NGOs

TYPES OF NGOs
ROLE OF NGOS IN PROMOTING CONSUMER
AWARENESS

NGOs
NGOs are non-governmental organisations are not-for-profit organisations,
voluntary associations of people and communities, may work at local,
regional, national or international level. They are organised for a mission
with aims and objects of common social good. NGOs determine issues and
programmes according to their aims and implement through various
activities. They get funding from the charities, donors and Government
agencies to perform social services and humanitarian functions. They are
the catalysts of society and work as a agent of social change to bridge the
gap between people and Governments ensuring people's participation in
development for implementation of programmes and projects. Mainly
there are two types of NGOs first, the development based NGOs those are
engaged in developmental work and resource management; and others
are issue based NGOs, working for civil and fundamental rights of people
and communities.

NGOs or voluntary association are among the agencies which help in

redressal of the consumers' grievances. NGOs are playing a very decisive
role in redressal of the grievances of the consumers and spreading
awareness about consumers' rights, etc. The activities of the NGOs and
issues and processes related to redressal of the consumers' grievances
have come to be known as consumer movement. The consumer
movement has become very significant phenomenon in the 1990s. The
NGOs are defending the consumers' rights related to both consumers'
goods and users' services. Some people argue that producers and sellers
can themselves protect consumers' rights by developing voluntary code of
conduct to defend consumers' rights. But general view is that it is not
possible for the buyers and sellers to develop a code of conduct. The
traders and manufacturers are more bothered about the profit than the
welfare of the consumers. Besides, it is also a fact that since the
consumers are mostly uneducated and unaware of their rights, the
legislation alone cannot become the instruments of positive action. The
most effective method, therefore, for safeguarding the consumers'
interest is not the state intervention, but active participation of the NGOs,
voluntary consumer agencies and consumers themselves in the free
market. There are a large number of NGOs in the country.

TYPES OF NGOs

Types of NGOs: By orientation and level of

Operation
NGO types can be understood by their orientation and level of operation.
NGO types by orientation:
Charitable
Orientation often involves a top-down
paternalistic
effort
with
little
participation
by
the
"beneficiaries". It includes NGOs with activities directed
toward meeting the needs of the poor -distribution of food,
clothing or medicine; provision of housing, transport, schools
etc. Such NGOs may also undertake relief activities during a
natural or man-made disaster.
Service Orientation includes NGOs with activities such as
the provision of health, family planning or education services
in which the programme is designed by the NGO and people
are expected to participate in its implementation and in
receiving the service.

Participatory Orientation is characterized by self-help

projects where local people are involved particularly in the
implementation of a project by contributing cash, tools, land,
materials, labour etc. In the classical community development
project, participation begins with the need definition and
continues into the planning and implementation stages.
Cooperatives often have a participatory orientation.

Empowering Orientation is where the aim is to help poor

people develop a clearer understanding of the social, political
and economic factors affecting their lives, and to strengthen
their awareness of their own potential power to control their
lives. Sometimes, these groups develop spontaneously around
a problem or an issue, at other times outside workers from
NGOs play a facilitating role in their development. In any case,
there is maximum involvement of the people with NGOs
acting as facilitators.

NGO Types by level of operation:

Community-based Organizations (CBOs) arise out of
people's own initiatives. These can include sports clubs,
women's
organizations,
neighbourhood
organizations,
religious or educational organizations. There are a large

variety of these, some supported by NGOs, national or

international NGOs, or bilateral or international agencies, and
others independent of outside help. Some are devoted to
rising the consciousness of the urban poor or helping them to
understand their rights in gaining access to needed services
while others are involved in providing such services.
Citywide Organizations include organizations such as the
Rotary or lion's Club, chambers of commerce and industry,
coalitions of business, ethnic or educational groups and
associations of community organizations. Some exist for other
purposes, and become involved in helping the poor as one of
many activities, while others are created for the specific
purpose of helping the poor.

National NGOs include organizations such as the Red Cross,

YMCAs/YWCAs, professional organizations etc. Some of these
have state and cuty branches and assist local NGOs.

International NGOs range from secular gencies such as

Redda BArna and Save the Children organizations, OXFAM,
CARE, Ford and Rockefeller Foundations to religiously
motivated groups. Their activities vary from mainly funding
local NGOs, institutions and projects, to implementing the
projects themselves.

TYPES OF NGOs IN INDIA

As the need for India NGO movements soar high with increasing level of
poverty and illiteracy rates, many NGOs evolve to help the situation. Each
NGO in India tries to take upon a specific problem area and try to change
the situation through their diligent effort and hard work. Not all NGOs can
operate with the same goal and if that should happen the resources and
the efforts will not be spread in a balanced way. Therefore, India NGO
movements try to reach out to people in a variety of ways. Some of the
NGOs try to help people in times of catastrophes such as fire accidents,
flood, tsunami etc. These NGOs become active as and when unfortunate
situations like these should happen. They help people in moving to a
different place, helping them with food and shelter in temporary residence
or welfare houses, provide them with medical assistance etc. Other India
NGO movements will have ongoing missions such as creating social
awareness regarding a social problem or health issue such as AIDS. They
try to help people by giving them the required knowledge in the problem
area. They even take the trouble to visit people door to door in their
efforts to conscientize them. There are yet other groups of NGOs in India
that try to improve the literacy rate of people by providing free education
to the poor children. Tarang as an educational NGO provides free
education to the slum children of Mumbai. They help the poor children by
giving them the required protection they require save them from child

labour problems. When given the right opportunities and chances, even
slum children can shine and this has been proved repeatedly by the good
work done by Tarang. Educational NGO in India look at society and its
problems and identifies the poor literacy rate as the cause of the problem.
So they try to do everything within their limits to help people out of
poverty by improving the literacy rate of the given society. Tarang
concentrates on giving quality education to the slum children of Mumbai.
Whether an NGO helps people in times of catastrophes or has ongoing
welfare programs, all of them require support and financial assistance
from people. They gladly welcome every little help that they could get.
Without enough assistance and help, it is not possible for NGOs such as
Tarang to run their educational programs or their other welfare programs.
It is everyone's personal responsibility to help the society at large and this
can be done effectively by joining hands with the NGOs that are already
doing a good job. This will help the NGOs operate better and at the same
time, our funds will also be effectively used in helping the needy.

ROLE OF NGOs IN PROMOTING CONSUMER AWARENESS

The non-governmental organisations have been playing important roles in
the redressal of the consumers grievances. They have raised the
consumers issues relating to goods and services by spreading awareness
about the consumers' rights. They organise seminars, distribute handbills,
put up posters, etc. They file public interest litigation in the consumer
courts as well as in different courts in the country. In many cases the
consumers get compensation, the erring parties promise not to indulge in
the practices, which are deterrent to the consumer' interests. As the
consumer movement is still going on, it is not possible to assess its failure
or success at present. The NGOs face lot of problems in their efforts to
redress the consumers grievances. These problems arise due to the
limited funds, lack of publicity, political interference, illiteracy of the
masses; harassment by police and sometimes even non-cooperation by
the people.
NGOs dealing with the consumers' grievances, known as the consumer
associations in India were first established in the 1960s. The first
association to be set up was the Indian Association of Consumers. It was
financed by the planning commission. But it did not make a headway. In
1963, the National Consumer Association was set up. It was a wing of a
social organisation, the Bharat Sevak Samaj. The main aim of this NGO
were to study the trend of prices in the market and publish them for the
information of consumers and to agitate against the malpractice of
traders. Food crisis of the gave rise to rampant black-marketing in the
1960s. In 1964, the National Consumer Association started the movement

against the price rise caused due to the drought of the 1960s. It used to
hold meetings to protest against the price rise and formed social squads
to keep a watch on the price trends in different cities of India. Similarly,
Gayatri Charitable Trust, Jyoti Sangh Grahak Suraksha Vibhag and Bombay
Civil Trust were few consumers oriented organisations of the 1960s.
Primary aim of these consumer organisations was to protest against the
price rise. In 1966 nine housewives of Bombay established Consumer
Guidance Society of India. Its purpose was to "inform, educate and
organise consumers so as to enable them to secure, protect and preserve
their interests and assert their rights".
The failure of the Kharif Crop in 1972-73 gave rise to the unprecedented
price rise in the 1970s. It led to the formation of a large number of the
consumer associations in various parts of India during late 1960s and
1970s : All India Bankers Association (1968), Surat Consumers Association
(l969), Karnataka Consumer Service Society (l970), Visaka Consumers
Council (1973), Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (1974), Trichy District
Consumer Council (1 976). In order to review the situation arising due to
the price rise of-the 19609 and 1970s, and the consequent unfair trade
practices followed by the traders, a consumer conference was held in'
1974. The conference reviewed "in an era of inflation, rampant food
adulteration, profiteering, hoarding and black-marketing, unscrupulous
trade practice and economy of shortages continually rising prices
thrived. To deal with the corrupt traders the Government of India passed
Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971, Prevention of Black-marketing
and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980. The
NGOs were proliferating in the 1970s to redress the grievances of
consumers, the government set up in 1977 a committee, under the
chairmanship of Justice Rajendra Sachar to "suggest the measures by
which re-orientation of managerial outlook. The corporate sector could be
brought about so as to ensure the discharge of social responsibilities" by
the business corporations. The Committee submitted its report in 1978
and suggested "corporate ethics" for corporate sector to make it socially
responsible. It also recommended radical modification of MRTP Act of 1969
and Indian Companies Act of 1956. As result of which Consumer Protection
Act of 1986 was passed. Countries' leading consumer associations
approached the consumer forum to seek redressal for consumers'
grievances suffered by public and private sectors prominent among these
are:
CERC and Consumer Council (Ahmedabad)
CSI and MGP (Bombay)
Common Cause, VOICE and Society for Civic Rights (Delhi)
Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (Sangli)
Jagtial Consumer Welfare Association (AP)
Jila Upbhokta Sauraksha Parishad (kewa)
Madras Provincial Consumer Association & Consumer Action Group
(Madras)
Upbhokta Saurakshan Sarniti and Consumer Unity and Trust Society
(Rajasthan)

Orissa Consumers' Association (Orissa)

Grahak Parishad (Surat)
The Social Action Groups have been striving for the redressal of all kinds
of grievances of the consumers - misleading advertisement,
inconvenience caused to the consumers due to the negligence of public
servants, strike, etc. deficiency in the services.

NGOs AND THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 1986

The passage of Consumer Protection Act, 1984 expanded the scope of the
consumer legislation. The' encouragement to the NGOs in this Act further
contributed to the proliferation of the NGOs and increase of their
activities. The NGOs from the 1980s onwards were further encouraged by
the intervention of the judiciary, which is also described as "social
activism" by some. 'The NGOs raised the grievances of the consumers in
courts and consumer fora through the public interest litigation, which has
been described by Upendra Baxi as "Social Action Litigation (SAL)". During
the 1980s and 1990s there are several examples of the efforts of the
NGOs for redressal of the grievances of the consumers. The journalists,
lawyers, professors, public interest organisations, social workers,
consumers and environmentalists are playing important role in the NGOs
to litigate on behalf of the poor, exploited and oppressed. Before the
1980s the litigation on consumers' grievances could not be taken unless
the sufferer (consumer) had complained. But in the following period, the
grievance of consumers can be raised litigated by individual or NGOs, suo
motto, even if the aggrieved party had not complained. This enabled the
consumer activists to broaden the activities of the Social Action Groups
(SAGS).
The passage of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 encouraged Consumer
Groups to approach Consumer Fora on behalf of the exploited consumers
who may either not be willing or not in a position to approach the
consumer fora on their own.

Case of Adulterated Goods

Two ration shops in West Bengal supplied contaminated rapeseeds oil. The
consumer suffered from service disability due the consumption of this oil seed.
The CUTS filed a I petition against union of India and others. It demanded exgratia payment to the sufferers, their prompt medical treatment, disablement
pension to the affected persons, and rehabilitation of the victims of oil seed
tragedy. The National Commission appreciated the efforts of the CUTS. Common
cause of Delhi had also filed a petition in before the national commission
regarding the failure of the state and central governments in providing the
iodised edible oil supplied to the general public in goitre-prone areas of the
country. It demanded that the governments should take necessary action in this
regard. The government responded to the commission and explained that the

government was introducing appropriate policy measure in this regard. It said

that by 1992 the iodised salt will be sold throughout the country.
Case against Misleading Advertisement
In the 1980s, a manufacturer of automobiles (two-wheelers) launched an
ambitious plan to increase the number its customer through manipulative and
misleading advertisements. It exhorted its prospective customers to get their
names registered by way of payment of Rs.5001-, and promised them that the
delivery of the automobile will be made to them after a year or so. The
registration amount was to carry an interest rate ranging between 7% to 9% per
annum. The fixation of the interest rate depended on the discretion of the
company. In certain cases it was said that "reasonable interest will be paid".
Advance deposit paid by the customer was to paid at the time of the delivery of
the vehicle. Stringent conditions were laid down in the whole scheme. If a
customer cancelled his booking within one year of the deposit, the amount was
not to carry any interest. In such cases the amount was to be refunded by a
demand draft to be posted to the customer within 60 days from the receipt of the
cancellation advice. A lot of people got registration done. Even after three years
of registration, they were not informed about the delivery. And those who got
their booking cancelled were not refunded their money. In some cases letter of
request, applications, reminders and even legal noticed did not have any effect
on the business corporation. These companies had collected huge sum of money.
People lost all hope for redressal of their grievances. Following the passage of
Consumer Protection Act, 1986, a large number of SAL petitions were filed
against the automobile manufacturers in various states of the country. The
manufacturers on their part argued that the relief could be given only to the
persons named in the petition. The consumer associations had asked for relief
even for those who ' were not named in the petition. The association argued that
there were thousands of consumers, who could not file petition and urged that
their petitions should be treated as Public Interest Litigations. As a result the
National Commission in Mumbai Grahak Panchayat vs. Lohia Machines Ltd: took
liberal view of the case and directed the business corporations to furnish list
containing names and particulars of persons to whom refund deposits remained
outstanding as unpaid. The commission ordered the payment of double interest
rate, i.e., 18 percent per annum to the customers represented by the
associations. The commission also directed the respondent company to pay Rs.
5,0001- cause to the petitioner association as "the enormous expenditure
incurred in collecting the data concerning the 934 persons." In March, 1992, the
Mumbai Gralialc Panchayat and M/s. Lohia machines ultimately reached a
compromise. Both the consumer association and Lohia Machines Ltd. submitted
an agreed joint scheme before the National Commission for repayment of the
outstanding amount of scooter deposits to all remaining customers who had also
cancelled their booked scooters. The company ultimately agreed to release,
every month a sum of Rs. 50 lakh and was ordered by the National Commission
to complete the process of repayment to all unpaid customer not later than 30
September, 1995.