Lok Sabha Question No. 6 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-02
Subject: Consumer Welfare Fund
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: DNV Senthilkumar. S., Amol Ramsing Kolhe, Sunil Dattatray Tatkare, Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, Supriya Sadanand Sule

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2021

## CONSUMER WELFARE FUND

6. DR.  DNV  SENTHILKUMAR  S.:  DR.  SUBHASH  RAMRAO  BHAMRE:  SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE: DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE: SHRI KULDEEP RAI SHARMA: SHRI SUNIL DATTATRAY TATKARE:

## Will  the  Minister  of  CONSUMER  AFFAIRS,  FOOD  AND  PUBLIC  DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has set up Consumer Welfare Fund to promote and protect the welfare of the consumers, however it has failed to achieve the objective for which the fund has been set up;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor and the corrective steps taken in this regard;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  revised  the  guidelines  for  Consumer  Welfare  Fund  to  suit  the present day requirements and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether many agencies/organizations are availing benefits from consumer welfare fund but not engaging in any activity for consumer welfare;
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the action taken against such agencies during the last three years, State/ UT-wise especially Tamil Nadu; and
- (f) the details of the other steps taken by the Government to promote and protect the welfare of the consumers by creating awareness and strengthening consumer movements in the country?

## ANSWER

miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h ¼Jh nkuos jkolkgsc nknkjko½

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

(a) to (e) : Under the Central Goods and Services Tax(CGST) Act, 1917, Government has set up the Consumer Welfare Fund (CWF) to promote and protect the welfare of the consumers. It has worked successfully  under  the  extant  Consumer  Welfare  Fund  (CWF)  Guidelines,  2019  and  achieved  the objective for which it has been set up. The Government has not revised these guidelines. Except during Covid19  period,  during  which  restrictions  were  imposed  on  movements,  gatherings  of  persons  and different kinds of other activities, agencies/organizations who were provided financial assistance from CWF have carried out the activities for which they were given the funds.

- (f) : The Government has taken following other steps to promote and protect the welfare of the consumers by creating awareness and strengthening consumer movements in the country:
- i. A  Pan-India  consumer  awareness  campaign  "Jago  Grahak  Jago"  through  print,  electronic, outdoor  and  social  media  through  various  agencies/  organizations/  Ministries  like  All  India Radio, Doordarshan, National Film Development Corporation, Bureau of Outreach  & Communication, Department of Posts, etc.
- ii. Participation in various fairs/festivals/events to generate awareness among the consumers living in rural and backward areas of the country.
- iii. Providing grant-in-aid to States/UTs to generate awareness in regional languages.
- iv. Dissemination of consumer awareness messages through social media.
- v. Celebration of World Consumer Rights Day/National Consumer Day.
- vi. Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) Mobile Care App.
- vii. The  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019  (CP  Act  2019)  has  been  implemented  w.e.f.  20th  July, 2020. The new Act covers e-commerce transactions, it allows electronic filing of complaints, hearing and/or examining parties through video-conferencing for procedural ease and reduces inconvenience, introduced the concept of product liability bringing within its scope, the product manufacturer,  product  service  provider  and  product  seller  for  any  claim  for  compensation, imposition of penalty on the manufacturer/endorser for a false or misleading advertisement and prohibiting them from endorsing a particular product or service, for mediation as an 'Alternate Dispute  Resolution  Mechanism'  for  making  the  process  of  dispute  adjudication  simpler  & quicker and reduce pressure on Consumer Commissions. Under the CP Act, 2019, the Central Consumer Protection Authority has been set up as an executive agency w.e.f. 24.07.2020.
- viii.  Government has set up a National Consumer Helpline (NCH) with toll free number 1800-114000 or short code 14404 to handle the consumer grievances. Further, to cater to the needs of consumers  of  different  regions,  six  Zonal  Consumer  Helplines  have  been  set  up  each  at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Jaipur, Guwahati & Patna.
- ix. Consumer awareness programmes are organized through the network of BIS Offices across the country  for  promoting  the  concept  of  standardization,  certification  and  quality  consciousness among  consumers  as  well  as  manufactures.  BIS  has  a  full-fledged  department,  namely Complaints Management and Enforcement Department, functioning at its HQ in New Delhi, as the  nodal  department  to  cater  to  Consumer  Complaints  regarding  standards.  Publicity  about Standard Marks i.e. on ISI Mark, Hallmark and Registration Mark is given primarily through its network of branch and regional offices along with the Headquarters by BIS.

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