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NATIONAL SEMINAR ON

“CONSUMER WORLD – A 360⁰ PERSPECTIVE”

(September 8-9, 2016)

The Centre for Consumer Studies, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New

Delhi in collaboration with Department of Commerce, Quaid-E-Milleth Government

College for Women, Chennai conducted a two day National Seminar on “Consumer

World – a 360⁰ Perspective” on 8th& 9th September, 2016.The Seminar was sponsored

by Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India. 380 participants attended the

seminar.

The objectives of the Seminar were to:

to enhance the knowledge and skill of the participants in the area of Consumer Protection and Consumer Welfare;

understand the need and importance of Consumer Protection and Welfare and

the role of various stakeholders;

explain the various provisions of the Consumer Protection Act and other

legislations having a bearing on Consumer Protection;

discuss the legal dimensions of Consumer Protection in different service sectors

such as housing, medical, banking, insurance etc and

enhance knowledge and skill to provide consumers with information

related to products and services.

Inaugural session

The Inaugural session commenced with Mrs.

Geetha Rajan, Associate Professor & Head, Department

of Commerce welcoming the gathering. Followed by this

the dignitaries lighted the lamp to symbolically mark the

inaugural of the Seminar.

Mrs. Geetha Rajan, Associate Professor & Head delivering the Welcome Address

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In his brief inaugural address, Mr. L.

Singaram, Deputy Commissioner (South),

Department of Civil Supplies & Consumer

Protection urged the Citizen Consumer Clubs of

schools and colleges to actively take up the task

of spreading consumer awareness.

Delivering the Keynote Address, Prof.

Suresh Misra, Chair Professor &

Coordinator, Centre for Consumer Studies,

IIPA outlined the activities of IIPA briefly

since the days of its inception. He then

elaborated the rights available to the

consumers under the Consumer Protection

Act and the ignorance of the same on the

part of the consumers. He cautioned the

consumers to be wary of the nefarious

designs of the manufacturers and to make a wise choice in the market place. He also

spoke about the relevance of the Consumer Protection Bill in the context of widespread

changes happening in the global arena. He concluded his address by appealing to the

consumers to abhor the practice of living by greed and urged them to live by need.

Mr. L. Singaram, Deputy Commissioner

delivering the Inaugural Address

Prof. Suresh Misra delivering the Keynote

Address

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In her Special Address, Dr. V. Radha, Principal,

Quaid-E-Milleth Government College for Women

lauded the initiative of the Department of Commerce

and spoke about the relevance of the theme of the

seminar in today’s liberalised world. The inaugural

session concluded with Mrs.M.Maharasi, Associate

Professor of Commerce delivering the vote of thanks.

TECHNICAL SESSION I TOPIC: CONSUMER PROTECTION - AN OVERVIEW

RESOURCE PERSON: Dr. SURESH MISRA

CHAIR PROFESSOR AND COORDINATOR CENTRE FOR CONSUMER STUDIES

IIPA, NEW DELHI

In the opening session, Prof. Suresh Misra traced

the role of the consumer, right from the confines of a

mother’s womb and added that awareness about the

Consumer Protection Act assumes significance with a

high percentage of population being young. He

Dignitaries on the Dias

Dr. V. Radha addressing the participants

Prof. Suresh Misra during the session on “Consumer Protection - An Overview”

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explained the several parameters of consumer protection and factors affecting

consumers in a changing economy. He appealed to the youth to be clear about the

fundamentals of the market. The psychological, socio-cultural, marketing and

environmental factors that affect consumer buying behaviour were also dealt. He then

highlighted the unfair means adopted by business men to thrive in the market place by

giving visual examples of common pass off/look alike products. The topic of food

adulteration was supported by the survey data of FSSAI. He outlined the road to ethics

in business which is to start from product development and culminate in customer

service. He concluded by saying that consumers should ensure protection against

defects in goods, deficiency in service and deceptive trade practices. The session left

the audience to ponder about the extent of their safety in the market place.

TECHNICAL SESSION II TOPIC: CONSUMER EDUCATION AND AWARENESS

RESOURCE PERSON: Dr. MAMTA PATHANIA

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IIPA, NEW DELHI

The speaker commenced the session with

a very apt quote of Mahatma Gandhi that the

“Earth provides enough for everyone’s need and

not for their greed. She then elaborated on the

six rights guaranteed by the Consumer

Protection Act. The manner in which consumer

education enhanced the ability to gather

consumer information and the impact of the

same on the consumer was well brought out by

the speaker. The abhorrable practices of under

weighing, selling sub-standard/duplicate goods, surge pricing and food adulteration

gave an understanding of the manner in which consumers are being exploited.

Important information sources available for grievance redressal with special reference to

National Consumer Helpline gave the audience the hope that they are not alone in their

Dr. Mamta Pathania during the session

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fight against an erring manufacturer. The precautions to be followed by the consumer

be it buying a simple thing like that of a sweet or plastic to an expensive product like

that of gold was well received by the participants. Standard marks and lables including

ISI mark, vegetarian and non-vegetarian symbols, Hallmark and Agmark were shown

visually. The speaker concluded the session by appealing to the audience to make the

right choice that is well informed, economical, serves their needs and safe for the self

and the environment.

‘TECHNICAL SESSION III TOPIC: ROLE OF NGOs IN CONSUMER PROTECTION

RESOURCE PERSON: Mrs. S. SAROJA

Director, Consumer Advisory and Outreach Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group

The resource person started the session by

giving a brief about registered consumer

organizations and the funding support extended by

the government – both at the Central and State

level. She brought to light the effective functioning

of Citizen Consumer Clubs in schools and colleges

in Tamilnadu. She hailed the role of consumer

Participants in the Seminar

Mrs. S. Saroja addressing the participants

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organisations for playing their part in policy making procedures of the government. The

redressal procedure and forums available for aggrieved consumers gave a good

understanding about the legal remedies available for consumer complaints. The ways

and means of overcoming medical negligence was also highlighted. She was of the

view that solving service related complaints amicably should take precedence over legal

recourse. She ended her session by elaborating the cases of consumer complaints

redressed successfully through consumer courts’ leaving the audience to exalt that

consumer is really the king.

TECHNICAL SESSION IV

TOPIC: MISLEADING ADVERTISEMSNTS RESOURCE PERSON:

Mr. S. MARTIN Secretary, Trichy Payaneetallar Iyakkam

The session on Misleading Advertisements started by highlighting the lack of

social responsibility on the part of corporates

while publicizing their products and moved on to

celebrity endorsements to make the audience

think about the extent to which the celebrities

would actually use the endorsed product. Health

remedies advertised by quacks promising quick

fix solutions for problems relating to heart,

arthritis, hair loss, skin- toning, etc. were brought

out with a tinge of humour. The false claims

relating to health drinks meant for children in

terms of brain development, growth of children, etc. were brought out with examples of

brands making such claims. The speaker cautioned the audience not to fall prey for tall

claims of manufacturers offering unimaginable discounts. The laws governing

misleading and unethical advertisements along with avenues available for complaining

were well received by the audience.

Mr. S. Martin during the session on Misleading Advertisements

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Day Two TECHNICAL SESSION V

TOPIC: FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS RESOURCE PERSON:

Mrs. KALYANI RAJARAMAN Project Director, Student Consumer Club

Consumers Association of India

On the second day of the Seminar the

first session commenced with the speaker

tracing the secret behind the healthy lives of

rishis and sages of yester years. The little

known facts about GM food, irradiated,

proprietary and functional food were

highlighted. A good understanding was given

about food processing and supply chain, food

additives, food adulteration and food

contamination. Issues such as contaminated

ready to eat batter, high TFA in bakery

products, use of reheated oil, artificial ripening of fruits, pesticide dense vegetables and

hot food packed in plastic bags were explained as modern day problems related to food.

The survey result of CAI done on commonly relished sweets and snacks was shared to

drive home the concept of health consciousness. To conclude, the speaker brought out

the salient features of Food Safety and Standards Act to give a wholesome

understanding of the topic.

Mrs. Kalyani Rajaraman during the session on Food Safety and Standards

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TECHNICAL SESSION VI TOPIC: PROBLEMS OF WOMEN CONSUMERS

RESOURCE PERSON: Mrs. NIRMALA DESIKAN

Chairman and Managing Director Consumers Association of India

This session highlighted the fact that women are

conscious buyers and that they are the decsion makers of

the family. It is due to this fact that the manufacturers

target women and focus on keeping them happy. The

speaker went on to add that women constituted a large

percentage of the total buyers and they sought full value

for their money. To conclude the session, she urged the

participants to always demand a bill and reminded them

that no manufacturer can shun his responsibility by

proclaiming ‘goods once sold cannot be taken back.’

TECHNICAL SESSION VII

TOPIC: ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION And The CONSUMER RESOURCE PERSON:

Mrs. K.J. VIJAYATHILAGAM Superintendent

Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Government of Tamil Nadu

The relationship between consumer,

sustainable consumption and environment was

portrayed initially which was followed by

consequences of environmental degradation and

the need for sustainable development.

Unsustainable food, water, chemicals and energy

were mentioned as the consequences of

Mrs. Nirmala Desikan during the session

Mrs. K.J. Vijayathilagam during the session

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unsustainable existence. The outcome of unsustainable production practices of the

manufacturers was also brought out. Sustainable development was given as the

solution for the problem which involved sustainable production and consumption

patterns. The participants were urged to practice 5R’s in their daily life namely, Refuse,

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rethink. An action plan to promote sustainable daily living

was given for consumption of food, fuel, electrical energy, LPG and chemicals. The

session ended with the speaker making an appeal to patronize green marketing due to

its minimum implication on the environment.

TECHNICAL SESSION VIII

TOPIC: e-COMMERCE AND CYBER SECURITY RESOURCE PERSON: Dr. HARISH RAMANI

Director and Chief Technology Officer Internet Techies

The speaker commenced the session by

giving an understanding of the concept of ‘Social

Engineering.’ Followed by this, the need for being

secure in the cyber space and the threats faced in

terms of Trojans, Malware, Adware and Spyware

were stressed. The various modes of unauthorised

access and tampering were given to stress on data

loss. To conclude, the best practices to be followed

in the context of following security principles

according to guidelines and planned recovery

processes were highlighted. In all, the speaker dealt with technical issues governing e-

commerce and cyber security with great aplomb.

Dr. Harish Ramani during the session on E-commerce and Cyber Security

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Valedictory Session

The valedictory session commenced with

Mrs. Geetha Rajan, Associate Professor & Head,

Department of Commerce welcoming the gathering.

Dr. S. Sasikala, Regional Joint Director, Chennai in

her Valedictory Address lauded the initiatives of the

Department of Commerce. She spoke about the

relevance of the theme of the seminar in the current

context of globalisation. She spoke in length about

misleading advertisements and its impact on buying

behaviour. She made a real time assessment of the success of the seminar by

questioning the students about the knowledge assimilated during the seminar.

In his concluding remarks, Prof.

Suresh Misra, Chair Professor &

Coordinator, Centre for Consumer

Studies, IIPA, lauded the manner in which

the seminar was organised and the choice

of resource persons. He expressed his

confidence about the usefulness of the

seminar for the participants and went on to

inform about the training programmes

offered by IIPA in the area of consumer

protection. He suggested that college can

conduct activities to raise consumer

awareness during days of importance such as the World Consumer Rights Day and

National Consumer Rights Day. Citing the instance of Delhi University he appealed to

the Regional Joint Director to introduce consumer education and research as part of the

curriculum. He thanked the Principal and the Faculty of the Department of Commerce

Dr. S. Sasikala delivering the Valedictory Address

Prof. Suresh Misra addressing the

participants

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for their efforts in organising the seminar. He expressed his interest in furthering the

asscociation of IIPA with the college and concluded his address by appealing to the

organisers to carry forward the consumer movement. The seminar concluded with Dr.

S. Suriyakanthi, Associate Professor of Commerce delivering the vote of thanks.

(Mamta Pathania) (Suresh Mirsa)

(Seminar Coordinators)