CONSUMER PROTECTION AND AWARENESS FOR YOUTH
2
CONSUMER PROTECTION AND AWARENESS FOR YOUTH Dr. Sheetal Kapoor C onsumers play a vital role in the development of a nation. Gandhiji in the light of the above rightly said "A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work - he is the pur- pose of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to serve him." Modern technological developments have made a great impact on the quality, availability and safety of goods and serv- ices but unfortunately the consumers are still victims of unscrupulous and exploita- tive trade practices. As consumers we face huge problems relating to defective goods, deficiency in services, food adulteration, spurious goods, hoarding, use of deceptive and fractional weights, late deliveries, varia- tions in the contents of the pack, poor after sales service, misleading advertise- ments, hidden price components, price discrimination, ATM and credit card frauds, financial frauds, real estate prob- lems and problems related to public utili- ties. These problems arise because unscrupulous sellers take an unfair advantage of the ignorance and helpless- ness of the consumers. Since the busi- ness does not always act responsibly there is a need to educate and protect the consumers to enable them to look after their own interests and interests of the society at large. A recent study by ASSOCHAM has revealed that 40% of Indians are not aware about how and where to file a complaint if the manu- facturer gives them a defective product or defi- ciency in service or an adulterated food item. The consumer move- ment in India is still in its nascent stage in the second decade of 21st Century. It requires a big fillip to become a mass movement. Why Consumer Education should be promoted among youth An aware con- sumer is an asset to the soci- ety. The youth constitute near- ly 40 per cent of the total pop- ulation of India. Apart from being a valuable human resource, this group is most vibrant and dynamic con- sumer segment for the Indian markets. Their consumption habits are unique and their purchase decisions are based on popular trends, brand image, use of new technology, flavour of food products, and style. They are the major stakeholders in the economy. They have been spending more money than before and influencing the families' purchasing decisions. Therefore, it is important that they need to be educated and made aware about con- sumer rights at an early stage. They should be aware of marketing strategies and use their judgment and spread a positive message in society. They must also understand that their choices are being exploited by the markets by controlling their' thought process through advertisements and marketing gimmicks and their lifestyle is being changed by creating new needs. They should not fall prey to such attempts that are solely meant to woo customers. Keeping in view their large numbers, tenden- cy to consume and their ability to influ- ence larger household deci- sions, Indian youth, can play very impor- tant role by being vigilant at the market place and spreading consumer aware- ness. What an educated and empowered consumers should do: Before buying any goods or services, as educated and aware consumers, we should seek full information regarding quality and price of the goods and servic- es. We should be careful about false and /or misleading advertise- ment and purchase only when there is requirement and not go for purchasing in a hurry. We should not buy blindly and demand full information before buying. We should not compromise on the quality and quantity of goods and services and should purchase quality products only. Legal Provisions for consumer protec- tion in India: The Consumer Protection Act (CPA), 1986 was enacted by the Parliament on 24th December, 1986 to protect the inter- ests of consumers against substandard products, increased prices through mar- ket manipulation, failed warranties, poor after sales service and unfair trade prac- tices. This Act is not only preventive but also compensatory in nature. It focuses on undoing the wrong to a consumer by way of remedial action or payment of compensation or damages to the aggrieved consumer. The Act enshrines all the consumer rights which are internationally accepted. As per the Act, the consumer protection councils have been established at Central, State and District levels to pro- mote and protect the consumer rights. Section 2 (1) (d) defines the term 'con- sumer' under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, as any person who buys, hires or avails of any goods or services for a consideration which has been paid, or promised or partly paid or promised or paid under a system of deferred payment. The Continued on page 32
Transcript of CONSUMER PROTECTION AND AWARENESS FOR YOUTH
VOL. XL NO. 38 PAGES 32 NEW DELHI 19 - 25 DECEMBER 2015 ` 8.00
CONSUMER PROTECTION AND AWARENESS FOR YOUTHDr. Sheetal Kapoor
C onsumers play a vital role in thedevelopment of a nation. Gandhiji
in the light of the above rightly said "Acustomer is the most important visitor onour premises. He is not dependent on us.We are dependent on him. He is not aninterruption in our work - he is the pur-pose of it. We are not doing him a favourby serving him. He is doing us a favour bygiving us the opportunity to serve him."Modern technological developmentshave made a great impact on the quality,availability and safety of goods and serv-ices but unfortunately the consumers arestill victims of unscrupulous and exploita-tive trade practices.
As consumers we face huge problemsrelating to defective goods, deficiency inservices, food adulteration, spuriousgoods, hoarding, use of deceptive andfractional weights, late deliveries, varia-tions in the contents of the pack, poorafter sales service, misleading advertise-ments, hidden price components, pricediscrimination, ATM and credit cardfrauds, financial frauds, real estate prob-lems and problems related to public utili-ties. These problems arise becauseunscrupulous sellers take an unfairadvantage of the ignorance and helpless-ness of the consumers. Since the busi-ness does not always act responsiblythere is a need to educate and protect theconsumers to enable them to look aftertheir own interests and interests of thesociety at large.
A recent study by ASSOCHAM has
revealed that 40% of Indians are notaware about how and where tofile a complaint if the manu-facturer gives them adefective product or defi-ciency in service or anadulterated food item.The consumer move-ment in India is stillin its nascent stagein the seconddecade of 21stCentury. It requires a bigfillip to become a massmovement.Why ConsumerEducation should bepromoted among youth
An aware con-sumer is an asset to the soci-ety. The youth constitute near-ly 40 per cent of the total pop-ulation of India. Apart frombeing a valuable humanresource, this group ismost vibrant and dynamic con-sumer segment for the Indian markets.Their consumption habits are unique andtheir purchase decisions are based onpopular trends, brand image, use of newtechnology, flavour of food products, andstyle. They are the major stakeholders inthe economy. They have been spendingmore money than before and influencingthe families' purchasing decisions.Therefore, it is important that they need tobe educated and made aware about con-
sumer rights at an early stage. Theyshould be aware of marketing
strategies and use theirjudgment and spread a
positive message insociety. They must
also understand thattheir choices arebeing exploited bythe markets by
controlling their'thought process through
advertisements andmarketing gimmicks
and their lifestyleis being changed by
creating new needs.They should not fall
prey to such attemptsthat are solely meant towoo customers. Keeping in view theirlarge numbers, tenden-
cy to consume andtheir ability to influ-
ence larger household deci-sions, Indian youth, can play very impor-tant role by being vigilant at the marketplace and spreading consumer aware-ness. What an educated and empoweredconsumers should do:
Before buying any goods or services,as educated and aware consumers, weshould seek full information regardingquality and price of the goods and servic-es. We should be careful
about false and /or misleading advertise-ment and purchase only when there isrequirement and not go for purchasing ina hurry. We should not buy blindly anddemand full information before buying.We should not compromise on the qualityand quantity of goods and services andshould purchase quality products only.Legal Provisions for consumer protec-tion in India:
The Consumer Protection Act (CPA),1986 was enacted by the Parliament on24th December, 1986 to protect the inter-ests of consumers against substandardproducts, increased prices through mar-ket manipulation, failed warranties, poorafter sales service and unfair trade prac-tices. This Act is not only preventive butalso compensatory in nature. It focuseson undoing the wrong to a consumer byway of remedial action or payment ofcompensation or damages to theaggrieved consumer.
The Act enshrines all the consumerrights which are internationally accepted.As per the Act, the consumer protectioncouncils have been established atCentral, State and District levels to pro-mote and protect the consumer rights.Section 2 (1) (d) defines the term 'con-sumer' under the Consumer ProtectionAct, 1986, as any person who buys, hiresor avails of any goods or services for aconsideration which has been paid, orpromised or partly paid or promised or paidunder a system of deferred payment. The
Continued on page 32
National Fertilizers Limited, Noidarequires 159 Engineer and AccountsOfficersLast Date : 29.12.2015 (pg 12)
NFL
Life Insurance Corporantion of Indiarequires 700 Assistant AdministrativeOfficers (Generalist)Last Date : 05.01.2016 (pg 22-23)
LIC
Employees’ State InsuranceCorporation invites applications forvarious posts of UDC, Steno and MTSin its various regional offices.Last Date : 06.01.2016
ESIC
JOB HIGHLIGHTS
@Employ_NewsFollow us on:
Visit our facebook page
WEB EXCLUSIVESFollowing item is available in the WebExclusives section on www.employment-news.gov.in
Khawalailung village : A Mizo ‘rolemodel’ of Peace and Development
For Informative articles on current affairsyou can also visitwww.facebook.com/yojanajournalwww.facebook.com/publicationsdivision
Turn over the pages for other vacanciesin Banks, Armed Forces, Railways, PSUsand other Govt. Deptts.
PREPARING LEARNERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY DEVELOPING RESILIENCE IN ADOLESCENTS
A dolescence is a time in life span when individuals realizewho they are and what they would like to be. It's time to
forge an identity, career choices to be made, meaningful relation-ships to be formed, sustained technological advances tackled, atti-tudes and roles chiseled. Isn't this process of transition fraught withtrials and tribulations? Information overload, mixed messages frommedia, press, teachers, family and from society at large add to theconfusing scenario of the assimi-lating young mind. It is, therefore,very important that educationalinstitutes expand their role by pro-viding mental health services todeal with factors interfering withstudies.
Healthy development of individ-uals depends on several interac-tive and complex factors. Theseinclude the socioeconomic cir-cumstances in which they areborn, the environment in whichthey grow up, their inter-personalrelationships within the family,peer group pressure, values of thecommunity in which they live andthe opportunities for education and employment.
Despite the multitude of factors which can influence the develop-ment of adolescents, their mental well-being is crucial. During tran-sition, for example in adolescence they must learn how to cope withpsychological stress, handle peer pressure, deal with their emo-tions, resolve conflicts, build bridges with friends and family, devel-op self-confidence, safeguard themselves from high pressure mar-keting strategies, particularly of the alcohol industry, as well ascope with other stresses like academic competition and a hanker-ing for material gains.
In addition to these common developmental challenges, even by
conservative estimates, 10% of all adolescents have mental distur-bances with serious associated impairments at some time duringtheir childhood. These disturbances include learning problems,physical health problems, and substance abuse (Rae Grant NI,1991). Furthermore, some of them suffer from serious mental ill-nesses such as severe depression, suicidal thoughts, psychosis,serious attention problems or obsessive-compulsive disorder
(Institute of Medicine, NationalAcademy of Sciences, 1989)1.
Therefore, with increasingtechnological complexity, theburden on youth in terms ofsocietal adversities is increas-ing at an unprecedented rate.There is a need to look beyondsymptom relief and focus onrecognizing parameters andattitudes that can be taken careof at the prevention level itself.Therefore, there is a need tounderstand the concept ofresilience.
Resilience means the abilityof a person to recover readily
from illness, depression, adversity, etc. .Emerging trends in schoolhealth and wellbeing opine that it as a set of inner resources, socialcompetencies, and cultural strategies that permit individuals to notonly survive, but recover, or even thrive after stressful events, butalso to draw from the experience to enhance subsequent function-ing. Another approach towards this concept of resilience is that it isa learned mechanism. In this context it is defined as typical devel-opment in the face of adverse circumstances that propel others todeleterious outcomes.
It's possible that some people may be more biologically predis-
Continued on page 31facebook.com/director.employmentnews
Dr. Jitendra Nagpal
32 www.employmentnews.gov.in Employment News 19 - 25 December 2015
DELHI POSTAL REGD. NO. DL-SW-1/4101/2015-17U(C)-108/2015-17 Licensed to Post without prepayment RNI 28728/76 N.D.P.S.O. New Delhi 18/19.12.2015 Date of Publishing : 14.12.2015 (` 8.00)
Air Surcharge 20p for Srinagar, Leh, Kalimpong, Imphal, Dimapur, Agartala, Duliajan, Karimganj, Chabua, Diphu, Dibrugarh, Tezpur, Haillakandi, Mariani, Jorhat, Shillong, Digboi, Silchar, Port Blair
term consumer, however, doesnot include a person who obtainssuch goods and services forresale or for any commercialpurpose. In the proposed fourthAmendment of the ConsumerProtection Act 1986 the term'consumer' would include buy-ing of goods, hiring/availing ofservices made through anymode, inclusive of but not limitedto offline, online through elec-tronic means, teleshopping,direct selling etc.Thus, 'consumers' include thefollowing heads:
Buyer of goods orPurchaser of goods: Any per-son who purchases products forconsideration that has beenpaid, or promised or partly paidand partly promised, or underany system of deferred paymentfor final consumption is a con-sumer. The position of the buyerdepends upon the 'contract ofsale'.
User of the goods: Any per-son who uses goods with theapproval of the buyer, who hasbought goods for consideration,is a consumer. Thus all familymembers are beneficiaries of acontract and included as con-sumers.
Hirer of services: Any personwho hires or avails of any serv-ice for a consideration which hasbeen paid or promised or partlypaid and partly promised, orunder any system of deferredpayment is included as a con-sumer. The service sectorincludes banking, telecom serv-ice, postal service, insurance,railways, air travel, doctors,caterers, contractors, transportoperators, etc.
Beneficiary of services: Inrespect of services, the benefici-ary of such service is also a con-sumer. According to IndianMedical Association vs. V. P.Shanta case it was decided thatmedical practitioners are notimmune from a claim for damageson the ground of negligence. Thepatients who are rendered freeservice are the beneficiaries of theservices hired by the patients whopaid for the services. In SpringMeadows Hospital vs. HarjitAhuluwalia (1998) (2), theSupreme Court held that a con-sumer would mean a person whohires or avails of any services andincludes any beneficiary.Therefore, when a young child istaken to a hospital by his parentsand treated by the doctor then theparents and the child would comeunder the definition of a consumer.
A trader or businessmen whobuys the goods or services forresale is not a 'consumer'. TheConsumer Protection ActAmendment in 2002 excludespersons who buy goods or serv-ices for a 'commercial purpose'.However, 'commercial purpose'does not include the following:
Goods bought and used forthe purposes of earning liveli-hood by means of self-employ-ment. This means that if an indi-vidual or a family buys goods forprofessional or vocational uses/he will be a 'consumer'.
Services availed for thepurpose of earning livelihood bymeans of self-employment. Thismeans that if a person or familybuys services for professional orvocational use s/he will be a'consumer'. Thus, any personwho buys goods either for resaleor for making profit is not a 'con-sumer' under the ConsumerProtection Act. In Raj Kumar vs.
S. C. Verma, 2001 (1) CPR 437it was held that persons buyinggoods either for resale or for usein large scale profit-makingactivity would not be 'consumers'entitled relief under the Act.Filing of complaints underCPA
A complaint can be filed in theConsumer Forum by a con-sumer to whom goods are soldor delivered or agreed to be soldor delivered or such servicesprovided or agreed to be provid-ed or by a Voluntary ConsumerOrganization (VCO) or by theCentral Government or the StateGovernment, Union TerritoryAdministration or by one or moreconsumers where they are ofsame interest. In case of deathof consumer, his legal heir orrepresentatives have the rightfor filing a complaint. A complaintcan be filed within two yearsfrom the date on which thecause of action has arisen.However, a complaint may beentertained after the period if thecomplainant had sufficient causefor not filing the complaint withinsuch period by recording its rea-son for condoning such delay. Acomplaint should contain the fol-lowing details:(a)The name, description andaddress of the complainant(b)the name, description andaddress of the opposite partyor parties(c) the facts relatingthe complaint(d) when andwhere it arises, (e)documents,if any, in support of allega-tions(e) the relief sought and (f)the complaint should be signedby the complainant or his/ herauthorized agent.
No lawyer is required for fil-ing a case in consumer forum.Adjudicatory Bodies Set Upunder CPA
In order to provide speedyand simple redressal of con-sumer grievances, Chapter IIIof the Consumer Protection Actmakes provision for the estab-lishment of Remedial Agenciesfor settlement of consumers'disputes and for matters con-nected therewith. There is athree-tier system in the Act,which has been set up at dis-trict, state and national levels.They are (a) A ConsumerDisputes Redressal Forumalso known as the "DistrictForum", (b) a ConsumerDisputes RedressalCommission also known as the"State Commission" and (c) aNational Consumer DisputesRedressal Commission alsoknown as the "NationalCommission"
While the NationalCommission is set up by theCentral Government, the StateCommissions and DistrictForums are set up, in each,State and District, respectivelyby the State Government con-cerned.
At present there are 35 StateCommissions, one in eachState/UT and 629 districtforums besides the NationalCommission at the apex. Thegovernment is monitoring thedisposal of cases by the con-sumer courts through NationalCommission.
The pecuniary jurisdiction ofthe District Forum is upto Rs. 20lakhs, and that of the StateCommissions is above Rs. 20lakhs and below Rs. 1 Crore andclaims involving more than Rs. 1crore are to be filled directlybefore the National Commission.
CONSUMER PROTECTION... Continued from page 1
Printed & Published by Dr. Sadhana Rout, Additional Director General, on behalf of Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India, New Delhi and Printed at Amar Ujala Publication Ltd., C-21 & 22,Sector-59, Noida-201301. Published from Employment News (Ministry of I. & B.) East Block-IV, Level-5, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066. Senior Editor - Hasan Zia
The law provides for thecomplaint to be decided withina period of 3 months from thedate of receipt of notice by theopposite party where no analy-sis or testing of commodities isrequired to be done by the lab-oratory. If it requires analysisor testing of commodities theperiod for giving final order isfive months.Till June 1, 2015,the Consumer Courts atNational, State and Districtlevel have together registered43,11,892 cases and 3939514cases have been disposed.Thus, there are still 3.7 lakhcases which are pending withvarious consumer foras andthe disposal rate is 91.36%.Recent Schemes started bythe Government
The Ministry of ConsumerAffairs promotes and protects thewelfare of consumers. To meetthe objective, the Department isundertaking various measuresinvolving all concerned, particular-ly the students and young menand women, to strengthen theconsumer movement in the coun-try. Some of the steps recentlytaken by the Ministry of ConsumerAffairs, Food and PublicDistribution, are:a) Consumer Clubs, a schemestarted by the Ministry ofConsumer Affairs mobilisesyoungsters to strengthen theconsumer movement in thecountry. Consumer Clubs areforums where students are beapprised about their consumerrights. Youth can also explainabout consumer rights to thepeople and encourage them toboycott defective and bad quali-ty goods. They can spread themarket and the product knowl-edge to the consumers.b) GAMA portal has been
launched in 2015 to curb themenace of misleading advertise-ments. Consumers can lodgetheir complaint regarding mis-leading advertisements onwww.gama.gov.inc) Grahak Suvidha Kendrashave also been started in 2015in six states to help the ruralconsumers regarding filing ofcomplaints in local language.d) Under CONFONET schemethe consumers who have filedcomplaints in DistrictFora/State Commission/National Commission can seethe cause list, case status andjudgment through online sittingat their home or elsewhere.e) Under the multi mediacampaign 'JagoGrahakJago'a radio serial has been start-ed by the Ministry in whichadvice is given to consumersin local and regional lan-guage on consumer relatedproblems.
Conclusion:The welfare of consumersremains in their own hands. Ifthe consumers, particularly theyoung consumers whose num-ber has been going up, areresponsible, vigilant and areable to assert their rights andresponsibilities, resist/rejectsubstandard goods/ serviceswherever required and do nothesitate to seek justicethrough consumer courts ifneeded, the manufacturers,traders and service providerscannot afford to take them forgranted while selling a productor rendering service on pay-ment or to adopt any unfairtrade practice. An alert con-sumer aware of his rights andresponsibilities not only can pro-tect himself but can also makeconsumer sovereignty a reality.(The Author is AssociateProfessor, Department ofCommerce, Kamala NehruCollege, University of Delhi.e-mail: sheetal [email protected])
No. 17-13(12)/2013 RMLH (HA-I)/9484Post Graduate Institute of Medical
Education and Research
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital
New Delhi
Ministry of Health and Family WelfareGovernment of India
Notice for Walk-in-Interview on 23rd December, 2015 at 10:00 AM.Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, is intended to conduct walk-in-interview for contractual appointment for the post of Transplant Coordinatorunder National Organ Transplant Programme. The detail qualification andterms & conditions in this regard may be seen at hospital’s website.www.rmlh.nic.in.Eligible candidates will present themselves for registration which begins from18/12/2015 to 22/12/2015 between 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM except Sunday, inHA-I section, Room No. 18, Old Nursing Home Building, for the interviewalongwith the application duly filled in the prescribed format as per annexure-Iavailable on the hospital’s website.
(Chandra Shekhar)davp 17147/11/0028/1516 Dy. Director (Admn.)
38/108/Central government/Recruitment/Other/Other/ Delhi
WEN 38/A
