It gives me great pleasure to be present on the occasion of the National Consumer Day.
Today we are amidst an era of high economic growth, with the changing paradigm of development, not all genre of consumers are equipped to manage such a change. The past two years have been extremely challenging for the entire global community. The impact of financial crisis and its effect on banking system in the developed economies last year impacted the entire world. Fortunately, India was in a position to check its repercussions due to strong regulatory regimen.
The important learning from this experience of the past two years of global turmoil is the need for emergence of a class of ‘responsible consumer’ who understands the nitty-gritty of financial management and is able to protect himself from the sudden ups and downs in the financial world. It is, therefore, very appropriate that Department has chosen the theme of ‘financial literacy’ for this year’s National Consumer Day. Financial literacy encompasses the whole gamut of personal banking, dealing with investment, insurance and the capital markets. New emerging fields of commodities and foreign exchange market all of which could be very new and un-chartered territory for a normal consumer also falls within its ambit. Department of Consumer Affairs has been undertaking joint publicity with other Departments and organizations. A joint publicity campaign with Reserve Bank of India was taken up recently. This was done to spread the information about fake notes and mobile banking among consumers. Such efforts will go long way in nurturing a class of well informed and financially literate consumers.
Here consumer awareness and education programmes have a very important role to play. These should specifically focus on area and category specific needs of consumers, to achieve this all of us; Government, Private Sector and NGOs, Civil Society have to contribute and this should be a collaborative effort. The consumers living in far-flung, remote rural areas are at a disadvantage, since the electronic and print channels have a limited reach in these areas. Nevertheless, we should use person to person contact modality for reaching out to such areas.
For reaching out to rural and remote areas Panchayati Raj institutions could be utilized. Awareness campaign could use simple techniques like street drama, musical drama, folk dances etc. in regional language through the Gram Sabha in every village so as to reach out to this segment. To address these concerns Consumer Protection Act has been amended three times, which has been primarily to address the dynamics of changing market, provide speedy justice and protect the rights of consumers.
The Consumer Protection Act’s impact is also perceptible in the operations of providers of goods and services. In the Government and Public Sector we now see several Regulators, Ombudsman and grievance Redressal mechanism in place, we can also discern the operation of consumer grievances redressal system in Private Sector. This to our view is due to the proactive approach adopted in the Consumer Protection Act, by bringing the consumer right in the forefront.
Government is of the view that financial inclusion by taking banking sector to the nook and corner of the county is the need of the hour. For such an initiative to succeed the awareness campaign of the Department to spread knowledge about banking sector, insurance and capital markets could go a long way in bringing a whole new set of consumers into the fold of organized banking. This will also ensure that consumers in rural and remote areas are able to avail off credit available through the banking sector.
While regulators in different fields such as telecom, banking, insurance, electricity etc. would play a pivotal role in addressing the concerns of the consumers in these areas, there is an equally strong need for having strong mechanism of alternative dispute Redressal system.
My Ministry has attempted to address these concerns by initiating Pilot Projects. We are supporting a ‘National Consumer Helpline’, which is being operated through the University of Delhi, which allows consumers anywhere in the country to get advice on what course of action to take with regard to their problem, as also general information on various issues concerning consumers On the pattern of National Consumer Helpline ‘State Consumer Helplines’ are being set up.
Today it is widely acknowledged that the level of consumer awareness and protection is a true indicator of development of the country and progressiveness of civil society. I am happy to note that the multi media publicity campaign of the Department ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ has today become a household name. Our preliminary assessment of the campaign has revealed that consumer issues have got more visibility and greater stress is being laid especially by the trade and industry to address the concerns of the consumers. Consumers are becoming aware of their rights and have now become more demanding for getting the right goods and services which in the long run augurs very well of the competitiveness of our economy. An aware consumer not only protects his own interests but he induces a level of efficiency and accountability in the entire manufacturing and services sector which will enable this nation to become globally competitive.
On this important day, let us rededicate ourselves to work for the welfare of the consumers. Let us all resolve to make them aware of their rights and responsibilities as consumers. Let us all ensure that the goods and services are available free from hazards and are safe. The effective functioning of consumer dispute redressal machinery for rendering quick justice is a critical component for Consumer Protection. The Consumer Dispute Redressal machinery has yielded good results so far which can be seen in the fact that around 30 lakh cases of 32 lakh registered cases filed in Consumer Forums since inception have been settled. I am confident that it will continue to deliver excellent service to the consumers in the future also.
JAI HIND.
