Lok Sabha Question No. 1819 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-13
Subject: National Consumer Helpline
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Chandra Prakash Joshi, Sudarshan Bhagat

## Government of India

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1819

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2023

## NATIONAL CONSUMER HELPLINE

1819. SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI: SHRI SUDARSHAN BHAGAT:

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

- (a) the details of the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) as an alternative dispute redressal mechanism, with  particular  focus  on  the  number  of  grievances  addressed,  languages  supported  and  modes  of complaint registration;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  formulated  any  particular  action  plan  to  redress  the  day  to  day problems of consumers arising due to online shopping and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the  technological  advancements  that  have  been  incorporated  into  the  Centralized  Consumer Grievance Redressal System to improve its efficiency and responsiveness; and
- (d) the  manner  in  which  the  Government  has  ensured  that  complaints  are  addressed  in  a  timely  and effective manner?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h (श्री अश्विनी क ु मार चौबे)

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) & (c) : The Department has revamped, the National Consumer Helpline(NCH)  which has emerged as a single  point  of  access  to  consumers  across  the  country  for  grievance  redressal  at  pre-litigation  stage. Consumers  can  register  their  grievances  from  all  over  the  country  in  17  languages  through  a  toll-free number  1915.  These  grievances  can  be registered on Integrated  Grievance  Redressal  Mechanism (INGRAM), an omni channel IT enabled central portal, through various channels- Whats App, SMS , mail , NCH app, web portal, Umang app as  per their convenience.

This helpline works in a dedicated manner from 8 AM to 8 PM on all seven days of the week except national holidays. For this purpose, an exclusive call centre has been established and to facilitate increase of access to our consumers, call back facility is also available from  8 PM to 8 AM. Further, NCH has also partnered  with  prominent  stakeholders,  namely-  private  companies,  regulators,  ombudsman  government agencies to bring them altogether on a single online IT platform where in all grievances are collated in a central  repository  with  unique  docket  numbers.  Currently  813  convergence  partners  are  in  collaboration with NCH to offer speedy resolution to consumer grievances.

Transformative changes and technological upgradation of the NCH has led to an increase in the call handling facility. Number of calls received at NCH has exponentially increased from 12,303 in November 2014  to  90,973  in  November  2022  and  was  at  1,32,209  in  November  2023.    Initiatives  taken  by  the Department have also encouraged consumers to register their grievances on the NCH which is manifested with an increase in the number of grievances registered at NCH.

The details of total number of grievances received on the National Consumer Helpline during the last three years may be seen below. All the grievances received at NCH have been disposed of.

| Year       | Total grievances   |
|------------|--------------------|
| FY-2022-23 | 10,05,985          |
| FY-2021-22 | 7,44,625           |
| FY-2020-21 | 6,74,820           |

(b): Government has also taken several initiatives recently to redress the problems faced by the consumers from unfair trade practices on online platform.  Under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the  Central  Consumer  Protection  Authority  (CCPA)  has  been  established  w.e.f.  24.07.2020  to  regulate matters  relating  to  violation  of  rights  of  consumers,  unfair  trade  practices  and  false  or  misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the interests of public and consumers as a class.

Under  the  provisions  of  the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019,  E-Commerce  Rules,  2020  have  been notified by Central Govt. on 23.07.2020 for prevention of unfair trade practice in e-commerce.

As per the provisions of the E-Commerce Rules, 2020, every e-commerce entity shall provide, interalia,  contact details like  e-mail address, fax, landline and mobile numbers of customer care as well as of grievance officer in a clear and accessible manner on its platform, displayed prominently to its users.

Also,  as  per  provision  of  the  E-Commerce  Rules,  2020,  every  e-commerce  entity  shall  establish  an adequate grievance redressal mechanism having regard to the number of grievances ordinarily received by such entity from  India,  and  shall  appoint  a  grievance  officer  for  consumer  grievance  redressal,  and  shall display the name, contact details, and designation of such officer on its platform. It shall acknowledge the receipt of any consumer complaint within forty-eight hours of receipt and redresses the complaint within one month from the date of receipt.

The CCPA has notified the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for  Misleading  Advertisements,  2022  on  9th  June,  2022.  These  guidelines  inter-alia  provide  for;  (a) conditions for an advertisement to be non-misleading and valid; (b) certain stipulations in respect of bait advertisements and free claim advertisements; and, (c) duties of manufacturer, service provider, advertiser and advertising agency.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority has also issued Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023 recently on 30th November, 2023 for prevention and regulation of dark patterns.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has notified framework on 'Online Consumer Reviews  Principles and  Requirements  for  their Collection, Moderation  and  Publication'  on  23.11.2022  for safeguarding  and  protecting  consumer  interest  from  fake  and  deceptive  reviews  in  e-commerce.  The standards are voluntary and are applicable to every online platform which publishes consumer reviews. The guiding principles of the standard are integrity, accuracy, privacy, security, transparency, accessibility and responsiveness.

(d) :  Department of Consumer Affairs is continuously working for consumer protection and empowerment of consumers by enactment of progressive legislations. With a view to modernize the framework governing the consumer protection in the new era of globalization, technologies, e-commerce markets etc. Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was repealed and Consumer Protection Act 2019 was enacted.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provides for redressal of the grievances of consumer through specialized  three-tier  quasi-judicial  agencies,  now  commonly  known  as  'National  Consumer  Disputes Redressal  Commissions  (NCDRC)'  at  National  level,  'State  Consumer  Disputes  Redressal  Commission (SCDRC)' at State  level,    and  'District  Consumer  Disputes  Redressal  Commission(DCDRC)'  at  District level.

The  Act  also  provides  for,  inter-alia,  simplification  of  the  adjudication  process  in  the  Consumer Commissions; filing of a complaint by a consumer in the Consumer Commission having jurisdiction with respect to his place of work/residence irrespective of place of transaction and place of business or residence of  the  opposite  parties,  e-filing  and  e-payment,  video  conferencing  for  hearing,  deemed  admissibility  of complaints if admissibility is not decided within 21 days of filing; court monitored mediation to facilitate early disposal of cases; provision of product liability.

Provision  for  filing  cases  online  through  e-Daakhil  has  been  introduced  in  NCDRC  and  Consumer Commissions of 35 States/UTs at the district and state level for speedy and hassle-free resolution of cases.

Section 38(7) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 prescribes that every complaint shall be disposed of as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made to decide the complaint within a period of three months from the date of receipt of notice by opposite party where the complaint does not require analysis or testing of commodities and within five months if it requires analysis or testing of commodities.

Department  of  Consumer  Affairs  has  notified  17  Rules  and  6  Regulations  under  the  Consumer Protection Act, 2019 for the protection of rights and interests of consumers which, inter-alia, includes ECommerce  Rules,  Direct  Selling)  Rules,  Mediation  Rules,  Search  and  Seizure  and  Compounding  of offences by the Central Authority and Crediting of Penalty Rules etc.

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