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FOOD & Civil Supply

Consumer Rights
Foundation PT CUM MAINS
WORK-SHEET
Part - 3
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FOOD and CIVIL SUPPLY (GS-2/3) ESSAY

FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA:
The Food Corporation of India was setup under the Food Corporation's Act 1964 (3rd FYP) in order to fulfil
following objectives of the Food Policy:
• Effective price support operations for safeguarding the interests of the farmers.
• Distribution of foodgrains throughout the country for public distribution system.
• Maintaining satisfactory level of operational and buffer stocks of foodgrains to ensure National Food
Security
OBJECTIVES:
• To provide farmers remunerative prices
• To make food grains available at reasonable prices, particularly to vulnerable section of the society
• To maintain buffer stocks as measure of Food Security
• To intervene in market for price stabilization
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE:

FUNCTIONS:
1.Procurement
 The Central Government extends price support for procurement of wheat, paddy and coarse grains
through the FCI and State Agencies. All the food grains conforming to the prescribed specifications
are procured by the public procurement agencies at the Minimum Support Price (MSP)
plus incentive bonus announced, if any.
 Procurement is undertaken both in direct and in-direct mode.

 Under Decentralized Procurement Scheme (DCP), introduced in 1997-98, food grains are
procured and distributed by the State Governments themselves. The designated States
procure, store and issue food grains under Targeted Public Distribution System
(TPDS) and other welfare schemes of the Government.
 The decentralized system of procurement was introduced to enhance the efficiency of
procurement for PDS and to encourage procurement in non-traditional States as well as to
save on transit losses and costs.
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 Before the start of each procurement season, Central Government announces uniform specification
for quality of wheat, paddy, rice and coarse grains.
 Quality Control Division of FCI ensures procurement of food grains from procurement
centres strictly in accordance with Govt. of India's uniform quality specifications.
 FCI has also been nominated as an additional nodal Agency for procurement of Pulses and
Oilseeds.

2.Distribution
 FCI meets the requirements of TPDS through grains procured which are issued at Central Issue
Price fixed by Government to fulfill the objective of helping the economically vulnerable sections
of society.
 FCI delivers food grains to State Govt./ State Agencies from its base depots for distribution by the
latter through Fair Price Shops.
 The role of FCI becomes even more important in the backdrop of National Food Security Act,
2013, that commits to distribute grains through TPDS and other welfare schemes, at highly
subsidized prices.
Since its inception, FCI has played a significant role in India's success in transforming the crisis
management oriented food security into a stable security system.

WHAT IS FOOD SECURITY?

According to Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO), food security has basically four pillars:
o Availability: food should be available in sufficient quantity at all times and at all places;
o Affordability: food should be affordable, i.e., people should have economic access (ample income)
to buy food;
o Absorption: food should be safe and nutritious that body can absorb for a According to Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), food security has basically four pillars:
Availability: food should be available in sufficient quantity at all times and at all places;
Affordability: food should be affordable, i.e., people should have economic access (ample income) to
buy food;
Absorption: food should be safe and nutritious that body can absorb for a healthy life; and finally.
Stability: food system should be reasonably stable, as high volatility in food systems impacts
adversely not only the poor but also endangers the stability of political and social systems.healthy
life; and finally.
o Stability: food system should be reasonably stable, as high volatility in food systems impacts
adversely not only the poor but also endangers the stability of political and social systems.
The primary policy objective of the Department of Food & Public Distribution is to ensure food security for
the country through timely and efficient procurement and distribution of Food grains. This involves
procurement of various Food grains, building up and maintenance of food stocks, their storage, movement
and delivery to the distributing agencies and monitoring of production, stock and price levels of Food
grains.

PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM:

The system was initiated During the 3rd five year plan .
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 PDS had substantially contributed to the containment of rise in food grain prices and ensured access
of food to urban consumers. As the national agricultural production had grown in the aftermath of
the Green Revolution, the outreach of PDS was extended to tribal blocks and areas of high
incidence of poverty in the 1970s and 1980s.
 PDS is supplemental in nature and is not intended to make available the entire requirement of any
of the commodities distributed under it to a household or a section of the society.
 PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State Governments. The
Central Government, through FCI, has assumed the responsibility for procurement, storage,
transportation and bulk allocation of food grains to the State Governments.
 The operational responsibilities including allocation within the State, identification of eligible
families, issue of Ration Cards and supervision of the functioning of Fair Price Shops etc., rest with
the State Governments.
 Under the PDS, presently the commodities namely wheat, rice, sugar and kerosene are being
allocated to the States/UTs for distribution. Some States/UTs also distribute additional items of mass
consumption through the PDS outlets such as pulses, edible oils, iodized salt, spices, etc.
• Till 1992, PDS was a general entitlement scheme for all consumers without any specific target.But in
1992, PDS became
• But in 1992, PDS became RPDS (Revamped PDS) focussing the poor families, especially in the
far-flung, hilly, remote and inaccessible areas. In 1997 RPDS became
• In 1997 RPDS became TPDS (Targeted PDS) which established Fair Price Shops for the
distribution of food grains at subsidized rates.

REVAMPED PDS :
 The Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS) was launched in June, 1992 (8th FYP) with a
view to strengthen and streamline the PDS as well as to improve its reach in the far-flung, hilly,
remote and inaccessible areas where a substantial section of the poor live.
 It covered 1775 blocks wherein area specific programmes such as the Drought Prone Area
Programme (DPAP), Integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDP), Desert Development
Programme (DDP) were being implemented and in certain Designated Hill Areas (DHA) which
were identified in consultation with State Governments for special focus.

TARGETED PDS:
 The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) was launched in 1997 (9th FYP) to benefit the
poor and to keep the budgetary food subsidies under control to the desired extent following failure of
the earlier PDS system.
 Conceptually, the transition from universal PDS to TPDS was a move in the right direction,
as it was designed to include all the poor households and raise the unit subsidy and ration
quota considerably for them.
 TPDS aims at providing food grains to people below the poverty line at highly subsidised
prices from the PDS and food grains to people above the poverty line at much higher prices than the
poverty line.
 Thus, the TPDS adopted by the Government of India maintains the universal character of the
PDS but adds a special focus on the people below the poverty line.
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ANTYODAYA ANNA YOJANA:

(i) Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) was launched in December 2000. Under the scheme one crore of the
poorest and the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families covered under the targeted public distribution system
were identified.

(ii) Twenty-five kilograms of foodgrains were made available to each eligible family at a highly subsidised
rate of Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 3 per kg for rice.

(iii) This quantity was further increased from 25 to 35 kgs from April 2002.

(iv) The Scheme has been further expanded twice by additional 50 lakh BPL family in June 2003 and in
August 2004. With this increase 2 crore families have been covered under the AAY.

NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY ACT,2013:

In People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India case, Supreme Court contended that the “right to
food” is essential to the right to life as provided in Article 21 of the Constitution. In line with this Parliament
passed the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in 2013. The NFSA seeks to make the right to food a legal
entitlement by providing subsidized food grains to almost two-thirds of the population. It relies on the
existing Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) mechanism to deliver these entitlements .

Features of the Act:

1. The Act provides for coverage of upto 75% of the rural population and upto 50% of the urban
population for receiving subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), thus
covering about two-thirds of the population.
2. The eligible persons will be entitled to receive 5 Kgs of foodgrains per person per month at
subsidised prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per Kg for rice/wheat/coarse grains.
3. The existing Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, which constitute the poorest of the poor,
will continue to receive 35 Kgs of foodgrains per household per month.
4. The Act also has a special focus on the nutritional support to women and children. Besides meal to
pregnant women and lactating mothers during pregnancy and six months after the child birth, such
women will also be entitled to receive maternity benefit of not less than Rs. 6,000.
5. Children upto 14 years of age will be entitled to nutritious meals as per the prescribed nutritional
standards.
6. In case of non-supply of entitled foodgrains or meals, the beneficiaries will receive food security
allowance.
7. The Act also contains provisions for setting up of grievance redressal mechanism at the District
and State levels.
8. Separate provisions have also been made in the Act for ensuring transparency and accountability.
PDS REFORMS:
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• Technology Based reforms: End to end computerization would bring in transparency in the whole
process. It would help to prevent leakages and diversion of food grains to a great extent.
• Adhaar Linked and digitized ration cards: This allows online entry and verification of beneficiary
data. It also enables online tracking of monthly entitlements and off-take of foodgrains by
beneficiaries.
• Computerized Fair Price Shops: FPS automated by installing ‘Point of Sale’device to swap the
ration card. It authenticates the beneficiaries and records the quantity of subsidized grains given to a
family.
• DBT: Under the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme, cash is transferred to the beneficiaries’ account in
lieu of foodgrains subsidy component. They will be free to buy food grains from anywhere in the
market. For taking up this model, pre-requisites for the States/UTs would be to complete digitization
of beneficiary data and seed Aadhaar and bank account details of beneficiaries. It is estimated that
cash transfers alone could save the exchequer Rs.30,000 crore every year.
• Use of GPS technology: Use of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to track the movement
of trucks carrying foodgrains from state depots to FPS which can help to prevent diversion.
• SMS-based monitoring: Allows monitoring by citizens so they can register their mobile numbers
and send/receive SMS alerts during dispatch and arrival of TPDS commodities
• Use of web-based citizens portal: Public Grievance Redressal Machineries, such as a toll-free
number for call centers to register complaints or suggestions.

FOOD SECURITY PROGRAMS:

Mid Day Meal Scheme:

Objective:
To enhance the enrollment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improve nutritional levels among
school going children studying in Classes I to VIII of Government, Government - aided schools, Special
Training centres (STC) and Madarasas and Maktabs supported under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Scheme:
• The scheme guidelines envisage to provide cooked mid-day meal with 450 calories and 12 g of
protein to every child at primary level and 700 calories and 20 g of protein at upper primary level.
This energy and protein requirement for a primary child comes from cooking 100 g of rice/flour, 20
g pulses and 50 g vegetables and 5 g oil, and for an upper primary child it comes from 150 g of
rice/flour, 30 g of pulses and 75 g of vegetables and 7.5 g of oil.
• Free supply of food grains @ 100 grams per child per school day at Primary and @ 150 grams per
child per school day at Upper Primary.
• A separate provision for payment of honorarium to cook-cum-helper @ Rs. 1000/- per month has
been made. One cook-cum-helper may be engaged in a school having upto 25 students, tow cooks-
cum-helpers for schools having 26 to 100 students and one additional cook-cum-helper for every
addition of upto 100 students.
• Provision of mid day meal during summer vacation in drought affected areas.

WHEAT BASED NUTRITION PROGRAM:

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Under Wheat Based Nutrition programme (WBNP) implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child
Development, food grains are allotted to states/union territories under the Integrated Child Development
Scheme (ICDS) for providing nutritious/ energy food to children below six years of age and
expectant/lactating women.

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls – ‘SABLA’ :

The SABLA Scheme was launched on November 19, 2010 by the Ministry of Woman and Child
Development by merging two schemes namely Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) and
Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) into a single scheme to be implemented in 200 selected districts across the
country.
• The scheme aims at empowering adolescent girls of 11-18 years by improving their nutritional and health
status and upgrading various skills like home skills, life skills and vocational skills.
• It also aims at equipping the girls on family welfare, health hygiene, etc., and information and guidance on
existing public services along with aiming to mainstream out of school girls into formal or non-formal
education.
• The requirement of food grains under the scheme for nutrition is @ 100 gm. of grains per beneficiary per
day for 300 days in a year. Scheme for Supply of Food Grains to Welfare Institutions
• With a view to meeting the requirement of welfare Institutions viz. charitable institutions such as Beggar
Homes, Nari Niketans and other similar welfare institutions not covered under TPDS or under any other
welfare scheme, an additional allocation of food grains (rice and wheat) not exceeding 5 per cent of the BPL
allocation, is made to states/union territories at BPL prices by the Department of Food and Public
Distribution.
Scheme for Supply of Food grains for SC/ST/OBC Hostels
• This scheme was introduced in October, 1994. The residents of the hostels having 2/3rd students belonging
to SC/ST/OBC are eligible to get 15 kg food grains per resident per month.
Annapurna Scheme
• The Ministry of Rural Development launched this scheme in 2000-01. Indigent senior citizens of 65 years
of age or above who are not getting pension under the National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS) are
provided 10 kg. of food grains per person per month free of cost under the scheme.
Open Market Sale Scheme
• Many a times their is excess stock under central pool as against the required buffer norms because of open
ended procurement policy of food grains providing price support to every farmer.
• As excess stock involve carrying cost which adds to the burden of food subsidy on the Government, it is
necessary that they are liquidated from time to time either through sale in the open domestic market or
through exports.
• Liquidation of excess stocks under Open Market Sale Scheme-Domestic (OMSS-D) also helps in keeping
food inflation under check and controlling prices of food grains during off season, especially in the deficit
areas.

FOOD PROCUREMENT POLICY:

Minimum Support Price
 The MSP is the rate at which the government buys grains from farmers.
 Reason behind the idea of MSP is to counter price volatility of agricultural commodities due to
the factors like variation in their supply, lack of market integration and information asymmetry.
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Fixation of MSP
 The MSP is fixed on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices
(CACP).
 Factors taken into consideration for fixing MSP include:

 Demand and supply;

 Cost of production (A2 + FL method)
 Price trends in the market, both domestic and international;
 Inter-crop price parity;
 Terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture;
 A minimum of 50% as the margin over cost of production; and
 Likely implications of MSP on consumers of that product.
 The Commission also makes visits to states for on-the-spot assessment of the various constraints
that farmers face in marketing their produce, or even raising the productivity levels of their crops.
 Based on all these inputs, the Commission then finalizes its recommendations/reports, which are then
submitted to the government.
 The government, in turn, circulates the CACP reports to state governments and concerned Central
Ministries for their comments.
 After receiving the feed-back from them, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) of
the Union government takes a final decision on the level of MSPs and other recommendations
made by the CACP.

Types of Production Costs

According to The Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP), there are three types of production
costs:
 A2=A2 costs basically cover all paid-out expenses, both in cash and in-kind, incurred by farmers on
seeds, fertilisers, chemicals, hired labour, fuel, irrigation, etc.
 A2+FL= It covers actual paid-out costs plus an imputed value of unpaid family labour.
 C2=C2 costs are more comprehensive, accounting for the rentals and interest forgone on owned land
and fixed capital assets respectively, on top of A2+FL.
Present Scenario
 The Abhijit Sen Committee on Long-term Grain Policy recommended that the MSPs that CACP
recommends must be based on its projection of the full C2 cost.
 The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) constituted in November 2004 and chaired by
Professor M.S. Swaminathan also recommended the use of C2 to determine MSP.
 However, the government has announced to keep MSP at 50% more than A2+FL, which is lower
than C2. Many farmers organizations and experts have expressed their dissatisfaction over this.

Warehouse Development and Regulatory Authority:

The Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) was constituted on 26.10.2010 under
the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007 vide Government of India Gazette Notification
dated 26th October 2010. The Act provides for the establishment of the WDRA to exercise the powers
conferred on it and to perform the functions assigned to it under the Act, Rules and Regulations for the
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development and regulation of warehouses, negotiability of warehouse receipts and promote orderly growth
of the warehousing business in the country
The WDRA is a Statutory Authority under the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of
India. The Authority has its Headquarters in New Delhi.
The Authority consists of a Chairperson and two Members appointed by the Central Government.
Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee:

Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) are the marketing boards established by the state
governments in order to eliminate the exploitation incidences of the farmers by the intermediaries, where
they are forced to sell their produce at extremely low prices.
All the food produce must be brought to the market and sales are made through auction. The market place
i.e, Mandi is set up in various places within the states. These markets geographically divide the state.
Licenses are issued to the traders to operate within a market. The mall owners, wholesale traders, retail
traders are not given permission to purchase the produce from the farmers directly.
• Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) is a system operating under the State Government
since agricultural marketing is a State subject.
• The APMC has Yards/Mandis in the market area that regulates the notified agricultural produce and
livestock.
• The introduction of APMC was to limit the occurrence of Distress Sale by the farmers under the
pressure and exploitation of creditors and other intermediaries.
• APMC ensures worthy prices and timely payments to the farmers for their produce.
• APMC is also responsible for the regulation of agricultural trading practices. This results in multiple
benefits like:
• Needless intermediaries are eliminated
• Improved market efficiency through a decrease in market charges
• The producer-seller interest is well protected

e-National Agriculture Market (NAM):

It was launched by the Centre in 2015 and the government had to extend it in a phased manner across the
585 mandis of the country by December 31, 2019.
e – National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal which nets the prevailing
Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) Mandis for making a united national market for
agricultural commodities.
The e-NAM project would operate via the online portal that is linked to the states’ mandis (Wholesale
markets). All the participating states will be providing the software (Website and Mobile Application) for e-
NAM at no cost.
A competent person will be appointed for one year in each sharing mandi in order to enable the seamless
and smooth operation of the portal.

Key points related to e-NAM are given below:

• The GOI is offering a grant of Rs.30 lakhs to the participating agriculture mandis.
• Farmers under this scheme will be given ‘farmer helpline services’ 24×7 to help them obtain
information about the portal.
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• Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) which is the lead promoter of National
Agricultural Market (eNAM). SFAC which is formulated under the Department of Agriculture,
Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW). SFAC through open tender selects a Partner to
develop, operate and maintain the NAM e-platform.

Negotiable Warehouse receipts (NWRs):

Warehouse Receipts may be either non-negotiable or negotiable (means transferable by simple endorsement
/signature). Negotiable warehouse receipts are transferred by endorsement and delivery; i.e., either the
original depositor or the holder in due course (transferee) can claim the commodities from the warehouse.
NWRs can be traded, sold, swapped and used as collateral to support borrowing.
In India, the term ‘negotiable warehouse receipt’ is defined in Section 2(m) of the Warehousing (Regulation
and Development)Act, (WDR Act), which came into force from 25 October 2010. WDR Act provides for
issuance of Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (NWRs) by the warehouses registered under this Act. Section
2(m) defines a "negotiable warehouse receipt" to mean a warehouse receipt under which the goods
represented therein are deliverable to the depositor or order, the endorsement of which has the effect of
transfer of goods represented thereby and the endorsee for which takes a good title.

World Food Program:

1. The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food assistance branch of the United Nations and the
world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security.
2. The WFP strives to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, with the ultimate goal in mind of
eliminating the need for food aid itself.
3. It is a member of the United Nations Development Group and part of its Executive Committee.
4. Born in 1961, WFP pursues a vision of the world in which every man, woman and child has access at
all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life. The WFP is governed by an Executive Board
which consists of representatives from member states.
5. The WFP operations are funded by voluntary donations from world governments, corporations
and private donors. WFP food aid is also directed to fight micronutrient deficiencies, reduce child mortality,
improve maternal health, and combat disease, including HIV and AIDS.

The objectives of the World Food Programme are:

1. Save lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies.
2. Support food security and nutrition and (re)build livelihoods in fragile settings and following
emergencies.
3. Reduce risk and enable people, communities and countries to meet their own food and nutrition
needs.
4. Reduce under-nutrition and break the inter-generational cycle of hunger.
5. Zero Hunger in 2030.

Food and Agricultural Organisation:

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is specialized agency of the United Nations that leads
international efforts to defeat hunger.
Headquarters: Rome, Italy
Founded: 16 October 1945
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Goal of FAO: Their goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access
to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.
• Iacts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy
• FAO is also a source of knowledge and information, and helps developing countries and countries in
transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good
nutrition and food security for all.
• India is a member of FAO

Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) Council approves India’s proposal to observe an International
Year of Millets in 2023.

National Food Processing Mission:

ndia cannot afford any waste of food grains, milk, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables due to lack of adequate
processing facilities. Ministry of Food Processing Industries has launched a new scheme called National
Mission on Food Processing (NMFP) during 12th plan (2012-13) for implementation through States / UTs.
The basic objective of NMFP is to promote the growth of food processing industries in the country, by
creating a National Mission at the Centre and State Missions in the various States/UTS. Better planning,
supervision and monitoring of various schemes is expected through this decentralised approach.
Food procesors in the private sector and co-operative sector will be encouraged and incentivised to increase
capital outlay, use new technology, upgrade skills etc. Self-help groups will be encouraged to become viable
commercial entities.
The other objectives are to raise the standards of food safety and hygiene to the globally accepted norms; to
facilitate food processing industries to adopt HACCP AND ISO Certification norms to augment farm gate
infrastructure, supply chain logistic, storage and processing capacity and to provide better support system to
organized food processing sector.
State food processing missions have been created to implement the schemes.

Consumer Protection Bill, 2019

Features:
 The Bill replaces the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
 The Bill enforces consumer rights and provides a mechanism for redressal of complaints regarding
the defects in goods and deficiency in services.
 Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions will be set up at the District, State and National levels
for adjudicating consumer complaints with pecuniary jurisdiction up to Rs 1 crore, Rs 1 crore to Rs
10 crore, and above Rs 10 crore, respectively.
 Such complaints can be filed electronically and from where the complainant resides or works.
 Appeals from the District and State Commissions will be heard at the next level and from the
National Commission by the Supreme Court.
 These Commissions can declare unfair terms of contracts to be null and void.
 The Bill defines contracts as ‘unfair’ if they significantly affect the rights of consumers. It also
defines unfair and restrictive trade practices.
 The Commissions will attempt to dispose of a complaint within three months if the complaint does
not require analysis or testing of commodities. If analysis and testing are required, the complaint will
be disposed within a period of five months.
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 The Bill sets up the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect, and
enforce the rights of consumers as a class. It can issue safety notices for goods and services, order
refunds, recall goods and rule against misleading advertisements.
 The Bill establishes Consumer Protection Councils at the district, state, and national levels to
render advice on consumer protection.\
Amendments to the 1986 Act
 E-commerce now defines direct selling, e-commerce and electronic service provider.
 The central government may prescribe rules for preventing unfair trade practices in e-
commerce and direct selling, this will go a long way in protecting online consumers. This
provision was not present in the 1986 Act.
 Provisions on product liability and unfair contracts: Under product liability, when a consumer
suffers an injury, property damage or death due to a defect in a product or service, he can file a claim
for compensation under product liability. The Bill outlines cases in which the product manufacturer,
service provider and seller will be held guilty under product liability.
 An unfair contract has been defined as a contract between a consumer and manufacturer/
service provider if it causes a significant change in consumer rights.
 Unfair contracts cover six terms, such as payment of excessive security deposits in an
arrangement, the disproportionate penalty for a breach, and unilateral termination without
cause.
 The consumer courts being set up under the Bill will determine contract terms to be unfair
and declare them null and void.
 Establishes the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), to promote, to protect, and to
enforce the rights of consumers as a class. Such a regulator was missing in 1986 Act.
 Increased Pecuniary jurisdiction of Commission at District level from 20 lakh to now 1 crore, at
the state level from 20 lakh-1 crores, to between 1 - 10 crores now and at a central level from above
1 crore to above 10 crores now.
 Alternate dispute redressal mechanism: Now Mediation cells will be attached to the District,
State, and National Commissions which were absent in the 1986 Act.

Grievances Against Misleading Advertisements (GAMA):

GAMA Is a dedicated online web portal established by Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of
India in March 2015 to enable consumers to register their grievances on misleading advertisements which
makes claims that are dubious or unverified. GAMA serves as a central registry for complaints against
misleading advertisements.

Any consumer in any part of the country can register on this site and can lodge a complaint against
misleading advertisements. A well-defined protocol then ensures that the complaints are taken up with the
relevant authorities in the state or the central government concerned and appropriate action taken. The portal
also enables the consumer to be informed of the action taken. The portal will be linked to all state authorities
concerned, select voluntary consumer organizations in the country and the sector regulators in the
Government of India.
The Department of Consumer Affairs has partnered with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI)
in tackling the menace of misleading advertisement through this portal. Consumers can complain about
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misleading advertisements through this portal and ASCI will exercise moral persuasion to prevent such
advertisements.
All the best
JAI HIND

Class explanation- mind map

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