Consumer movement

in India

Introduction
Consumers play a vital role in the economic system of a nation because in the
absence of effective demand that emanates from them, the economy virtually collapses
An individual who buys products or services for personal use and not
for manufacture or resale. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether or not to
purchase an item at the store, and someone who can be influenced by marketing and
advertisements.

Gandhi said:
"A consumer is the most important visitor on our
premises. He is not dependent on us, we are on him. He is not an interruption to
our work; he is the purpose of it. We are not doing a favor to a consumer by
giving him an opportunity. He is doing us a favor by giving us opportunity to
serve him. But, of late, unfortunately cheating by way of overcharging, black
.marketing, misleading advertisements, etc

In the year 1958, the Indian Standards Institute had

arranged a convention at New Delhi. As per the resolution
passed at the convention, the Consumers Association of India
was established in1959.
In 1966, the Consumer Guidance Society of India was
formed in Mumbai with the object to protect consumers against
rising prices of essential commodities. In the same year on 2nd,
1996,Council for Fair Business Practices was formed by
leading industrialist like, J.R.D Tata and Others
The Indian Consumer Union was established in 1971. The
activities of the union include offering legal advice, testing
facilities, arranging lectures and seminars. The Consumer
Education and Research Centre were formed in 1978, at
Ahemadad, to guide and protect Consumer Rights

Consumer awareness
Making the consumer aware of his/her rights. It is a marketing term
which means that consumers are aware of products or services, its
characteristics and the other marketing Ps (place to buy, price, and
promotion)
The first consumer movement began in England after the
Second World War, a modern declaration about consumers rights was first
made in the United States of America in 1962, where four basic consumer
rights(choice, information, safety and to be heard) were recognized. Ralph
Nadar, a consumer activist, is considered as the father of consumer
movement. March 15 is now celebrated as the World Consumer Rights
Day.

Consumer protection
Laws are designed to ensure fair trade competition and the
free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws
are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or
specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over
competitors and may provide additional protection for the
weak and those unable to take care of themselves. Consumer
Protection laws are a form of government regulation which aim
to protect the MADs of consumers

Concept of Consumer protection

Consumer protection means safeguarding the interest and rights of consumers.
The most common business malpractices leading to consumer exploitation are
o Sale of adulterated goods i.e., adding something inferior to the
productbeing sold
o Sale of spurious goods i.e.,selling something of little value
instead of the real product.
o Sale of sub-standard goods i.e., sale of goods which donot
confirm to prescribed quality standards.
o Sale of duplicate goods
o Use of false weights and measures leading tounderweight.
o Hoarding and black-marketing leading toscarcity and rise in price
o Charging more than the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) fixed for the
product
o Supply of defective goods
o Misleading advertisements i.e., advertisements falsely claiming a
product or service tobe ofsuperior quality, grade or standard
o Supply of inferior services i.e., quality of servicelower than the
quality agreed upon

hievements in consumer movement

Some interesting developments which are helping the consumer
movement include ,Developments taking place in the field of consumer
education and some noticeable Changes that have place among
business organizations and their associations or Federations. Consumer
Protection is being incorporated in the courses at different levels in schools
and colleges. Full-fledged courses have been introduced in management
Life Insurance Corporation of India ( LIC )
Petroleum Companies, Railways, Banks, Income Tax Departments,
have also initiated setting up of public grievance
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)
The Advertisement Standard Council of India (ASCI)
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Rights of Consumers
Right to Safety
Right to be Informed
Right to Choose
Right to be Heard
Right to Seek Redressal
Right to Consumer Education

Responsibilities of
Consumers

Be quality conscious
Beware of misleading advertisements
Responsibility to inspect a variety of goods before

making selection
Collect proof of transaction
Consumers must be aware of their rights
Complaint for genuine grievances
Proper use of product/services

Trade marks
given
by Govt of India