Times changed. Two national consumer acts were promulgated — the first one in 1986 and the second one, only last year. Unfortunately, the consumer movement is yet to take a root in the country for want of sincere government effort to help promote such movements and strong government action against those cheating consumers — from hi-profile private hospitals, nursing homes, educational institutions to soaps and toothpaste manufacturers, drinking water bottlers and packaged foods marketers. Companies are having a field day as the size of the Indian market grew almost 100 times since mid-1970s.

Take, for instance, multinational toothpaste brands. Almost all of them use good quantities of air to fill in their tubes. Paste inside is also diluted. Branded cooking oil and spices hardly comply purity claims in their advertisements. Much worse still, even high-priced drug tablets and capsules rarely meet their potency claims forcing medical practitioners increase dosage and duration of treatment. The effectiveness of many drugs is lost months before their mandatorily listed expiry dates. Prints on drug packs are hardly readable. They are often in such tiny letters and cases that they can’t be read even with reading glasses. Prices of drugs are increased almost every year while their pack sizes seem to contract to minimise production costs. The written literature on the packs also gets smaller. Surprisingly, the government and its drug control authority seem to remain unconcerned. So are medical practitioners, who rarely warn consumers against side effects of such drugs even on patients having a history of diabetes, gastritis, acidity, lever, heart, lung and kidney ailments. There is little consumer movement against such questionable practices. Consumer product advertisements have become more aggressive, having little connect between ad messages and consumer experience.

The uncontrolled e-commerce growth in India over the last few years — and, more so after the recent spread of Covid 19 pandemic — is posing a further challenge to consumers. The so-called consumer rights have become meaningless.The first consumer protection legislation of 1986 was introduced with the primary objective of protecting consumer rights. However, the advent of technology, the introduction of e-commerce and various other mechanisms of conducting business almost failed the purpose. Over the past two decades, the consumer landscape in India witnessed a paradigm shift with the economy vastly opening up and the advent of online marketplaces and e-commerce becoming the order of the day. The affordability and propensity to spend by the average Indian consumer have substantially gone up. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 was passed in the context of the current day scenario of the market and consumer preferences and prejudices. However, a majority of the provisions of the new act were notified only on July 15, this year. And, they were effected from July 20.

Six consumer rights have been defined in the new act. They include the right to (i) be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property; (ii) be informed of the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services; (iii) be assured of access to a variety of goods or services at competitive prices; and (iv) seek redressal against unfair or restrictive trade practices. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is supposed to promote, protect, and enforce the rights of consumers. It is to regulate matters related to violation of consumer rights, unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements. The CCPA’s investigation wing, headed by a Director-General, may conduct inquiry or investigation into such violations. The new act is expected to encourage consumers to stand up for their rights and lead to an overwhelming number of disputes in consumer courts. However, going by the past experience, a meaningful consumer movement is still a far cry. The movement has not blossomed because not many of the existing organisations are active enough to make an impact. The movement lacks unified action to demonstrate strength. Also, there has been little consumer participation in the movements. Consumer rights organisations also lack funds and blame the government for their inaction. Also, the Indian consumer movement has remained more or less elitist. The country badly lacks grass-root level consumer education and specialists for legal aid to ensure consumer protection especially with regard to health-related products.

The government remains central to promotion and protection of consumer rights. The popular phrase ‘buyer beware’ needs to be replaced by ‘manufacturer and marketer beware’. Until the government is able to promote consumer education at all levels and legally and financially support consumer movements, dishonesty among manufacturer-service providers will continue to flourish. The onus will be on the CCPA to promote, protect, investigate and enforce the rights of consumers. This is a tough job. Its success will depend on the importance the union cabinet attaches to a healthy consumer movement. Though the new act was passed last year, the notifications took a full year to appear. And, the practice of cheating consumers by profit-hungry manufacturers and service organisations continue unabated. The pandemic has further boosted the practice. (IPA Service)