should

always try to purchase

standard goods of quality.

Some quality marks have

been patented by the

government such as ISI,

WOOL mark, AGG mark,

FPO, these marks ensure

the quality and minimize

the complaints.

If the goods being

purchased are subject to

guarantee or warranty,

the consumer must insist

the trader to give him

signed guarantee/

warranty card.

The consumers must

ensure the date of

manufacturing expiry

date, maximum retail

prices indicated on the

packaged commodities.

Remember MRP is not a

government fixed price

and the consumer can

bargain. He must always

know that no one can sell

more than MRP.

AGG mark for

agriculture products, ISI

mark for electrical

appliances, BIS Hallmark

for gold should always be

checked at the time of

purchase.

Consumers should

habituate themselves to

check the malpractices in

the market rather than

remain passive. They

should not hesitate to

question shopkeepers,

whenever they notice

irregularities in their

dealings, and if needed be,

report to the appropriate

authorities. The quality

testing laboratories

should be set-up in as

many places in Himachal

Pradesh as possible so

that consumers have easy

and free access to them.

Consumers must be

made to inculcate in

themselves the habit of

buying goods only after

verifying the quality,

purity, price, weight,

packing, manufacturing

date, expiry date etc.

Consumers in Himachal

Pradesh should prefer to

take cash receipt and

should always insist on it,

because this small piece of

paper is very important.

Without it consumers will

not be able to exercise

their right as a consumer

and seek redressal before

the consumer court.

As consumer education

is very important factor

which influences

consumers to act wisely

in the market, it should


be included in the syllabi

in a phased manner from

the high school level

onwards.

In order to involve

more and more youth for

the strengthening of

consumer movement in

Himachal Pradesh, it is

suggested here that

Consumer Clubs should

be opened in all the

schools of Himachal

Pradesh and efforts

should also be sincerely

made to open theses clubs

at colleges and university

level.

To strengthen the state

of consumerism in

Himachal Pradesh some

Consumer Service Guiding

Centers should be set-up

by all government

departments as well as

business houses to

maintain a close liaison

with consumers.

In Himachal Pradesh,

more people should be

involved in consumer

activities they should be

motivated to unite

themselves in consumer

organisations.

It is necessary that the

literature on the various

acts especially Consumer

Protection Act 1986,

should be supplied to the

consumers freely in

order to widen their scope

of understanding.

Consumers should be

motivated towards the

realization of consumer's

rights in the market

environment. For this,

the government which

has at its disposal all the

required resources should

take the initiative and

motivate the consumers

through the mass media.

CONCLUSION

We still have miles to

move in the direction of

consumer protection in

Himachal Pradesh. But

even longest journey

starts with small steps so

hope for better prospects

of consumerism are

expected in Himachal

Pradesh in the near

future.

FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY AND INVESTMENT PROBLEMS WITH REGARD TO

PUBLIC ISSUES (INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING)

CAPITAL MARKET (EQUITY)

MUTUAL FUNDS

INSURANCE POLICIES

BANKING SCHEMES

DEPOSITORY ACCOUNTS

AND ANY OTHER MAJOR / MINOR DIFFICULTIES

FACED BY THE INVESTORS.

CITIZEN’S AWARENESS GROUPInvestors Association recognized by Securities Exchange Board of IndiaRoom No: 3 (Basement), Karuna SadanChandigarh-160011

Contact your sincere and friendly financial partner.


SUBSCRIBE toCONSUMERS POWERStand Price : Rs.2512 Issues : Rs.250

Send your cheque/demand draft drawn infavour of “Citizen’s Awareness Group” payableat Chandigarh

ational seminar

on “Role of NConsumer

Disputes Redressal System

in India : Issues,

Challenges and

Opportunities” on

12-13th March 2010 by

Professor M.C. Paul, GAE,

School of Social Sciences

of JNU, New Delhi in co-

operation with Professor

Bupinder Zutshi, CSRD.

We are happy to note here

that the Hon'ble Minister,

Prof. K.V. Thomas, MOS,

Consumer Affairs,

consented to be the Chief

Guest Since the topic of

the seminar was very

close to his heart but

could not do so. As he

said, “nevertheless, in

view of some unavoidable,

unforeseen, urgent and

important Parliamentary

commitment I was unable

to avail the opportunity”.

All the participants were

thankful to the Hon'ble

Minister for his “best

wishes and compliments

for the successful conduct

of the seminar”.

About 93 participants

A Report on

Role of Consumer Disputes Redressal System in India Issues, Challenges and Opportunities Professor M.C. Paul, GAE, School of Social Sciences, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi

attended the National

seminar for two days from

all over the country

belonging to faculty and

students from IIPA,

Universities like

Pondicherry, Delhi

University, JNU

University, Government of

India, Judiciary, Senior

Advocates, NGOs/ VCOs,

Mass Media. They were

Justice J.D. Kapoor,

former President of Delhi

state Consumer

Commission, Hon'ble

Justice R.K. Batta,

Member NCDRC, Shri

Anupam Dasgupta,

Hon'ble Member, NCDRC,

Mrs. Rajyalaxmi Rao,

former member of

NCDRC, Dr. P.K. Agrawal,

former Principal

Secretary, Department

Consumer Affairs,

Government of West

Bengal, Sri Debasis

Bagchi, former Inspector

General of Police, Dr.

Prem Lata, Member West

District Fora, Mr. P.A.

Krishnamoorthy (GTZ),

Patrick Von Braunmuhl,

GTZ (Germany), Dr. Satya

Sharma (Malaysia), Prof.

Pranab Banerjee, Prof.

Sheetal Kapoor, Prof. P.

Moorthy, Prof. Meenu

Agrawal, Advocate Rajeev

Saxena, Advocate Apurva

A. Dave, Prof. Savita

Hanspal, Dr. S.K.Kejriwal,

Dr. Ajay Kumar, Dr. O.P.

Samy, Mr. Hitoshi Ota

(Japan) Brig. Manaktala,

Capt. Dasgupta, Col.

Angad Singh, Col. Dua,

Mr. Pankaj Singh,

Advocate Biraja

Mahapatra, Advocate

Atulesh Kumar, Prof. Hari

Dev Goyal, Prof. M.C. Paul

et al including many

students and faculty

members and concerned

Aam Consumers.

Welcoming the

participants Prof. M.C.

Paul, the Co-ordinator of

the National Seminar, has

underlined the fact that

this seminar is organized

as a mark of respect to the

true spirit of “UN

Guidelines for Consumer

Protection (UNGCP)”

issued 25 years ago in

1985. It was nonetheless

a bold step that made

some of the world leaders

to take initiative as

regards to the enactment

of special Act to protect

consumer rights from the

free market activities. So

this year is the Silver

Jubilee year for issuance

of the UN Guidelines and

it is certainly an

auspicious year for all of

us gathered here to

deliberate on the issues

and challenges of

consumer rights

protection. In fact this

National seminar is a

humble attempt to pay a

tribute to that spirit of the

UN Guidelines. It is

equally true that based on

the UN guidelines, the

Government of India had

taken the right initiative

in the Parliament and

enacted a landmark Act

called The Consumer

Rights Protection Act of

1986. The basic purpose

of this welfare Act is to

exclusively protect the

consumers from the

various types of market

exploitation.

He also expressed his

extreme happiness that he


has received

overwhelming response

from all the participants

gathered in this seminar

which indicates nothing

except the fact that the

consumer rights issues

are very close to every

one's heart, particularly in

this global era when

marketers of all kinds of

products and services are

on the prowl alluring the

gullible consumers in

different ways, often

without much respect for

the consumer rights.

Frankly speaking, he

pointed out that the

market exploitation is

rampant and the

unsuspecting consumers

often fall trapped in the

fine lines of deals offered

by the marketers. This is

particularly true for the

people belonging to lower

socioeconomic strata of

our multi-lingual and

multi-cultural society who

are not even aware of

consumer rights given in


Act, and how to protect

them. Even among the

educated sections the

awareness level is not

high. This is pathetic

when several dubious

marketers do not have

much regard for

consumer rights unlike in

the developed countries.

Secondly, when the

informed-consumers

approach consumer fora

for redressal of disputes

as a last resort as per the

Consumer Protection Act,

they expect delivery of

quick justice on merit

because it is a critical

component of consumer

rights protection. But the

frustrating experiences

the consumers undergo in

the Fora do not augur

well; this is in spite of

many success stories in

its credit. This is probably

due to several inherent

weaknesses. For example,

in the absence of adequate

knowledge and skills of

consumer jurisprudence,

many administrators of

justice inappropriately

dispense justice and

thereby undermine the

spirit of CP Act. If this is

the story then something

must be wrong

somewhere and that's why

the 3-tier Fora is not

always in a position to

serve its role effectively.

The consumer fora has

tremendous

responsibilities to uphold

the spirit of the Act. It

becomes more frustrating

when the consumer

victims approach the

justice delivery system

with good spirit but fail to

get appropriate justice. It

is in this scenario that

they suffer the double

victimization syndrome:

once in the market and,

second in the hands of the

fora. I strongly feel that

consumer complainants

have every right to get

proper justice since they

are also consumers of

justice. When cases of

consumer disputes are

delayed and/or are not

adjudicated properly on

merit, it unfortunately

makes them hesitant to

approach the fora. This is

not that some good things

are not happening, but

some good things have

also gone wrong at many

places. We know that the

3-tier Consumer Disputes

Redressal system is

supposed to take pro-

consumer approach and

adjudicate the matter on

merit.

This seminar was

organized to understand

the various issues,

challenges and

opportunities of

Consumer Disputes

Redressal system in

India; and how best we

can find answers to some

of these vexing questions

so that the agonies of the

consumer victims are

minimized, if not

eradicated. Prof. Paul said

frankly that there are

many questions that need

collective thinking and

wisdom to find answers

as well as solutions to

many such problems and

challenges the consumers

face day-in and day-out in

market situations where

the growing market

violations are

encountered. He also felt

that many diverse issues

and challenges demand

fresh thinking and

flexible approach, and for

this there is a need for

sincere debate and

serious discussion by the

participants.

He also reminded that

since 1991, with the

market liberalization

policy of the government,

thousands of profit-

hungry marketers

including the dubious/

unscrupulous ones have

been entering the market

arena who hardly care

even to recognize, forget

about respecting the

upobhokta adhikar (the

consumer rights).

Therefore, under this

circumstance, whether

consumer is the 'King' or

a Slave of the market is a

BIG question. The

unsuspecting and gullible

consumers and

particularly, those

belonging to under-

privileged and poorest

sections of our society

with low purchasing

power are the worst

victims of unbridled

market injustice and

exploitation. It seems our

'consumer rights are

under siege'.

The scenario gets uglier

and pathetic when

millions of our diverse

consumers of our

multilingual and

multicultural nation are

not even aware of

Upobhokta Adhikar

rightfully given by an Act

of Parliament. The 'jago

grahak jago' slogan

incurring billions could

hardly empower the

consumers to save them

from the continuous

market injustice and

exploitation. I believe we

also need to forcefully

make the 'Vyaparis also

Jago' with a slogan like:

'Jago Vyapari Jago' to

respect consumers' rights.

Otherwise the business

people will have the last

laugh and go on doing

'business' as it is!! We

also know millions of

educated sections are not

aware of their rights; how

to protect; and where to

go for redressal when

their rights are violated in

the market. Of course, for

many people, ignorance

becomes bliss. Some may


perceive it as a sheer fate

when they get cheated, or

a part of karmaphal (to

pay a price for past

misdeed). It is this

perception that empowers

the business class to pro-

actively violate the law of

the land. I don't have any

panacea but I am sure in

one thing that with our

collective will and

wisdom, we may at least

come out with certain

remedies to protect our

rights as consumers

against the dubious but

powerful marketers. We

require a new mindset

and an out-of-box

thinking and whenever

necessary involving the

civil society in a big way

to check the menace of

market injustice. We need

to walk together as

partners to change the

present, to move to the

future and reach out to

the people who need it. I

believe the challenges of

consumer rights

violations can be

addressed only when we

try to think differently

together and voice our

concerns to the

authorities with

constructive suggestions

to appropriately amend

the CPA, if required. Along

with policies we also

require honest efforts to

implement these. Of

course it is not a one way

road. In other words,

policy reform alone

cannot be the only

solution unless it is seen

to work on the ground.

Thereafter, the Keynote

Address was delivered by

Justice J.D. Kapoor,

Former President, Delhi

State Consumer

Commission. Justice

Kapoor has been in the

forefront of consumer

rights protection;

championing the cause of

consumers, has delivered

very enlightening and

engrossing speech

covering many issues and

challenges faced by the

Consumer Disputes

Redressal system in India

with the help of his

practical judical

experience over the years

while solving umpteen

number of cases,

including the complex

ones, and delivering with

a zeal pro-consumer

judgments by rightly

interpreting the C.P. Act of

1986 to not only

protected consumer rights

but also strengthened

them.

He began his address with

the statement that “An

enlightened Person is the

empowered person”. He

said India was first and

foremost countries to

enact such a

comprehensive Act called


Act, 1986. He underlined

that it was a good

endeavour to provide full

protection to the

consumers. But he was

not satisfied with the way

consumer courts are

functioning. Judicial

process is getting complex

leading to harassment and

suffering; the consumer

victims don't feel

encouraged to go to the

court. Thousand and

thousands of cases are

pending for the last 15

years and because of this

consumers are

increasingly losing faith

in quasi-judicial

mechanism. He was also

not happy with the way

laws are being

interpreted. He said

before giving any

judgment, each and every

section of the law should

be considered with

elaborated meaning to

effectively use for

delivering judgment and

thereby protect consumer

rights. And every kind of

injuries such as physical,

mental, psychological etc.

faced by the consumer

should be accounted and

compensated.

Prof. B.B. Bhattacharya,

Vice-Chancellor of JNU,

in his address as

chairperson congratulated

Prof. Paul and expressed

happiness for holding the

seminar at a crucial

juncture of India's neo-

liberal agenda-based

business activities. He

showed his concern for

the difficulties of the

consumers face in the

market places. He

highlighted how

unscrupulous traders day-

in and day-out indulging

in malpractices causing

tremendous harm to aam

consumers. He also

expressed his

unhappiness on the

misleading advertisement

of 'Jago Grahak Jago'

which is not cutting much

ice. He also stated from

several of his studies done

as an expert in several

committees as well as his

experience show that how

the benefit/relief in terms

of Sales tax/Excise tax

relief supposed to be

percolated down to the

end users extended by the

government in the

budgets for the consumers

are often disregarded by

the businessmen or the

producers. All the tax

benefits are rather taken

away by the business

people. He cited some

such examples of life with

pain how the companies

amass huge wealth at the

cost of consumers in

India. Indian market

economy is becoming

more exploitative; no

doubt under globalization

they offer wider choices

but do not always ensure

what they propagate; and

they show reluctance to

protect consumer rights.

He was also unhappy with

the way the advertisement

strategies are increasingly

adopted which is actually

misleading the consumers

due to which many

vulnerable consumers fall

into their trap; and they

throw many challenges to

consumers in the market

to protect their rights. It

is here the role of

consumer fora finds its

centrality and is vital. But

unfortunately the quasi-

judicial bodies like

consumer fora are not in

a position to expeditiously

reduce the sufferings of

consumers due to certain

inherent weaknesses; and

challenges of piling up of

cases with the rising

awareness level of the

consumers. One of the

challenges is delay in

disposing of cases. It is a

major challenge. Opening

Mediation Cell with the

help of qualified

mediators can definitely

be a way-out under the


present circumstances to

help the aam consumers.

We need to take this issue

up for further

deliberations and

discourse.

Nevertheless, he strongly

felt that the consumer

rights education and

awareness movements is

the need of the hour Prof.

Bhattacharya suggested

that there is a great role

of NGOs, academicians,

and civil society to

generate awareness and

knowledge by organizing

awareness drive,

undertaking

interdisciplinary studies,

by initiating academic

course, organize seminars

like this respectively so as

to make the society and

the people aware about

the violations of

consumer rights and how

to safeguard them.

Last but not the least, the

Vote of Thanks was

extended by Dr. B. Zutshi.

Thereafter the Technical

sessions took off and were

conducted by experts,

academicians several legal

experts including the

Judicial officers from

NCDRC who conducted

Panel discussion on 13th

March for the benefit of

participants who had

several questions to field

to get answers from each

one of them.

In fact, the seminar

participants have

discussed and debated

host of issues related to

consumer rights

protection in India and

the role of Consumer

Disputes Redressal


system. How the world's

best Consumer Disputes

Redressal system in our

country is gradually

becoming ineffective/

dysfunctional; and

thereby losing aam

consumers' confidence.

All these lively

discussions and

discourses in a friendly

atmosphere made them

come out with some

pragmatic

recommendations for the

government as well as for

the quasi-judicial bodies

like Consumer fora, state

commission, NCDRC,

Central and State

governments, if necessary,

by amending the unique

Consumer Protection Act,

1986, to attain its very

object keeping its spirit

intact.

Col. MGS Khurana

Col. MGS KhuranaCertified Investment & Insurance Consultant

# 1574, Sector 34-D, Chandigarh

P : 0172 2604305 | M : 98553 31101Contact :

Post Office

Monthly Income

Senior Citizens

Mutual Funds

UTI & SBI

Templeton & HDFC

Sundaram BNP

ICICI Prudential

PPF & Tax Saving

LIC of India

House Hold

Medical

Overseas

Shops

Accident

Fire

Burglary

The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd.

TATA AIG General Insurance Company Ltd.

Apollo DKV Insurance Company Ltd.

Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd.

With best Compliments

INVESTMENTThe

INVESTMENTINSURANCE

INSURANCE

Wishing all members of Citizens Awareness Group success in achieving objectives

From. Smt. & Wg.Cdr. D. N. Misra, on the eve of their

th50 Marriage Anniversary


Standards

veryone of us follow

some standards in Eour day-to-day life

like office going, adhering

to traffic signals etc. , the

consequences are obvious,

if we violate them. In fact

standardization touches

every aspect of our life be it

our daily life, our work

places, our movement or

any other activity. It is the

foundation stone on which

our society is built.

Standardization is a

universal phenomenon and

you observe it in nature all

the time. You see the

orderly movement of

planets, starts chance of

seasons, seasonal growth

of plants. The structure of

flora, fauna and human

being is standardized.

Coming to the benefit of

standards, imagine the

ordeal in selecting a book

of your choice in case of

urgency from a library

which does not follow a

standard practice, imagine

the plight of a patient and

doctors using non-

standards thermometers,

B.P. apparatus or cardio-

graphs.

A driver anywhere in the

world immediately

recognizes the meaning of

various dashboard symbols

when buying a new car. We

as consumers take

standardization for

granted. Its absence

however can send us into a

fit of fury. Who, for

instance, has not been

irritated by the seeming

lack of standardization of

clothes sizes or frustrated

when the light bulb we

brought for our lamp does

not fit or the safety razor

blade does not fit into the

safety.

If safety, compatibility,

reliability and quality are

clearly crucial factors for

consumers, value for

money is another gain, the

consumers make from

standards. In today's time

of open economy, world

wide standards create the

condition for open trade

which put manufacturers

and the consumers in a

win-win situation. For the

manufacturers, the cost of

seeking to satisfy different

national market needs is

reduced and the customers

benefits from competition

among suppliers vying to

meet his needs.

A standardized product

is a sure passport to

customer satisfaction. A

standard product assures

that it has been produced

to comply with the

requirement of relevant

standards protection from

exploitation and deception.

The BIS is making

concerted efforts to train

and educate various office-

bearers of consumer

associations about BIS

activities. Awareness

program are being

organized through its

regional and branch

offices. Efforts are also

being made to spread

awareness about

standardization and the

BIS role among school

children so as to bring

about an understanding

about the role of

standardization during

during their formative

years.

The BIS has all India

network. Its consumer's

affairs department is there

to help consumers, in case

they come across any BIS

certified product which

they deem to be

substandard. The use of

standard mark or its

imitation is an offence

under the BIS act,

punishable with

imprisonment extending

up to on year and a fine of

up to Rs. 50,000/-.

The BIS also has the

power to search and seize,

in case reasonable doubt

exists, about any misuse of

the standard mark.

Consumers are advised to

be careful about products

carrying the label

“conforming to ISI” or

“Fitted with ISI element”

as these marking are

spurious and illegal and

mislead the consumers.

Consumers are advised to

be wary of such

misrepresentations and

bring them to the Bureau's

notice.

As a quality conscious

consumer you must try a

wide range of standardized

goods available in the

market. Your feedback

would help the BIS tighten

the supervisory control

over manufacturers and

this, in turn , would help

the industry concerned to

become a trusted and

respected enterprise for

the common man, thereby

making a vital

contribution to the

improvement of life. So,

when you are out shopping

next time, do not shop

blind folded and be careful

that you buy quality

products. There might be a

slight price difference but

life after all is a matter of

quality and safety..

A Part of our Life

Renuka Salwan Dy. Director (PR) Bureau of Indian Standards, Chandigarh

rior to the 1991-92

economic Pliberalization,

telecommunication

services in India were

monopoly of the state

sector. These services were

opened to the private

sector during post-

liberalization period. Since

the entry of private sector,

these have witnessed a

phenomenal growth in

terms of increase in

number of services and

service providers. The

growing role of the private

sector in the telecom sector

has raised policy questions

such as fair competition;

prices; quality of services

and social and spatial

equity. Keeping this in

view, the

Telecommunication Policy,

1994 envisaged setting up

of a regulatory authority.

In 1997, the government

of India set up the Telecom


India (TRAI).

The Telecom Regulatory

Authority of India (TRAI)

was constituted in 1997

under “The Telecom

Regulatory Authority Of

India Act, 1997”, dated

28th March, 1997. The Act

was further amended in

the year 2000 by the

promulgation of “The

Telecom Regulatory

Authority Of India

(Amendment) Ordinance,

2000”, dated 24th

January, 2000. The major

aim of TRAI is to provide

an effective regulatory

framework, adequate

safeguards to ensure fair

competition and protection

of consumer interests.

TRAI has been assigned a

large number of functions,

out of these the most

important functions

include, to:

(i) facilitate competition

and promote efficiency

in the operation of

telecommunication

services so as to

facilitate growth in

such services;

(ii) protect the interest of

the consumers of

telecommunication

service;

(iii)lay-down the standards

of quality of service to

be provided by the

service providers;

(iv)ensure the quality of

service;

(v) monitor the quality of

service and conduct

the periodical survey

of such provided by

the service providers;

and

(vi)ensure effective

compliance of

universal service

obligations (Gazettes

of India, 1997, 2000).

The TRAI comprises a full

time Chairperson, not

more than two whole time

members and not more

than two part-time

members, to be appointed

by the Central

Government. Special

knowledge of, and

professional experience in

telecommunication,

industry, finance,

accountancy, law,

management or consumer

affairs constitutes the

qualifications for

appointment as

Chairperson or members of

the Authority. The term of

the Chairperson and other

members is for three years

or till they attain the age of

65, which ever is earlier.

For day-to-day work, the

TRAI has full time

employees also.

Since its inception, TRAI

has been playing an

important role in

facilitating competition,

monitoring quality of

service, regulating tariff,

ensuring universal service

obligation and involving

various stakeholders. TRAI

has issued several Orders,

Directions and Regulations

addressing the concerns of

consumers including the

Quality of Service

standards.

TRAI has institutionalized

mechanism for registration

for consumer

organizations with it. TRAI

interacts periodically with

these consumer

organizations or Consumer

Advocacy Groups (CAGs).

Citizens Awareness Group,

Chandigarh is one amongst

41 such groups. Through

mutual discussions

between these consumer

organizations and service

providers, a Common

Charter of Telecom Service

was finalized, under the

aegis of TRAI to be adopted

by the service providers on

a voluntary basis.

There are lots of consumer

complaints in the telecom

sector. Absence of defined

framework for functioning

of the existing redressal

mechanisms is leading to

customer dissatisfaction.

Recently, Telecom

An Introduction

Dr. Akshat MehtaReader, Deptt. Public AdminstrationPunjab University, Chandigarh

TRAI


Telecom Regulatory Authority of India



India has come out with

Telecom Consumers

Protection and Redressal of

Grievances Regulation,

2007 (3 of 2007), dated

4th May 2007 which calls

for the establishment of

three tier redressal

grievance mechanism,

namely: (a) Call Centre,

(b) Nodal Officer, (c)

Appellate Authority. It is

hoped that this mechanism

would go a long way in

ensuring consumer

protection.

It has been seen that TRAI

has been making its

utmost efforts in

facilitating competition

thereby promoting

efficiency in the operation

of the telecom sector,

protecting the interest of

the consumers, monitoring

Admission

Open

Regional Institute of Co-operative Management(A Govt. of India’s Co-operative Institute)Sector 32-C, Chandigarh 160 030

Campus wide Wi-Fi connectivity

Latest Software for practicals

Short cut tips & Tricks for last minute session of entire syllabus

4 hrs. daily classes by subject experts

Result oriented & Personalized teaching methodology

Separate Hostel facility for Boys & Girls

Post Graduate Diploma in ComputerApplication (PGDCA)EligibilityGraduate in any discipline from a Recognized University

DurationOne year (1st June 2010 to 31st May 2011)

FeeRs. 55,000/- (Payable in two installments)

Silent Features

Last Date31 May 2010

For inquires please contact :Mr. Sunil Kumar, Ph. 0172 - 2600557, 2609157, (Ext. 115) Fax : 0172 - 2660973Mobile : 0 93573 97549

Prospectus can be free of cost from the office on working days during 9:00 am to 5:00pm

the quality of services and

ensuring effective

compliance of the

universal service

obligations. However, TRAI

suffers from many

limitations; the important

limitations include lack of

adequate powers to execute

its decisions; ineffective in

ensuring quality of service

as per the benchmarks in

case of certain parameters

of quality, such as, call

completion rate, signal

clarity and inter-cellular

connectivity; and

ineffectiveness in

spreading of telecom

services to the rural areas.

It is suggested that TRAI

may be provided more

teeth as powerful TRAI can

enforce the quality of

service norms more

effectively.

Disclaimer

The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error omissions contained in this publications, however caused. The options and views contained in this publication, however are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting or information contained in this publication, which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. The ownership of trademark is acknowledged. No part of this publications or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair reviews.

Statement about ownership and other particulars about “Investors Update” required to be published under Rule 8 of the registration of Newspapers (Central) Rule, 1956 FROM IV (See Rule 8)

1. Place of Publication : Chandigarh2. Periodicity of its Publication : Bi-Monthly3. Printer's Name : Nex-Gen Graphibiz

a) Nationality : Indianb) Whether a Citizen of India : YesAddress : Plot No. F-191, Industrial Area, Phase 8-B, SAS Nagar, Mohali, Punjab

4. Editor/Publisher's Name : Surinder Vermaa) Nationality : Indianb) Whether a Citizen of India : YesAddress : #2812, Sector 38-C, Chandigarh(O) 0172 - 4007412, Email : [email protected]

[email protected]

I, Surinder Verma hereby declare that theparticulars given above are true to thebest of my knowledge and belief.

www.cagchandigarh.in

Publisher's statement

Sd/-Mr. Surinder Verma


hild labour in India is

a human right issue Cfor the whole world. It

is a serious and extensive

problem, with many children

under the age of fourteen

working in carpet making

factories, glass blowing units

and making fireworks with

bare little hands. According

to the statistics given by

Indian government there are

20 million child laborers in

the country, while other

agencies claim that it is 50

million.

In Northern India the

exploitation of little children

for labour is an accepted

practice and perceived by the

local population as a

necessity to alleviate poverty.

Carpet weaving industries

pay very low wages to child

labourers and make them

work for long hours in

unhygienic conditions.

Children working in such

units are mainly migrant

workers from Northern

India, who are shunted here

by their families to earn some

money and send it to them.

Their families dependence on

their income, forces them to

endure the onerous work

conditions in the carpet

factories. The situation of

child laborers in India is

desperate. Children work for

eight hours at a stretch with

only a small break for meals.

The meals are also frugal and

Child labour in IndiaDr. Babita Agrawal, Associate Prof. & HOD Economics, A K P G College, Hapur, Ghaziabad, UP

Introduction the children are ill

nourished. Most of the

migrant children, who

cannot go home, sleep at

their work place, which is

very bad for their health and

development. Seventy five

percent of Indian population

still resides in rural areas

and are very poor. Children

in rural families who are

ailing with poverty perceive

their children as an income

generating resource to

supplement the family

income. Parents sacrifice

their children's education to

the growing needs of their

younger siblings in such

families and view them as

wage earners for the entire

clan.

The Indian government has

tried to take some steps to

alleviate the problem of child

labor in recent years by

invoking a law that makes

the employment of children

below 14 illegal, except in

family owned enterprises.

However this law is rarely

adhered to due to practical

difficulties. Factories usually

find loopholes and

circumvent the law by

declaring that the child

laborer is a distant family

member. Also in villages

there is no law implementing

mechanism, and any punitive

actions for commercial

enterprises violating these

laws is almost non existent.

Child labor is a conspicuous

problem in India. Its

prevalence is evident in the

child work participation rate,

which is more than that of

other developing countries.

Poverty is the reason for child

labor in India. The meager

income of child labourers is

also absorbed by their

families. The paucity of

organized banking in the

rural areas creates a void in

taking facilities, forcing poor

families to push their

children in harsh labor, the

harshest being bonded labor.

Bonded labor traps the

growing child in a hostage

like condition for years. The

importance of formal

education is also not realized,

as the child can be absorbed

in economically beneficial

activities at a young age.

Moreover there is no access

to proper education in the

remote areas of rural India

STOP CHILD LABOUR

Policies of child labour

There are specific clauses in the draft of Indian

constitution dated 26th January 1950, about the child

labor policy in India. These are conveyed through

different articles in the Fundamental rights and the

Directive Principles of the State Policy. They lay down

four specific policy rules regarding child labor.

They are as following:-

1) Article 14) No child below the age of 14 years shall be

employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged

in any other hazardous employment.

2) Article 39-E) The state shall direct its policy towards

securing that the health and strength of workers,

men and women and the tender age of children are

not abused and that they are not forced by economic

necessity to enter vocations unsuited to there are and

strength.

3) (Article 39-f ) Children shall be given opportunities

and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in

conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood

and youth shall be protected against moral and

material abandonment.

4) (Article 45 ) The state shall endeavor to provide

within a period of ten years from the commencement

of the constitution for free and compulsory education

for all children until they complete the age of fourteen

years.


for most people, which leaves

the Hilden with no choice.

Causes of child

labour

Some common causes of

child labor are poverty,

parental illiteracy, social

apathy, ignorance, lack of

education and exposure,

exploitation of cheap and

unorganized labour. The

family practice to inculcate

traditional skills in children

also pulls little ones

inexorably in the trap of

child labour, as they never

get the opportunity to learn

anything else.

Adult unemployment and

urbanization also causes

child labour. Adults often

find it difficult to find jobs

because factory owners find

it more beneficial to employ

children at cheap rates. This

exploitation is particularly

visible in garment factories

of urban areas. Adult

exploitation of children is

also seen in many places.

Elders relax at home and live

on the labour of poor

helpless children.

The industrial revolution has

also had a negative effect by

giving rise to circumstances

which encourages child

labour. Sometimes

multinationals prefer to

employ child workers in the

developing countries. This is

so because they can be

recruited for less pay, more

work can be extracted from

them and there is no union

problem with them. This

attitude also makes it

difficult for adults to find

jobs in factories, forcing

them to drive their little ones

to work to keep the fire

burning their homes.

The incidence of child labour

would diminish considerably

even in the face of poverty, if

there are no parties willing

to exploits them. Strict

implementation of child

labor laws and practical and

healthy alternatives to

replace this evil can go a long

way to solve the problem of

child labour. Children who

are born out of wedlock,

orphaned or abandoned are

especially vulnerable to

exploitation. They are forced

to work for survival when

there are no adults and

relatives to support them.

Livelihood considerations

can also drive a child into the

dirtiest forms of child labour

like child prostitution and

organized begging.

It was also decided that both

the Union government and

the State government could

legislate on matters

concerning child labor.

Various legislative initiatives

were also taken in this

regard at both the State and

Union level.

The main legislative

measures at the national

level are The Child Labour

Prohibition and Regulation

Act -1986 and The Factories

Act -1948. The first act was

categorical in prohibiting the

employment of children

below fourteen years of age,

and identified 57 processes

and 13 occupations which

were considered dangerous

to the health and lives of

children. The details of these

occupations and processes

are listed in the schedule to

the said Act.

The factories act again

prohibits the employment of

children less than fourteen

years of age. However an

adolescent aged between 15

and 18 can be recruited for

factory employment only

after securing a fitness

certificate from a medical

doctor who is authorized.

The Act proceeds to prescribe

only four and and hour's

work period per day for

children between 14 and 18

years. Children are also not

allowed to work in night

shifts.

Moreover, in the year 1996

the Supreme Court of India

came out with a judgment in

court that directed the State

and Union government to

make a list of all children

embroiled in hazardous

occupations and processes.

They were then told to pull

them out of work and asked

to provide them with proper

education of quality. The

judiciary also laid down that

Child Labour and Welfare

Fund is set up. The

contribution for this was to

be received from employers

who contravened the Child

Labor Act.

India is also a signatory to

the UN Convention on the

Rights of the Child, ILO

Abolition of Forced

Convention – No 105 and

ILO Forced labor Convention

– No. 29. A National Labor

Policy was also adopted in

the year 1987 in accordance

with India's development

strategies and aims. The

National Policy was designed

to reinforce the directive

principles of state policy in

the Indian constitution.

The above fact is beautifully

expressed by Wordsworth in

his famous lines “child is

father of the man”. So it

becomes imperative for the

health of future of a

community is in the well

being of its children. The a

nation to protect its children

from premature labour

which is hazardous to their

mental, physical, educational

and spiritual development

needs. It is urgently required

to save children from the

murderous clutches of social

injustice and educational

deprivation, and ensure that

they are given opportunities

for healthy, normal and

happy growth.

The venerable Indian poet

Rabindranth Tagore has said

time and again, that every

country is absolutely bound

by its duty to provide free

primary education to its

children. It is important to

remember that

industrialization can afford

to wait but youth cannot be

captured for long. It is

imperative that the basic

tenet made in article 24 of

the Indian constitution -

prohibiting the employment

of any child below fourteen

years of age, in a factory,

mine or any other hazardous

employment be stopped – be

adhered to. There should be

no ambiguity in ensuring the

right of every child to free

basic education and the

promise of the constitution

should be fully implemented

in the here and now.

Projects related with human

resource development,

dedicated to the child welfare

issues must be given top

priority by the central and

state governments to stop the

menace of child labour. Child

labour laws need to be

strictly implemented at the

central and state levels.

Corruption and negligence in

child labor offices and

employee circles should be

dealt with very strictly by the

judiciary and the police force.

The development needs of

growing children can only be

provided for, by stopping the

onerous practice of child

labour in organized and non

organized sectors with

utmost sincerity. This is the

only way a nation can train

its children to be wholesome

future citizens, who are

happy and prosperous. The

provision of equal and proper

opportunities for the

educational needs of growing

children in accordance with

constitutional directives will

go a long way in stopping the

evil practice of child labor.

Conclusion

Concerned about the future

of its children India has

implemented a country- wide

ban recently, on children

below fourteen working in

the hospitality sector and as

domestics. It is intended that

those who are found to

Continued on Page 28


violate the law will be fined with 430 dollars and sent into

rigorous imprisonment for two years. Children in India are

not allowed to work in mines, factories and other hazardous

jobs already. Two more professions have been added in a list

of fifty seven occupations which were considered hazardous

for a child's development needs in the 'child labor act' passed

in 1986. Childs rights activists are waxing eloquent in high

pitched voices about the absolute importance of stopping

child labor. But legislation in this regard is just like an

intention. It is more important to take development

measures to ensure its practical application by eliminating

the reasons of child labor from our society. The reasons

giving birth to child labor are poverty, illiteracy, scarcity of

schools, ignorance, socially regressive practices, blind

customs and traditions, migration and last but not the least

corruption amongst employees and government labor

organizations. People should not be able to get away with

The Consumer PanchayatMr. Bejon Misra, Consumer Expert & Founder Trustee, Consumer Online Foundation, New Delhi, INDIA

Plight of the rural and urban poor in developing countries

Child labour in IndiaContinued from Page 27

he Consumer

movement in India Ttraces its antecedents

to the consumer organization

registered in Chennai in the

1930's by a follower of

Mahatma Gandhi. This was

at the height of Gandhi's

campaign for freedom from

colonial rule. However, it

was the enactment of the

Consumer Protection Act in

1986 that provided the

impetus for the consumer

movement in India to

flourish.

The Consumer Protection Act

1986 of India is unique in

that it brought within its

ambit of protection a whole

class of consumers

previously not recognized by

other consumer protection

statutes. The 'self employed”

who purchased goods and

services for use in their own

small trades (including for

instance women doing

household tailoring to earn

an income, street hawkers

selling cooked or uncooked

food items, petty traders,

etc.) were all included in the

definition of ' consumer”. The

Consumer Protection Act

1986 of India therefore

explicitly called for

protection of not only those

who could afford to purchase

goods and services in the

marketplace but also

consumers from rural India

who earn a meager living out

of engaging in small trading

activities. Workers in the

unorganized sector are

estimated to constitute 92

percent of the country's work

force.

The India legislation

expanded the traditional

paradigm of consumer

protection and paved the way

for a paradigm shift. Indeed

a revolution in the consumer

movement was set in process.

However, this new vision of

consumer protection has

remained in the statute

books; because it has largely

not been exercised and /or

implemented by all

stakeholders in India –

namely the government, the

consumer organizations and

industry.

The poor, the marginalized

informal sector and the

consumers in rural India

who are the largest group of

consumers in India

(estimated at 700 million-

strong out of a billion1)

today remain ignored and

unprotected. This is also the

case in China. The Law of

the Peoples Republic of China

on the Protection of

Consumer Rights and

Interests 1993 includes

peasants within its ambit.

Yet, the state has largely

ignored the plight of farmers

and other consumers in the

rural areas. Indeed, all over

the developing world, the

interests of the rural and

urban poor are largely

ignored and they are not

represented as a community

of consumers. Their rights

to basic needs such as food,

health and education remain

unattainable and

unachievable and this in

spite of the many

development plans and

programmes that target them

as beneficiaries.

At the 4th National

Convention of the Consumer

Coordination Council (CCC),

a national coalition of more

than 60 leading consumer

organizations in India, it was

recommended that the time

had come for consumer

organizations to take their

movement to rural India.

More than 1000 delegates

representing various

stakeholders including

representatives of the

developing countries and

consumers International

who attended the CCC

convention, held on 30-31

July 2005 at Vigyan Bhavan

in New Delhi, agreed to

implement an action plan to


undertake this mammoth

task (available on

www.core.nic.in). It was

agreed that this needs to be

undertaken by the consumer

organizations around the

world in coming years.

On 23rd August 2005 in

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia the

members of Consumers

International from the Asia

Pacific region, while

deliberating on the role of the

consumer movement in the

implementation of the

Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) collectively

declared that the consumer

movement should become

“Pro-Poor, Pro-Rural & Pro-

Women” in the coming years

and to target their activities

towards enabling the

fulfillment of the 8 MDGs by

2015.

(see www.ciroap.org/mdg for

more information on the

conference outcomes).

Keeping in view a three-

pronged approach to work on

health, food and education to

empower the consumers and

bridge the gap between the

rural and urban consumers,

it has been decided by the

consumers of rural India to

organize a three days

International Convention at a

village location in the State of

Uttar Pradesh in India from

27th to 29th September

2010. To know more about

the convention, please visit

www.consumerpanchayat.org

or www.bejonmisra.com

Objectives of the

Convention:

1. To develop a blueprint for

developing countries in

Asia Pacific on how to

build a strong and

effective consumer

movement to tackle food,

health and education

issues confronting poor

consumers living in rural

and urban slums and to

take into account the

gender dimension in their

work in order to

contribute towards the

fulfillment of the MDGS

on food, health and

education.

2. To provide the real-time

environment of a village

in rural India to the

leaders working in the

national, regional and

international consumer

movement to witness

firsthand the plight of the

poor and to listen to the

voices of the poor

consumer;

3. To share information and

educate the delegates

participating at the rural

convention on the three

main issues confronting

rural consumers i.e. food,

health and education in

the context of the 8

consumer rights and their

link to the Millennium

Development Goals

(MDGs)

The UN Guidelines for

Consumer Protection adopted

by the UN General Assembly

in 1985, and expanded in

1999 has hitherto provided

the basic framework for the

consumer movement and

governments to organize

their work. While this will

still from the basic agenda,

the current initiative of the

consumer organizations in

India will in addition call on

the consumer movement to

adopt the MDG targets as a

direction to which the

consumer movement and

governments in the region

will be heading to alleviate

the suffering of the millions

of consumers who are unable

to consume and claim their

basic needs.

The event, planned by

Consumer Online Foundation

along with all the

stakeholders working in the

interest of the consumers

will provide a platform to

take into account the

interests and needs of

consumers in developing

countries around the world.

It will focus on the special

problems faced by poor, rural

and women consumers and

seek to address the

imbalances in economic

terms, educational levels, and

bargaining power these

groups of consumers face. It

will emphasize their right of

access to basic needs, as well

as the right to just, equitable

and sustainable economic

and social development.

Be Visible Be Wise

Get special discounts oncontract rates

3-6 Insertions 10% discount7-12 Insertions 20% discount

The cheque should be drawn in favour of 'Citizens Awareness Group'

payable at Chandigarh.

For more details : Mr. Surinder Verma

#2812, Sector 38 C, Chandigarh M : 094170 08805

Citizen Awareness Group is registered with TRAI and Consumers Advocacy Group, since June 2009 and is a registered a NGO under the society Act sicne December 1994 as a part of its endeavor to generate about the rights of consumer it organises workshops in Northern region from time-to-time. Now it has started bi-monthly magazine, ‘Consumers Power’ which goes toa large number of consumers and service providers. The magazine is the right media to reach out to the Consumers community at a most cost effective manner. As a regular advertiser you can avail of a special discounted rates too.

Position Single Insert

Back Title: Rs. 20,000 Inside Front title Rs. 15,000 Inside Back Title Rs. 12,000Full Page Rs. 10,000Half Page Rs. 6,000Quarter Page Rs. 3,500


iberalisation is paving

way for a market-Ldriven economy, where

the manufacturers seek to

maximise profits.

Manufacturers are not often

concerned about the quality

of goods and services and

their impact on the health of

people and the environment.

Instead of the consumer

guiding the producer about

what should be produced, it is

the producer who decides

what the consumer should

want. The plight of a

consumer is further

worsened by the use of

advertising techniques.

Consumers are saddled with

the problem of choosing

between too many products

with too less information.

With the concentration of

market in the hands of a few

large corporations, it becomes

important that the consumers

are aware of their rights in

order to ensure proper

standards for the goods and

services for which they make

payment.

There are many goods which

are sold in the market

without much information

about their quality, quantity

and purity. In case of goods

meant for mass consumption

like, food, milk products,

edible oil etc. the ingredients

are not known.

Manufacturers or producers

seldom follow the safety

regulations in the products

like, lamps, batteries,

Consumer Awareness

footwear, electrical

equipments, wires, cement,

LPG cylinders, stoves,

switches, plugs, sockets etc.

leading to many fatal

accidents. Adulteration of

food is another major

problem. Milk can contain

detergent, refined oil, caustic

soda or urea. Mustard oil can

be adulterated with argemone

oil and arhar dal with yellow

colour. Vegetables and fruits

are artificially coloured.

Indiscriminate use of

pesticides by farmers and

untreated effluents by

industries, have led to the

problem of food

contamination by pesticide

residues and toxic heavy

metals.

Although in Kautilya's

Arthashastra, strict rules

were set for the trade and

industry and punishments

for exploitation were

prescribed. But, there was no

organised and systematic

movement safeguarding the

interests of the consumers in

India. Rampant food

shortages, hoarding, black

marketing, adulteration of

food and edible oil gave birth

to the consumer movement

in an organised form in the

sixties. Consumers started

voicing their concerns and

demanding better products

and services. Till mid

seventies, consumer

organisations were largely

engaged in writing articles

and holding exhibitions. They

Rights & Responsibilities

formed consumer groups to

work on the malpractices in

ration shops and

overcrowding in the road

passenger transport. The

eighties witnessed an

upsurge in the number of

consumer groups.

The battle for consumer

protection has to be fought by

many agencies. The

Government has to play an

important role, by enacting

suitable laws and enforcing

them effectively. India has

been observing 15th March

since 1989 as the National

Consumers' Day. This day has

a historic importance as it

was on this day in 1962, that

the Bill for Consumer Rights

was moved in the US

Congress. Steps have been

taken by the Government of

India by way of enactment of

various Acts and other

measures to help consumers.

Indian Penal Code, Standards

of Weights and Measures Act,

Motor Vehicle Act, are some

of the Acts. Despite these

Acts, the fact remains that

very little could be achieved

in the field of consumer

protection. A major

breakthrough came during

1986 when Parliament

passed a law for Consumer

Protection Act -1986. Three-

tier quasi-judicial machinery

at the district, state and

national levels was set up

with a view to provide speedy

and simple redressal to

consumer disputes. The

District Forum deals with the

cases involving claims upto

Rs. 20 lakhs, the State

Commission between Rs.20

lakhs to one crore and the

National Commission deals

with the cases involving

claims exceeding Rs. one

crore. The objective of the

consumer courts is to ensure

speedy justice to the

consumers against various

malpractices and negligence

without involving any cost,

as no court fees is charged.

Consumer courts have been

set up as special courts, as it

was expensive and time

consuming to get justice

through civil courts.

The Consumer Protection

Act, which has been defined

as “the Magna Carta of

Consumers”, spells out six

consumer rights: Right to

Safety, Right to Information,

Right to Choice, Right to

Representation, Right to

Redress, and Right to

Consumer Education. India

has the biggest consumer

movement today due to the

efforts of 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 (COPRA) has

succeeded in bringing about

fair play in the supply of


goods and services to a large

extent. The Act applies to

almost all goods and services.

Still, the present scenario is

not very encouraging.

Unfortunately the consumer

courts have become replica of

legal courts, as the procedure

is no longer simple and

quick. The consumer

redressal process is relatively

cumbersome and more

expensive and time-

consuming than desired. The

process involves engaging a

professional personnel,

requires time for filing the

case and attending the court

proceeding and certain other

formalities like producing the

bill, warranty cards etc.

These procedures need to be

made simpler and quicker for

making the process more

meaningful and realistic.

Consumers have the social

responsibility of exposing the

manufacture/supplier or the

service provider for resorting

to illegal trade practices.

Unethical notings like “Goods

once sold will never be taken

back” are in sharp contrast to

the practice in some of the

developed countries, where

the sellers declare, “In case

you are not fully satisfied

with our product, you can

bring the same to us within a

month for either replacement

or return of your money.”

This is the result of consumer

consciousness. Consumers

have to realize their role and

importance. The consumer

movements can be winner

Yes ! I would like to be a Member of CAG

Individual Membership Institutional Membership Lifetime Membership

Name : Mr/ Mrs. First Middle Last

Designation Institution

Department Area of Interest

Profession Student Researcher Civil Servant Media Academician

Environment Business Others (Please specify)

Address : (Office/Residence)

City State Country Pin code

Phones : Office Residence Fax E_mail

I wish to pay : Cash Cheque/ Demand Draft (add Rs. 50/- outstation Cheque)

DD/ Cheque No. Dated_______________payable to Citizens Awareness Group, Chandigarh

Annual Individual Membership Fee

Annual Institutional Membership Fee

Lifetime Membership Fee

Term Amount

Rs. 300

Rs. 5,000

Rs. 2,000

Please fill this form & send to Citizens Awareness Group # 2812, Sector 38-C, Chandigarh

Members

will get the free

subscription

of the magazine

CAG Consumers

Power

movements only with our

active involvement by

knowing our rights and

enforcing them. It requires a

voluntary effort involving the

participation of one and all.

If the consumers remain

passive, they will continue to

be exploited. It is necessary

that consumers take action

with solidarity to get a fair

deal and timely redressal. An

alert consumer is a safe

consumer!

Activities

Seminar on “Be Financially Literate: Save Your Investments” organised by Citizens Awareness Group in Association with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, New Delhi at the office of UGCE, Chandigarh on 12 January 2010.

Shri Surinder Verma, Chairman of Citizens Awareness Group giving talk on the consumers rights at NSS Camp in the Govt. Business College, Sector 42 Chandigarh on 12 December 2009.

Citizens Awareness Group and Sewa Sanskar Foundation organised a function for the distribution of sweaters and socks to out of school children of Alternative Innovative Education (AIE) centres in Govt. Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 10, Chandigarh.

Shri Surinder Verma, Chairman of Citizens Awareness Group giving talk on the precautions that should be taken by investors while dealing with the security market in the seminar of the Consumer Association Chandigarh and Chandigarh Administration at the ICSSR Complex PU, Chandigarh on28 December 2009.

Save Girl Child Seminar organised by Citizen Awareness Group

Republic Day Celebrate on 25 January 2010 with children

International Womens Day Celebration on 8th March 2010


Citizen’s Awareness Group has been on the forefront of reaching out to the consumer’s and empower them through various activities.

Here are some Do's of stock investments: 1. Always insist on contract notes from your broker. Verify their genuineness on the on the

Exchange website. 2. Before you place stock orders with your broker, check the company's, redentials, recent announcements and

disclosures under various regulations. Accurate sources are Exchange and company websites, business magazines.

Don't's: 1. Don't keep your Demat Transaction slip book with any broker/sub-broker. 2. Don't get carried away by the onslaught of

advertisements about the financial performance of companies in print and electronic media.

Why deal with unauthorized operators ?Buy or sell shares only through brokers registered with Stock Exchanges.

Documents

CONSUMERS POWER