Title of the Project: Objective Name ‘School Year Class ce Submitted To Consumer Rights and Consumer Movement in India The objective of the project is to create awareness ‘among consumers about their rights which will minimise the chances of being exploited in the market placeACKNOWLEDGEMENT I woo like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher. as well as our Principal. who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wong project on the topic ‘Consumer Rights and Consumer Movement in India.’ This project helped me a lot in gaining adequate knowledge about the topic. | have completed this project after proper analysis and research and! came to know about so many new things. lam really thankful to all of my friends, co-partners and guide, who have devoted their precious time In completing my project. Secondly, | would also like to thank my parents or guardians who helped me a lot in finishing this project within the prescribed time. lam making this project not only for marks but also to increase my knowledge and intellect development. Thanks again to all who helped me.S.No. Particulars Page _1___ Whois Consume : : _2____“Malpractices in the Market Place ate Need for Protecting the Consumers -¥: Consumer Movement Ways to Protect Consumers tir + Consumer Forum + Consumer Protection Act, 1986 + Three-Tier System 6 Problems with Consumer Movement 7 Consumer Rights Right to be Protected/Right to be Safety Right to be Informed |! ths Right to Choose Right to Seek Redressal Right to Represent Right of Consumer Education 8 Learning to Become Well Informed Consumer oe Sy, CONGUE ee NOAllénane Social Science Class joy (4) PROJECT REPORT Who is a Consumer? or service for his personal use is called a Consumer. Any individual who buys a product Concumers are the decision makers who decide which product they want to buy, why do they bay and from which store they wil make thelr purchases. Consurnr® buy products after bein influenced by advertisement and marketing. Every time someone goes '0 2 store end buys a shir, toy, beverage or anything else, they make a decision as a consumer, Concumers participate in the marketplace by purchasing final goods and services 26 et their requirements, However, consumers are exploited in the market place becouse they do not insist on their rights. ‘Thus, being a consumer it is our responsibilty to speak out and inforr manufacturers and government about our needs and wants and to make complain oF inform business alongwith honest way. There should ther people about discontentment with a product or service fn 2h be responsibilty of being an ethical consumer and be fair and not engage 0 2n/ kind of malpractices which make all consumers pay. Malpractices in the Market Place duct or servic right quantity, right prices, i we end up being harassed by which consumers ice from the market place, we expect a information about the and cheated by sellers are exploited such as: Being consumers when we buy any prot certain value for money, ie. right quality, product, etc. However, in the present day, ‘and manufacturers very often. There are manv ways + Selling at higher prices. + Adulteration in food products. Sub-standard products where anufacturers in the market ‘and advertisements about their products in the m aonsumers, e.g. they claim that by using their particul Company's faimess cream fora specific period will make of exaggerated, misleading advertisements. There is another common malpractice in the market. e.g. in many cas Wit have a warranty or will be under Annual Maintenance Contrart al wiges, the consumer is asked to pay for certain parts or is refused to get mainten: without paying. Creating artificial scarcity through hoarding and black marketing ir trade practices like weighing less than required, because of lack of knowledge or ignorance among the ou sods and services that they buy. Usually most of the consumer do not jls regarding the date of manufacture, the date of expiry and the MAP. f attractive advertisements thus, get exploited by the hands of such quality of products is far below the required standard place through attractive representations ‘edia which usually mislead the ignorant far oil will cure baldness, or using @ one fair, etc, are all typical examples + False claims by some m: es, though the product MC), when a problem vance work + Indulging in unfai This is often happene the whole variety of 9 bother to check the deta They buy only because o' sellers or manufacturers. sstomers forproject Report eT Need for Protecting the Consumers sheees need for protecting the consumers from the malpractices exercised by the Pee tne ah sellers in the market place, It is ensential especially int the developing coun les i India where most of the consumers just go and buy products on being attracted py the : 7 ry Fepresentations or advertisements. Most of the consumers act as herd of sheep PBpity and who ls acting who they may like. e.g, if some consumers follow a particular odebiy and whois acting in an advertisement ofa particular products tke fairness cream, so some is would blindly buy that product having a belief that it would prove to be a aa uct. Thus, to eliminate such practices it is needed to make consumers aware about Consumer Movement In India, the Consumer Movement act as a social force originated with the necessity of protecting and promoting the interests of consumers against immoral and unfair trade ractices. Rampant food shortages, hoarding, black marketing, adulteration of food and edible bil gave birth to the Consumer Movement in a organised form in the 1960s. Till the 1970s, [ponsumer organisations were largely engaged in writing articles and organising exhibitions. Ways to Protect Consumers Many ways have been taken by the government to protect consumers. Some of these ways are as follows: v Consumer Forums ‘The Consumer Movement in India has led to the formation of various organisations locally Known ag Consumer Forums or Consumer Protection Councils. They guide consumers on how ‘to file cases in the Consumer Court. Many times, they also represent individual consumer in the Coneumer Courts. These voluntary organisations also receive financial support from the | overnment for creating awareness among people. se ate © CONSUNERS| aan DEL HEAD orice uenceAllinone social Science Class 10}, 464 Consumer Protection Act, 1986 ‘As a result of all efforts since 1960s, the Consumer Movement succeeded in bringing pressure on businesses and firms, as well as government to improve business conduct, which earlier was against the interests of consumers at large. In this regard, a major step taken in 1986 by the Indian Government, was the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, popularly known as COPRA. This act was enforced after the formation of Consumers International. Consumer Protection Act (COPRA), 1986 is an act of Parliament enacted to protect the interests of consumers in India. It makes provision for the establishment of Consumer Councils and other authorities for the settlement of consumers’ disputes and connected matters. [National Consumer) District Consumer! { state consumer | { DiputeRecoseel] | DigputeRecressal | Dispute Rearestal Sommesor | | Commission, «| Commision | Three- tier System : Diagram (Three-tier System) Under Consumer Protection Act (COPRA), a three-tier Quasi judicial machinery at the district, state and national levels has been set-up for redressal of consumer disputes. The district level court deals with the cases involving claims upto % 20 lakhs, the state level courts between % 2¢ lakhs and @ 1 crore and the national level court deals with cases involving claims exceeding @ 1 crore. If a case is dismissed in district level court, the consumer can also appeal in the state and ther in national level court. Problems with Consumer Movement + The consumer redressal process is difficult, expensive and time consuming. Existing laws are not very clear on the issue of compensation to consumers. Law enforcement in unorganised sector is weak. Court proceedings for consumer redressal are long. : Most of the traders do not issue cash memos. 4 Rules and regulations for market functioning are not followed.— PrOIeCt Repo 465 Consumer Rights The right to have information about the qualit goods oF services is known as Consumer Righ | their rights, These rights enable consumers io find Violation of thei rights. The rights ofcens ter ot ieee, Wuantity, purity, price and standard of Very essential for the consumers to know file their com, iplaint in Consumer Court if the sumers are given below: nae Right to be Protected / Right to Safety Consumers, have the Ri Devices that ere eects ee Protected against the marketing of goods and delivery of Srrcty follow the reculned va life and property. Producers and service providers need to sooker’s safety valves, clock ules and regulations. There are many goods (ike pressure tention to safety If ite acre DMeNts, GeySerS, iron, etc) which requires special y. If it is defective, it can cause a serious accident. So, in this case anufacturers are requir Se ‘quired to ensure that safety and quality of products and services are to be Right to be Informed jovernment has made it mandatory to mention all ingredients and safety features, date of anufacture, price, quantity, expiry date, direction for use, etc, on the pack of @ product. This formation ,is given because it helps the consumer in making’ an informed buying decision. If the product proves to be defective in any way, the consumer can complain and ask for “compensation or replacement. The manufacturers have to display these information because “consumers have the Right to be Informed about the particular goods and services they In October 2005, the Government of India enacted a law popularly known as TI (Right to Iprormation) Act, which ensures all the information about the functioning of government departments to its citizens. ; itengures accountability and transparenoy of working of public authority Z i licable to all the states and union territories except the State of Jammu and wes ear The reason behind this is that, the State of Jammu and Kashmir has its individual ace which is known as Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act, 2009. the RTI Act, any person citizen can request from the public authority, which is then te fired 16 furnish the required information within 20 days or expeditiously. req i jiven below Je of using RTI Actis given ee ani “fed the interview fora government job and did wel, but did not receive [Amrita attended te selection The officals aso refused to answer her quotes she then filed information about het Mer, in reply to which she was informed about the reasons for an app! i yr tt ‘, cation une har. Later on she got her call letter for appointment also. | delay in in in (Z) PROJECT REPORT b eelit .[4ig: PROJECT REPORT —_—_Pa— == —— Right to Choose * Atv consumer who receives a service in whatever capacity, regardless of age, gende nature of service has the Right to Choose whether to continue to receive the sean oo The consumer has aright to choose a good or a service and decide to continue wat tke tre Services of the cable operator or to buy the toothpaste without the toothbrush es Tee shopkeeper insists on buying both i Aer this right. no consumer in indian can be trapped in the monopoly of product inh market. In other words, no consumer can be forced to choose a particular proaint'é consume as no markets allowed to be dominatedby a single producer. Thus, each andere Gonsumer has the right to choose according to his/her will across a range of options ena to him, + This right can be better exercised in a competitive market where a variety of goods. are available at competitive prices. Right to Seek Redressal * Consumers have the Right to Seek Redressal against unfair trade practices and exploitation It means if any damage is done to a consumer, he has the right to get compensation depending on the degree of damage. * Thus, itis needed to provide an easy and effective public system by which this can can be done. As the markets are globalizing, the direct link between the manufacturer and the final user getting distant, post purchase grievances have to be heard through a strong redressal system, For this, consumer disputes redressal agencies (popularly known as Consumer Forums of Consumer Courts) are set up under the Act at District, State and National level to provide simple and inexpensive quick redressal against consumer complaints. Right to Represent This right enables consumers to represent in Consumer Courts. Many Consumers do not know how to file a complaint in Consumer Courts. After considering this, the Consumer Movement in India established various organisations under the name of Consumer Forums or Consumer Protection Councils Which guide consumers on how to file their complaints/cases in the Consumer Court. These organisations also help the consumers to represent in the Consumer Courts, where they get compensation depending on the degree of their damage. Right to Consumer Education This means every consumer should be aware about the rights that have been provided to him/her so that, he/she could save himself/herself from being exploited at the market place. Consumer education might refer to formal education through college and school curriculums Consumer awareness campaigns run by non-governmental and governmental organisations are also a past of consumer education;oject Report aorance of consumers, is the root cause of their exploitation. Thus, consumers should known rir rights and must exercise them (x7) Sit “ ‘ots 12) aghts 0 ( consomer - Informed ) \eaueatoy—(Aghisto) eu ‘Choose Ne ‘Consumer Rights in Indio a | Learning to Become Well informed Consumers i To become well-informed consumer, a person should know his/her responsibilities. The tt prices, quantity and quality of responsibility includes to be more alert and to question abot goods bought and services used. Consumers should buy ‘quality products and for this they should know about the quality standards/marks which have been introduced by the Burea. of fuian Standards (BIS). A quality mark gives consumer 2 visual ‘and easily identifiable quality assessment tool, originating from a reliable source. These quality standards marks are as follows: is Mark ISI mark is supposed to be of minimum standard and safe for use by consumers. This mark is both mandatory and volareert The ISI oration ig mandatory forthe products such as LPG oylindey electrical appliances, batteries, ol pressure stove, ‘automobile accessories, medical Equipment, steel products, chemicals, cement fertilizers, infant foods and packaged drinking water and 0 0”. Agmark The Agmark certification is done of agricultural commodities. There are total 205 products that need AGMARK. e.g. pulses, cereals, essential oils, regetable ols, fruits and vegetables and semi-processed products and so on. eae a is legally enforced by Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937. a Vegetarian and non-vegetaian marks There provision India that every packaged food Haat pe labelled with @ mandatory mark in order to Be distinguished between Mi non-lacto-vegetarian. As per Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and lacto-vegetarian an’ — : Feowvegr equations, 2011, vegetraian foods should be identified by a gree eet an foods by brown symbol eee ‘Green = #4 PROJECT REPORTprojectReport 46‘ SSAl Fssai stands ‘sures roy Sige Safety and Standards Authority of India. This certification mark “nder the Food Safety and Sei meets the approved safety standards set for food iterns the food products such as D: fandards (FSS) Act, 2006. The FSSAI has prescribed standards for eel products, meat and airy products, fats, oil, fruits and vegetable products, cereal and weetening a an Ind meat products, fish and fish products, sweets and confectionery, * gents including honey, Salt, spices, beverages, proprietary food and so on. ISSAL pesides knowing these quality standards, there are other responsibilities of consumers at the market place. Some of these are given below: «Avoid purchase of products or services from a company which do not provide details consumer grievance officers to handle consumer grievances, + Consumer must file a complaint if he/she is not satisfied with the quality of pr services even for a small loss. Consumers should file only a genuine complaint. + Donot get distracted by advertisements only or believe on the words of the seller Consumer must look market reviews. Similarly give feedback about the product if tis of sub-standard = Compare specifications, competition and fair p finalising the purchase «We should be aware and to understand the environmental consequences of our consumption. Thus, always choose eco-friendly products, sonserve natural resources and protect the Earth of the oduct or ices of the goods and services before Being a consumer, it is our responsibility to ct for future generations. Thus, we can conclude that it is t he collective responsibilty of both the government and consumers to create awareness about the rights of consumers In the society which will help to minimise the prevalent malpractices in the market place. Thus, as consumers it is our responsibility to come forward and take the Consumer Movement ahead. Lost Page Bibliograpr4 . awixa,