SPEECH OF THE HON’BLE MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION ON THE OCCASION OF WORLD CONSUMER RIGHTS DAY 2011 (15.3.2011) ********** My Senior Colleague in the Cabinet and Minister of Law and Justice Sh. Veerappa Moilyji, Hon’ble Judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Shri Dalveer Bhandari, Hon’ble Justice Shri Ashok Bhan, President of National Consumer Dispute and Redressal Commission, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs Shri Rajiv Agarwal, Members of the National and State Commissions, Distinguished guests, Members of the Media, Ladies and gentlemen. I am extremely happy to be with you all on this occasion of the celebration of World Consumer Rights Day. 2. On 15 March we celebrate World Consumer Rights Day – a day on which consumer organizations and governments worldwide endorse and re-commit themselves to the guidelines for consumer protection, which were adopted by the United Nations in 1985. 3. The origins of this day can be sourced back to in the famous declaration of John F Kennedy to the United States Congress on 15th March, 1962. He said, (and I quote) “Consumers by definition include us all. They are the largest economic group, affecting and affected by almost every public and private economic decision. Yet they are the only important group... whose views are often not heard.” In that declaration for the first time he spelt out the four basic consumer rights: the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose and the right to be heard. It really launched the consumer protection movement in a big way. People started thinking seriously about their rights as consumers and Governments all over world started giving due importance to the subject of consumer protection. The U.N. guidelines on consumer protection of 1985 are a founding stone which made many countries in the world start consumer protection programmes in right earnest. 4. The consumer movement in India is as old as trade and commerce and yet until 1986 there was no systematic movement in the country for safeguarding the interest of consumers. As we are all aware, the consumer movement got a boost only after the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. It is a unique legislation, providing for the establishment of Consumer Fora at district, state and national level exclusively for the consumers. The concern in the Constitution of India for protection and promotion of an individual’s rights and for the dignity and welfare of the citizen makes it imperative to provide for the welfare of the individual as a consumer and a customer. The rights under consumer protection act 1986 flow from the rights enshrined in articles 14-19 of the Constitution of India. The right to information Act 2005 which has opened up governance processes of our country to common man also has far reaching implications for consumer protection. 5. Today, the Consumer Protection Act has succeeded in having a sobering effect on the markets, forcing the providers of goods and services to introspect and internalize the concept of consumer welfare and address consumer grievances more deligently. However, the larger benefit it has been affording to the consumers is the provision of an additional legal recourse in the consumer fora, to redress their grievances. In this background, it is essential that Consumer Fora function successfully, retaining their character & effectiveness so that consumers do not lose their confidence in the justice delivery system. While the overall performance of the Consumer Fora may be satisfactory, as out of 35.09 lakh cases filed so far 31.46 lakh cases, nearly 89.68% stand disposed, the need of the hour is to ensure that the Consumer Fora do not slip onto the path of civil courts, making litigation long drawn out and taking several years to dispose of even cases involving small compensation. 6. Friends, let me assure you that the needs of the National Commission are always on the priority agenda of the Government. In so far as the State Commissions and District Fora are concerned, as we have been continuously impressing upon them, the State Governments are again requested to make all efforts for providing the necessary infrastructure and manpower to the Fora so that the objectives of the Act are fulfilled. To reduce the pendency of cases thirteen cities across the country have been notified by the Govt. where NCDRC can hold Circuit Benches .The number of Members of the Commission has been increased from 5 to 9 enabling the Commission to set up 5 Benches. Further 2 additional posts of Members have been created for a period of five years for setting up an additional Bench to clear backlog of cases in NCDRC. 7. The Government is implementing an important scheme CONFONET to make the Consumer Fora more efficient, transparent and systematic in their functioning. This project for Computerization & Computer Networking of Consumer Fora in the country is being executed on a turnkey basis by the National Informatics Centre. This project, approved at an estimated cost of Rs. 48.64 crores during 10th Plan for the entire country, has been extended to 11th Plan at a cost of Rs 25.69 crores. Under this scheme, the consumer fora at all the three tiers would be fully computerized and inter-connected enabling them to access information leading to quicker disposal of cases. With the implementation of this scheme consumers across the country will be able to file complaints online and can also find out the status of the case on the website. Out of 35 State Commissions and 607 District Fora, 34 State Commissions and 593 District Fora have been covered under this project so far. Similarly, we have another scheme titled ‘Strengthening of Consumer Fora’ where financial assistance is being extended to States/UTs to supplement their efforts in strengthening infrastructure of the Consumer Fora. An amount of Rs.10.30 crores have been released so far to 7 eligible States under this scheme during 2010-11. 8. Ladies and Gentlemen, At the root of the consumer protection is the recognition that there is unequal relationship between the consumers and producers. Protection lies the consumers is accomplished by setting minimum standards, quality specifications and safety standards for both goods and services and establishing mechanisms to redress their grievances. 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. The main reason for this is the rapidly increasing variety of goods and services which modern technology has made available. In addition, the growing size and complexity of production and distribution systems, high level of sophistication in promotional and selling practices, in advertising and other forms of mass marketing methods and increased mobility resulting in reduction of personal interaction between buyers and sellers have contributed to the increased need for consumer protection. 9. Education helps an individual as a consumer in making an informed choice and protects him from trade and business exploitation. But more is needed in the effective functioning of national market to create an increased awareness of consumers rights. For this, consumers have to be educated about their rights and responsibilities through a concerted publicity and awareness campaigns. In this regard, special emphasis needs to be given to vulnerable groups such as women, children, rural families and working class. There is thus necessity for continuing consumer awareness campaigns on a large scale to sensitize population on basic concepts and encourage them to protect their rights. We also need to provide simple and less expensive alternate modes of grievance redressal. 10. Consumer is said to be the King. But he is often found to be in fetters. Special efforts are required to free him from such chains, so that , he becomes enlightened of his own rights and feel empowered to prevent his exploitation in the market place. 11. On this important day, let us rededicate ourselves to work for the welfare of the consumers and resolve to make them aware of their rights and responsibilities. Let us also ensure that goods and services are available free from hazards and exploitation and jointly strengthen the institutional legal framework for this purpose. Effective functioning of consumer dispute redressal machinery for rendering quick justice is a very important ingredient in this framework. I am confident that it will continue to deliver excellent service to the consumers in the future also. Jai Hind. **********
