Lok Sabha Question No. 280 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-15
Subject: Consumer Welfare Fund
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Rahul Ramesh Shewale

## Government of India

## Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 280

TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.09.2020

## CONSUMER WELFARE FUND

## 280. SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE:

## Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION उपभोक् तामाम  ,खाद्यऔरसार्वजनिकनर्तरणमंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  started  consumer  movement  to  protect  the  interests  of  the consumers and speedy redressal of their grievances in the country;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  consumers  benefitted  from  this  movement  during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has set up Consumer Welfare Fund to strengthen the consumer movement in the country;
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with achievements made from setting up of such fund so far;
- (e) the funds provided to States/UTs for strengthening the consumer movement along with its utilisation during the said period, State/UT-wise; and
- (f) the  other  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  protect  the  interests  of  the consumers across the country?

## ANSWER

## उपभोक् तामाम  ,खाद्यऔरसार्वजनिकनर्तरणराज् यमंत्री )श्रीदािर् रार्साह बदादारार्(

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI DANVE RAOSAHEB DADARAO)

(a) & (b) : Yes, Sir. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 had set in motion a consumer movement in the country. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 which came into effect from 20 th July  2020, and  replaces  the  Consumer  Protection  Act  of  1986  would  give  greater  fillip  to  the  ongoing consumer  movement  in  the  country.  Consumers  have  been  able  to  redress  their  grievances/ complaints against any defect in goods purchased or deficiencies in any services availed including any  unfair/restrictive  trade  practices  adopted,  through  specialized  quasi-judicial  agencies,  now commonly  known  as  'consumer  commissions',  that  have  been  established  at  the  District  level (District  Consumer  Disputes  Redressal  Commission),  State  level  (State  Consumer  Disputes Redressal Commission) and National level (National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission). These consumer commissions have been mandated by the law to render simple, inexpensive and speedy adjudication of consumer complaints. The details  of  cases filed and disposed of by the Consumer  Commissions  in  the  last  three  years  2017,  2018,  2019  and  current  year,  are  at Annexure-I .

(c) to  (e) : Consumer Welfare Fund was created in 1992 with the objective of providing financial assistance  to  promote  and  protect  the  welfare  of  the  consumers,  create  consumer  awareness  and strengthen  consumer  movement  in  the  country.  Financial  assistance  is  provided  to  Voluntary Consumer Organisations / Institutions for undertaking consumer advocacy / awareness and to State Government / Union Territories for setting up State Consumer Welfare Fund. The details of funds provided to States / UTs for strengthening the consumer movement during each of the last three years and the current year, State / UT-wise is at Annexure-II .

(f) :  The  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019  provides  for  establishment  of  the  Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers as a  class.    The  Act  provides  for    simplifying  the  consumer  dispute  adjudication  process  in  the Consumer  Commissions,  which  include,  among  others,  empowerment  of  the  State  and  District Commissions to review their own Orders, enabling a consumer to file complaints electronically and file  complaints in Consumer Commissions that have jurisdiction over the place of his residence, video  conferencing  for  hearing  and  deemed  admissibility  of  complaints  if  the  question  of admissibility is not decided within the specified period of 21 days. To simplify the adjudication process, mediation, as an Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism, has been provided in the new Act.  The  Act  introduces  the  concept  of  product  liability  and  brings  within  its  scope  the  product manufacturer, the product service provider and the product seller, for any claim for compensation. To protect the interests of the consumers, the Govt. has launched the 'Jago Grahak Jago' campaign through  electronic  and  print  media  for  consumer  awareness  and  joint  awareness  campaigns  on consumer rights and responsibilities in key sectors  - Health, Food, Financial Services and other Departments for greater consumer awareness. The Government  has set up a National Consumer Helpline and to cater to the needs of consumers, regional languages, six Zonal Consumer Helplines have also been set up at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Jaipur, Guwahati & Patna.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.280 FOR 15.09.2020 REGARDING CONSUMER WELFARE FUND..

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## NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION

| 2017   | 2017     | 2018   | 2018     | 2019   | 2019     | 2020 (till 13.09.2020)   | 2020 (till 13.09.2020)   |
|--------|----------|--------|----------|--------|----------|--------------------------|--------------------------|
| Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed | Filed                    | Disposed                 |
| 10807  | 5883     | 8992   | 6379     | 7800   | 6530     | 2327                     | 2486                     |

## STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION

|                         | 2017   | 2017     | 2018   | 2018     | 2019   | 2019     | 2020 (till 13.09.2020)   | 2020 (till 13.09.2020)   |
|-------------------------|--------|----------|--------|----------|--------|----------|--------------------------|--------------------------|
| Name of the State       | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed | Filed                    | Disposed                 |
| Andhra Pradesh          | 571    | 466      | 738    | 362      | 539    | 647      | 76                       | 254                      |
| A &NIslands             | 4      | 6        | 2      | 5        | 8      | 1        | 2                        | 0                        |
| Arunachal Pradesh       | 4      | 2        | 11     | 0        | 3      | 4        | 0                        | 0                        |
| Assam                   | 119    | 16       | 127    | 36       | 72     | 39       | 12                       | 13                       |
| Bihar                   | 295    | 96       | 164    | 37       | 87     | 2        | 26                       | 0                        |
| Chandigarh              | 1236   | 1191     | 887    | 997      | 646    | 591      | 252                      | 130                      |
| Chattisgarh             | 1096   | 1137     | 1190   | 1163     | 1090   | 1044     | 325                      | 438                      |
| D &NHaveli / Daman &Diu | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0                        | 0                        |
| Delhi                   | 2965   | 2175     | 2357   | 1745     | 1864   | 1858     | 329                      | 457                      |
| Goa                     | 238    | 165      | 194    | 139      | 129    | 188      | 32                       | 25                       |
| Gujarat                 | 1046   | 1189     | 1297   | 1219     | 1143   | 1289     | 494                      | 381                      |
| Haryana                 | 2620   | 1425     | 2236   | 1189     | 1624   | 717      | 520                      | 154                      |
| Himachal Pradesh        | 414    | 276      | 459    | 339      | 536    | 419      | 155                      | 142                      |
| Jammu &Kashmir          | 54     | 29       | 71     | 9        | 25     | 18       | 0                        | 0                        |
| Jharkhand               | 353    | 56       | 332    | 43       | 139    | 42       | 36                       | 12                       |
| Karnataka               | 586    | 0        | 14     | 0        | 1142   | 9        | 753                      | 5                        |
| Kerala                  | 1185   | 418      | 990    | 587      | 616    | 587      | 190                      | 177                      |
| Lakshadweep             | 0      | 0        | 1      | 0        | 0      | 0        | 0                        | 0                        |
| Madhya Pradesh          | 2520   | 576      | 829    | 1141     | 2831   | 2145     | 800                      | 606                      |
| Maharashtra             | 3485   | 932      | 2546   | 1382     | 2829   | 1694     | 774                      | 243                      |
| Manipur                 | 11     | 14       | 14     | 6        | 10     | 5        | 4                        | 0                        |
| Meghalaya               | 5      | 2        | 3      | 1        | 0      | 0        | 0                        | 0                        |
| Mizoram                 | 8      | 0        | 11     | 6        | 3      | 1        | 2                        | 0                        |
| Nagaland                | 0      | 0        | 10     | 2        | 5      | 6        | 0                        | 0                        |
| Orissa                  | 960    | 254      | 700    | 123      | 542    | 146      | 182                      | 237                      |
| Pondicherry             | 41     | 31       | 17     | 26       | 7      | 1        | 6                        | 1                        |
| Punjab                  | 2072   | 2491     | 1817   | 2024     | 1874   | 1689     | 500                      | 703                      |
| Rajasthan               | 1678   | 2153     | 1355   | 1746     | 1651   | 1720     | 496                      | 532                      |
| Sikkim                  | 4      | 4        | 5      | 3        | 7      | 8        | 0                        | 3                        |
| Tamilnadu               | 562    | 334      | 559    | 287      | 514    | 280      | 99                       | 504                      |
| Telangana               | 918    | 1029     | 1029   | 663      | 1100   | 560      | 616                      | 173                      |
| Tripura                 | 68     | 80       | 47     | 54       | 52     | 51       | 12                       | 21                       |
| Uttar Pradesh           | 3096   | 3809     | 2904   | 2544     | 1984   | 1881     | 490                      | 339                      |
| Uttarakhand             | 212    | 294      | 331    | 289      | 508    | 155      | 138                      | 10                       |
| Total                   |        | 22814    |        |          | 25668  | 19877    |                          |                          |
|                         | 31067  |          | 25387  | 20859    |        |          | 7836                     | 6015                     |

## DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION

| Name of the State     | 2017   | 2017     | 2018   | 2018     | 2019   | 2019     | 2020 (till 13.09.2020)   | 2020 (till 13.09.2020)   |
|-----------------------|--------|----------|--------|----------|--------|----------|--------------------------|--------------------------|
| Name of the State     | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed | Filed  | Disposed | Filed                    | Disposed                 |
| Andhra Pradesh        | 1761   | 2205     | 1935   | 1791     | 1974   | 1289     | 494                      | 204                      |
| A &NIslands           | 32     | 28       | 24     | 40       | 34     | 27       | 14                       | 9                        |
| Arunachal Pradesh     | 14     | 19       | 26     | 10       | 27     | 4        | 0                        | 0                        |
| Assam                 | 452    | 423      | 406    | 382      | 354    | 192      | 131                      | 62                       |
| Bihar                 | 2408   | 479      | 3015   | 1403     | 3236   | 1732     | 826                      | 367                      |
| Chandigarh            | 1845   | 2053     | 1424   | 1573     | 2346   | 1972     | 776                      | 532                      |
| Chattisgarh           | 3218   | 2497     | 4531   | 3505     | 4248   | 4126     | 1604                     | 1438                     |
| D &NHaveli /          | 8      | 4        | 8      | 1        | 3      | 2        | 0                        | 0                        |
| Daman &Diu            |        |          |        |          |        |          |                          |                          |
| Delhi                 | 5261   | 4026     | 4362   | 4727     | 4255   | 4103     | 1016                     | 835                      |
| Goa                   | 190    | 444      | 169    | 180      | 182    | 189      | 78                       | 61                       |
| Gujarat               | 7739   | 6682     | 8222   | 6267     | 11545  | 6755     | 4843                     | 2588                     |
| Haryana               | 7671   | 10048    | 7509   | 7255     | 11352  | 7947     | 5138                     | 1862                     |
| Himachal Pradesh      | 1464   | 1591     | 1411   | 1523     | 1491   | 1697     | 274                      | 262                      |
| Jammu &Kashmir        | 421    | 100      | 413    | 314      | 189    | 127      | 0                        | 0                        |
| Jharkhand             | 1199   | 646      | 1222   | 627      | 945    | 294      | 232                      | 32                       |
| Karnataka             | 8061   | 9500     | 8909   | 8533     | 8887   | 8126     | 3193                     | 2487                     |
| Kerala                | 5317   | 5234     | 4729   | 4596     | 4937   | 2862     | 2148                     | 1095                     |
| Lakshadweep           | 4      | 3        | 0      | 2        | 0      | 0        | 0                        | 0                        |
| Madhya Pradesh        | 10560  | 7530     | 8312   | 4013     | 11935  | 10019    | 5357                     | 2746                     |
| Maharashtra           | 12268  | 13714    | 14964  | 12279    | 16691  | 13752    | 6083                     | 3795                     |
| Manipur               | 26     | 30       | 18     | 18       | 25     | 12       | 2                        | 8                        |
| Meghalaya             | 51     | 26       | 48     | 26       | 39     | 33       | 7                        | 1                        |
| Mizoram               | 55     | 30       | 67     | 33       | 49     | 18       | 11                       | 47                       |
| Nagaland              | 10     | 0        | 12     | 0        | 11     | 0        | 0                        | 0                        |
| Orissa                | 3360   | 2538     | 2934   | 2167     | 3367   | 1390     | 1559                     | 567                      |
| Pondicherry           | 59     | 57       | 41     | 54       | 54     | 0        | 15                       | 0                        |
| Punjab                | 7913   | 6684     | 8524   | 6097     | 9667   | 7376     | 4475                     | 1751                     |
| Rajasthan             | 14998  | 14356    | 10681  | 11295    | 9813   | 11509    | 5012                     | 2559                     |
| Sikkim                | 17     | 13       | 25     | 19       | 27     | 21       | 1                        | 2                        |
| Tamilnadu             | 2729   | 2231     | 2826   | 3040     | 3107   | 2596     | 867                      | 414                      |
| Telangana             | 1769   | 1604     | 2173   | 1887     | 2258   | 2238     | 777                      | 1197                     |
| Tripura Uttar Pradesh | 182    | 183 9839 | 109    | 134      | 149    | 121      | 66                       | 31                       |
|                       | 16580  |          | 16844  | 10485    | 17982  | 7716     | 5754                     | 1576                     |
| Uttarakhand           | 1058   | 774      | 1172   | 1253     | 1356   | 1891     | 823                      | 677                      |
| West                  | 5442   | 5447     | 5088   |          | 5512   |          |                          | 900                      |
| Bengal                |        |          |        | 4523     |        | 4361     | 1588                     |                          |

ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (c) to (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.280 FOR 15.09.2020 REGARDING CONSUMER WELFARE FUND..

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GRANTS  RELEASED  TO  STATE  GOVERNMENTS  UNDER  CONSUMER  WELFARE FUND

## Financial Year 2017-18

| S. No.   | State / UT   | Amount Released   |
|----------|--------------|-------------------|
| 1.       | Jharkhand    | Rs 313.47 Lakh    |
| 2.       | Nagaland     | Rs 60.00 Lakh     |
| 3.       | Telangana    | Rs 479.00 Lakh    |
|          | Total        | Rs 852.47 Lakh    |

## Financial Year 2018-19

| S. No.   | State / UT     | Amount Released   |
|----------|----------------|-------------------|
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh | Rs 133.92 Lakh    |
| 2.       | Jharkhand      | Rs 36.53 Lakh     |
| 3.       | Rajasthan      | Rs 750.00 Lakh    |
| 4.       | Telangana      | Rs 0.08 Lakh      |
|          | Total          | Rs 920.53 Lakh    |

## Financial Year 2019-20

| S. No.   | State / UT     | Amount Released   |
|----------|----------------|-------------------|
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh | Rs 48.64 Lakh     |
| 2.       | Mizoram        | Rs 180.00 Lakh    |
| 3.       | Sikkim         | Rs 450.00 Lakh    |
| 4.       | West Bengal    | Rs 750.00 Lakh    |
|          | Total          | Rs 1428.64 Lakh   |

Financial Year 2020-21: Nil

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