Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in .

To purchase quality marked products such as ISI, AGMARK etc.
- To ask for cash memo for the items purchased whenever possible.
- To make complaintfor genuine grievances consumers must know their rights and must
exercise them

- The Consumer Redressal Process is becoming cumbersome expensive and time-consuming.
- Many a time, consumers are required to engage lawyers. These cases require time for
filling and attending the court proceedings etc.
- In most purchases cash memos are not issued hence evidence is not easy together.
- Most purchases in the market are small retail sales.
- The enforcement of laws that protect workers, especially in the unorganised sectors is
weak.
- Rules and regulations for working of markets are often not followed

It came into being in an organised form in the 1960s.

They need to strictly follow the required safety rules and regulations. 

These details are about ingredients used, price, batch number, date of manufacture, expiry date and the address of the manufacture.

The Right to Information Act ensures its citizens all information about the functions of government departments.

(d) In 1991 and 1993

(a) In October, 2005

500 District Consumer Courts are there in the country.

True, 

It is worthwhile to move to consumer courts only if the damages incurred are of high value.

False,

The consumer redressal process is very simple and quick.

Consumer redressal process is becoming cumbersome, expensive and time consuming because: 

• Many a times, consumers are required to engage a lawyer, which becomes an expensive affair. 
• The cases require time for filing and attending court proceedings which may not be possible for everyone. 
• In most cases, the cash memos are not issued by the producers dr sellers to the consumers. In that case, proper evidence is not easy to gather and produce in the court. 
• The existing laws on the issue of compensation are not very clear and specific.

The consumer movement was the result of the extreme dissatisfaction of the consumers who were being befooled by the unfair practices of the sellers. It was felt necessary to stop their exploitation in the marketplace. It took many years to organize consumers, but once the task was done malpractices were brought to a halt. The values associated with this movement are: 

(i) The consumer movement became a success in India because it was highly well-organised. It symbolises team work. 

(ii) Awareness amongst people were created. It was made everyone’s responsibility to be careful while buying a commodity or service. 

(iii) It was felt necessary to protect and promote the interests of consumers against unethical and unfair trade practices.

The awareness of being a well-informed consumer arose out of consumer movement and active participation of people through their struggles over a long period. Before this movement, consumers were being exploited in a number of ways. Sometimes they were becoming the victims of hoarding and black marketing while sometimes shopkeepers sold them adulterated food. But these practices ceased to exist after the consumer movement. The movement empowered the consumers by giving them certain rights such as right to be informed, right to choose, etc. Now the consumers have every right to purchase only their things that they want to purchase.

Consumer awareness helps in making our society highly sophisticated.

(c) consumer goods

 (d) Name of the manufacturer

Three-tier quasi-judicial machinery was set up to address consumer disputes. This three-tier quasi-judicial structure was set up under the Consumer Protection Act (COPRA),1986. The Act set up three different levels that are a district, state and national level Redressal for consumer disputes. This consumer Redressal for consumer disputes is popularly known as consumer courts.

District level consumer courts deal with the cases which involve up to 20 lakhs. It will be set as consumer disputes Redressal forum in every district. It provides a free and friendly approach to the consumers. The consumer can approach the district forums without involving any fees.

State level consumer courts deal with the cases which may vary between 20lakhs to 1crore. It is also known as State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, and also it has jurisdiction over district forums.

National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission is the national level court for the whole country which deals with disputes more than one crore. It the apex body of consumer courts.

COPRA was passed in the year 1986.

The consumer movement was from the emergence of the dissatisfaction that took place among the consumers, due to the unfair trade practices by the producers or sellers. There was no legal system which favoured the consumers from the exploitations. Eventually, the consumers were not happy with the brands and products which was there in the market. They had no choice other than to avoid buying it or avoid going into the shops. It was supposed that the consumer is the person who should be careful before buying a product, there was no burden levied on the sellers. It took many years in India to bring out the consumer organization, to create awareness amongst the people. This awareness made a drastic shift in the quality of the goods and services on the sellers.

In India, the Consumer Movement originated as a ‘social force’ for protecting and promoting the consumers against the unethical and unfair trade practices. The consumer movement was organized in the 1960s because of the continuous emergence of the rampant food shortage, hoarding, black marketing, adulteration of food and edible oil. Till 1970’s the consumer movement was largely engaged in the writing articles and holding exhibition. They formed the consumer group into look after the malpractices that is taking place in the ration shops and overcrowding in road transport. This led to the upsurge in the number of consumer groups in India.

Another main reason for the evolution of the consumer movement is the demand-supply gap. If the demand for the goods and services exceeds the supply, it creates the weak bargaining power for the consumer and increases the price of the goods and services. This situation can be created by the sellers by the process of the artificial scarcity. Artificial scarcity can be created by the black marketing and hoarding. This is also an unfair practice against the consumers which also contributed to the consumer movement.

Because of these continuous efforts, the movement succeeded in bringing pressure in the business firm as well as government to correct business demeanor which may be unfair and aligned with the interests of consumers at large. A major step taken in 1986 by the Indian government was the implementation of the Consumer Protection Act 1986, popularly known as COPRA

Consumer movements can be effective only when there is voluntary participation of the consumers. The consumer voluntarily takes part in the movement when there are wide spread consumer disputes in the country. Movement cannot when there is only one or two people, there must be a huge volume of people to lead the movement. The consumer movement arose out of dissatisfaction of the consumers as many unfair practices were being indulged in by the sellers. There was no legal system available to consumers to protect them from exploitation in the marketplace. Self-awareness is the first step for the effectiveness of the movement. Awareness is the creation of the process. The consumer must be aware of his rights and duties.

In India, the consumer movement as a ‘social force’ emerged with the necessity of protecting and promoting the interests of consumers against unethical and unfair trade practices. Extensive food shortages, hoarding, black marketing, adulteration of food and edible oil gave birth to the consumer movement in an organized form in the 1960s. Till the 1970s, consumer organizations were largely engaged in writing articles and holding exhibitions. They formed consumer groups to look into the malpractices in ration shops and overcrowding in the road passenger transport. The emergence of the consumer movement in India was because of increased violations against the consumers.

Because of all these efforts, the movement succeeded in bringing pressure on business firms as well as government to correct business conduct which may be unfair and against the interests of consumers at large. A major step taken in 1986 by the Indian government was the implementation of the Consumer Protection Act 1986, popularly known as COPRA. This movement was effective because of the widespread consumer dispute in India.

Consumers are individuals or entities engaged in the purchase of goods and services by the full or partial payment of cash or have made a promise to pay the defined amount after a specified period of time. Consumers are largely oppressed by the sellers and manufacturers by hoarding, the black market, and other malpractices. These malpractices and exploitations have led to the emergence of various consumer movements throughout the country.

The situation in which the buyers do not receive the benefits and services according to the buyer's value or the situation in which the sellers receives or charges the value of commodities higher than its value is known as consumer exploitation. Consumer
movement largely arises because of the dissatisfaction and oppression faced by them in the market. The absence of proper Redressal mechanism forced them to organise themselves for the protection and achievement of their rights.

For many years, it was believed that the consumers were responsible for ensuring that they remained safe from exploitations from the sellers. But because of the development of consumer movements across the world and by the changes in the country's social structures, the consumers started organising themselves collectively to form dominant consumer movements. Thus the consumer movements in India can be characterized as a social movement.

The consumer movement emerged as a social force with the participation from a variety of social group. With the problems of hoarding and other malpractices in the rise in the late 1960s, the consumers slowly started coming together to claim their rights and protection from the exploitative practices of the sellers. The consumer movement involved publishing articles, writing in papers, holding meetings and many other exhibitions throughout the country.

The spread of the consumer movement was very rapid throughout the country. The business firms and the government were forced to conduct business in a fair manner and ensure the protection of their rights. This finally led to the enactment of Consumer Protection Act in 1986.

The consumer movement is still spreading in the country. The success of the movement will ensure the ethical practices by the business houses and firms.

(i)—(e) (ii)—(c) (iii)—(a) (iv)—(b) (v)—(f ) (vi)—(d).

True, 

India is one of the many countries in the world which has exclusive courts for consumer redresl.

False,

COPRA applies only to goods.

There are many factors that gave birth to the consumer movement in India. It started as a social force with the need to protect and promote the interests of the consumers against unfair and unethical trade practices. Extreme food shortages, hoarding, black marketing and adulteration of food led to the consumer movement becoming an “organised arena” in the 1960s. Till the 1970s, consumer organisations were mostly busy writing articles and holding exhibitions. More recently, there has been an upsurge in the number of consumer groups who have shown concern towards ration shop malpractices and overcrowding of public transport vehicles. In 1986, the Indian government enacted the Consumer Protection Act, also known as COPRA. This was a major step in the consumer movement in India.

The factors that gave birth to Consumer Movement in India are:

•  There was dissatisfaction among the consumers regarding unfair trade practices i being indulged by the producers and sellers. 
• There was no legal system available for the protection of consumers from exploitation in the market place.
• Rampart food shortages, hoarding, black-marketing and adulteration of food and edible oil posed a threat to the consumers. 
• The consumers were unaware about their rights. So, to educate and make them aware, consumer movement began.

 The factors that gave birth to Consumer Movement in India are:

• There was dissatisfaction among the consumers regarding unfair trade practices being indulged by the producers and sellers. 
• There was no legal system available for the protection of consumers from exploitation in the market place. 
• Rampart food shortages, hoarding, black-marketing and adulteration of food and edible oil posed a threat to the consumers.
• The consumers were unaware about their rights. So, to educate and make them aware, consumer movement began.

Consumers participate in the market when they purchase goods and services that which they are in need of. These will be mostly final goods which will be ready for consumption.

Individual consumers often find themselves in a weak position. Whenever there is a complaint regarding the goods and services that had been brought, the seller tries to shift whole responsibility to the consumer as if they are not responsible for anything.

Consumers can express their solidarity by forming consumer groups that write articles or hold exhibitions against traders’ exploitation. These groups guide individuals on how to approach a consumer court, and they even fight cases for consumers. Such groups receive financial aid from the government to create public awareness. Participation of one and all will further strengthen consumer solidarity.

The consumer movement in India has made some progress in terms of numbers of organised groups and their activities. There are today more than 700 consumer groups in the country of which, unfortunately only about 20-25 are well organised and recognised for their work. However, the consumer redressal process is becoming cumbersome, expensive and time consuming because many a time, consumers are required to engage lawyers. These cases require time for filing and attending the court proceedings etc. In most purchases cash memos are not issued hence evidence is not easy to gather. Moreover most purchases in the market are small retail sales. The existing laws are also not very clear on the issue of compensation to consumers injured by defective products. Filing cases, attending court proceedings, hiring lawyers, and other procedures make it cumbersome.

International standards must be set up to the entire products to ensure the quality of the product. The standards must be well verified and tested by the experts. The best-known standard in India is ISI for iron and steel, Agmark for food items and so on.

Special attention is required to ensure the safety of consumers. One of the goods which needs special attention to safety is a pressure cooker. The pressure cooker has safety valve, which if defective can cause a serious accident. The manufacturers should ensure high standards and the consumers should read all the instructions given on the box of the pressure cooker.

Any consumer who receives a service in whatever capacity, regardless of age, gender and nature of service, has the right to choose whether to continue to receive the service. The definition of Right to Choose as per the Consumer Protection Act 1986 is ‘the right to be assured, wherever possible, to have access to a mixture of goods and services at competitive prices’. For regulating the market place, there is just one factor mandatory and that is competition. The existence of cartels, oligopolies and monopolies prove to be counterproductive to consumerism. It is rarely seen that people want to switch the power company, in the times when they have a faint at home. It is interesting to know that even micro markets like fish vendors in some cities are known to plan and discourage the consumers’ bargaining power. No matter what size or form, or span, but the collusion of various companies which sell an analogous kind of product is unethical or say less legal. It can be anticipated that India has to stride for about 20 more years for empowering its citizens fully in this regard.

For example gas supply dealers insist that you have to buy the stove from them when you take a new connection. In this case, the consumer has no choice but to go with the given choices.

A market place is an economic system through which different companies compete among one another, to sell their products. 

According to this right, a consumer has freedom to choose from a variety of products at competitive prices. This implies that the marketers should offer a wide variety of products in terms of quality, brand, prices, size etc. and allow the consumers to make a choice from amongst these.

For example, a consumer wants to buy a toothbrush but the shopkeeper says that he will sell the toothbrush only if the consumer will buy toothpaste. Such a situation is denial of right to choose.

Consumer movement arose out of dissatisfaction of the consumers as many unfair practices were being indulged in by the sellers.

I would like to see the logo ISI for purchasing electrical goods. 

The precautions should be kept in mind by a consumer while purchasing medicines from the market are: 

• He should check the expiry date of the medicines before purchasing them.
• He should check the details given on the packets of the medicines such as directions for use, side effects and risks.
• He should always ask for cash memos or bills for medicines purchased as it is a proof of purchase.

The consumer can be a consumer of goods or a consumer of services. The situation in which the buyers do not receive the benefits and services according to the buyer's value or the situation in which the sellers receives or charges the value of commodities higher than its value is known as consumer exploitation. Therefore it is very much essential to safeguard the consumers from exploitation. Because of the intention for the safety of the consumers and to avoid the exploitation in quality of the product it is necessary to follow strict rules while the production process.

While buying medicines, one should check the information like directions for proper use, information related to its side effects, risks associated with its usage, manufacturing date and expiry date.

Before buying any packed food, one should check the information related to ingredients used, price, batch number, manufacturing date, expiry date and address of the manufacturer.

Consumer Rights Day celebrated in  15th March.

ISI organisation provides redressal to consumer grievances.

(c) International Organisation for Standardisation

(c) Consumers.

Rules and regulations are required for the protection of consumers in the market place due to the following reasons: 

• Sometimes, traders indulge in unfair trade practices such as underweight, undermeasurement, adulteration, hoarding etc. 
• Most of the consumers are unaware of their rights and they are often deceived by the suppliers. 
• Whenever a complaint regarding goods or services is made, the seller tries to shift all the responsibility on the buyer.
•  Sometimes, the sellers make false claims about the durability and quality of their products through advertisements, catchy slogans and jingles. 
• Sometimes, the sellers create artificial scarcity through hoarding and black marketing to sell the goods at higher prices. 
• Sometimes, the sellers indulge in adulteration of goods and provide poor quality goods in order to achieve the goals of profit and growth.

The Government of India can protect the interests of the consumers in many ways. Some of them are: 

• It should formulate rules and regulations to protect and safeguard the interest of consumers. 
• It should enforced these rules and regulations on a regular basis, so that producers should maintain a certain minimum level of quality. 
• A three tier quasi-judicial machinery has been set up at district, state and national level for redressal of consumer disputes. 
• It has also passed the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to safeguard the interest of consumers which provides various rights and responsibilities to consumers.
• Posters are regularly advertised in the newspapers under the name Jago Grahak Jago through which the government spreads information. if) Consumer Protection Councils are also working for the welfare and protection of consumer rights. They write articles and hold exhibitions to impart knowledge about consumer rights and consumer problems. 

Consumer awareness is essential to avoid exploitation in the market place as: 

• Consumers must be aware of not only the goods and services but also legal measures to protect themselves. 
• If consumers are actively involved, companies will also be on their guard to provide better goods and services. 
• Consumers must be aware of anti-social activities like hoarding, black marketing etc.
• It makes consumer a rational consumer having knowledge of how market works.
• It enables consumer to be aware of government policies for certification marks such ISI, Agmark that ensure product quality for consumers. 
• It enables consumer to use Right to Information Act (RTI) to get information on functioning of government departments.

Consumer exploitation is a situation in which a consumer is cheated or given false information by the producer.