Lok Sabha Question No. 825 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: Redressal of Consumer Grievances
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Virendra Singh

## Government of India

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 825 (OIH) TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026

## REDRESSAL OF CONSUMER GRIEVANCES

## 825. SHRI VIRENDRA SINGH:

(OIH)

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

- (a) whether the Government has reviewed the present status of redressal of consumer grievances across the country under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019;
- (b) whether it is a fact that in many districts particularly in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh the facility of Consumer Forum or Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission is not fully available or the number of pending cases is very high there;
- (c) whether Government has a list of districts where consumers are facing delay in getting justice; and
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  or  proposed  to  be  taken  by  Government  to  protect  the interests of consumers particularly in Chandauli district?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L.VERMA)

(a) to (d) : The  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019  provides  for  a  three  tier  quasi-judicial  machinery  at District, State and National level commonly known as 'Consumer Commissions' for protection of the rights of consumers and to provide simple and speedy redressal of consumer disputes including those related with unfair trade practices. The Consumer Commissions are empowered to give relief of a specific nature and award compensation to consumers, wherever appropriate. 1,469 consumer cases have been filed before the Chanduali District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, of which 1,099 cases have been disposed of.

Further, as per Section 38 (7) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, 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.

To serve the interest of speedy justice to the end consumers, Consumer Protection Act states that no adjournment shall ordinarily be granted by the consumer commissions unless sufficient cause is shown and the reasons for grant of adjournment have been recorded in writing by the Commission.

The 'e-Jagriti' portal launched by the Department of Consumer Affairs on 1st January, 2025 aims to enhance consumer grievance redressal through a micro-service architecture, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning integration and modern features like faceless onboarding and role-based dashboards. It unifies existing applications (OCMS, e-Daakhil, NCDRC CMS, CONFONET) into a single, scalable platform, allowing users to  file  complaints  seamlessly  from  anywhere  with  multilingual  support.  The  system  streamlines  grievance redressal processes with real-time data access, automated workflows and tools for stakeholders like judges and advocates. The platform offers digital case filing, document exchange and automated SMS/email notifications. Features  include  a  chatbot  help  system,  voice-to-text  capabilities  and  accessibility  support  for  the  visually challenged and elderly. The portal is designed to provide a convenient, transparent and efficient means for consumers  to  seek  redressal  by  enabling  online  complaint  filing,  digital  submission  of  documents,  online payment of fees and also supports virtual courtrooms, enabling the hearing of cases remotely and ensuring faster disposal while reducing dependency on physical infrastructure.

Additionally, the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs has emerged as a single point of access to consumers across the country for their grievance redressal at a  pre-litigation  stage.  Consumers  can  register  their  grievances  from  all  over  the  country  in  17  languages including Hindi, English, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Nepali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Maithili, Santhali, Bengali, Odia, Assamese and Manipuri 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-  WhatsApp  (8800001915),  SMS  (8800001915),  email  (nchca@gov.in),  the  NCH  app,  the  web  portal  (consumerhelpline.gov.in)  and  the  Umang  app,  as  per  their convenience.    1,185  companies,  who  have  voluntarily  partnered  with  NCH  as  part  of  the  'Convergence' programme directly respond to these grievances according to their redressal process and revert by providing a feedback to the complainant on the portal.

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