Lok Sabha Question No. 1839 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-10
Subject: Consumer Complaints
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Smt. Geniben Nagaji Thakor

## Government of India

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1839 (OIH)

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.12.2025

## CONSUMER COMPLAINTS

1839. SMT. GENIBEN NAGAJI THAKOR:

(OIH)

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware about the constant increase in consumer complaints related to online  purchases,  e-commerce,  defective  products,  delayed  deliveries  and  fraud  by  service providers;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  of  the  number  of  consumer  complaints  received  on  the  National  Consumer Helpline, e-Filing System and other platforms during the last three years, State-wise;
- (c) the number of complaints resolved within the stipulated time period;
- (d) the  steps  being  taken  by  the  Union  Government  in  collaboration  with  State  Governments  and Consumer Courts to ensure speedy redressal of consumer cases; and
- (e) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  make  consumer  protection  laws  more  effective,  digitally strengthen  the  complaint  redressal  mechanism  and  make  regulations  on  e-commerce  platforms more stringent and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e) : 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 a pre-litigation stage.

The number of calls received by NCH has grown from 70,159 in October 2019 to 3,08,130 in October 2025. The average number of complaints registered per month has surged from 37,062 in 2017 to  1,42,605  in  2025  [as  on  31.10.2025].  Further,  grievance  registration  via  WhatsApp  has  gained momentum, with the percentage of complaints filed through the platform increasing from 11% in October 2023 to 30% in October 2025 demonstrating a growing preference for digital communication channels. This growth reflects the rising confidence of consumers in the helpline.

The State-wise data of grievances received and disposed on the helpline during the last three years is placed at the Annexure-I .

## ORIGINAL IN HINDI

In  a  significant  move  to  further  enhance  grievance  redressal,  NCH  has  introduced  AI-based Speech Recognition, a Translation System, and an AI enabled Chatbot as part of the NCH 2.0 initiative. These technological advancements aim to make the grievance filing process more seamless, efficient, and inclusive.  The  AI-powered  Speech  Recognition  and  Translation  System  enables  consumers  to  file complaints  through  voice  input,  reducing  manual  intervention.  The  AI  enabled  Chatbot  provides  realtime assistance, streamlining complaint-handling processes, and improving the overall user experience. These  upgrades  ensure  that  consumers  from  diverse  linguistic  backgrounds  have  equal  access  to  the grievance redressal system.

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

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. The State-wise details regarding the number of cases filed and disposed during the last three years in Consumer Commissions is at Annexure-II .

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  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 virtual hearing from any location.

To  safeguard  the  interests  of  consumers  from  unfair  trade  practices  in  e-commerce,  the Department of Consumer Affairs has notified the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020 under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. These rules, inter-alia, outline the responsibilities of  e-commerce  entities  and  specify  the  liabilities  of  marketplace  and  inventory  e-commerce  entities, including  provisions  for  consumer  grievance  redressal.  These  rules  also  provide  that  no  e-commerce entity shall adopt any unfair trade practice, whether in the course of business on its platform or otherwise.

The  Central  Consumer  Protection  Authority  (CCPA)  in  exercise  of  the  powers  conferred  by Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, has issued 'Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of  Dark  Patterns,  2023'  on  30 th November  2023,  listing  13  specified  dark  patterns  identified  in  eCommerce sector. These dark patterns include false urgency, Basket Sneaking, Confirm shaming, forced action, Subscription trap, Interface Interference, Bait and switch, Drip Pricing, Disguised Advertisements, Nagging, Trick Wording, Saas Billing and Rogue Malwares. Further, an 'Advisory for Self-Audit by E-Commerce Platforms for detecting the Dark Patterns on their platforms to create a fair, ethical and consumer centric digital ecosystem' was also issued by the CCPA on 5th June, 2025.

*****

## ANNEXURE-I

## ANNEXURE-I  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  to  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NUMBER NO.1839 FOR 10.12.2025 REGARDING 'CONSUMER COMPLAINTS'.

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## State-wise details of grievances on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH)

| S    | State/UT            | 2022     | 2022     | 2023     | 2023     | 2024     | 2024     |
|------|---------------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| No 1 |                     | Received | Disposed | Received | Disposed | Received | Disposed |
|      | ANDAMAN NICOBAR     | 772      | 772      | 860      | 860      | 897      | 897      |
| 2    | ANDHRA PRADESH      | 28393    | 28393    | 39378    | 39378    | 43343    | 43343    |
| 3    | ARUNACHAL PRADESH   | 1116     | 1116     | 3419     | 3419     | 15860    | 15860    |
| 4    | ASSAM               | 10199    | 10199    | 12864    | 12864    | 16428    | 16428    |
| 5    | BIHAR               | 57300    | 57300    | 66898    | 66898    | 74244    | 74244    |
| 6    | CHANDIGARH          | 3889     | 3889     | 3581     | 3581     | 3749     | 3749     |
| 7    | CHHATTISGARH        | 10414    | 10414    | 12757    | 12757    | 14607    | 14607    |
| 8    | DADRA& NAGAR HAVELI | 234      | 234      | 364      | 364      | 451      | 451      |
| 9    | DAMAN&DIU           | 181      | 181      | 273      | 273      | 264      | 264      |
| 10   | DELHI               | 85300    | 85300    | 90648    | 90648    | 108526   | 108526   |
| 11   | GOA                 | 2100     | 2100     | 2980     | 2980     | 3415     | 3415     |
| 12   | GUJARAT             | 46915    | 46915    | 60189    | 60189    | 67306    | 67306    |
| 13   | HARYANA             | 46797    | 46797    | 51099    | 51099    | 58171    | 58171    |
| 14   | HIMACHAL PRADESH    | 4948     | 4948     | 6272     | 6272     | 6986     | 6986     |
| 15   | JAMMU& KASHMIR      | 6874     | 6874     | 7967     | 7967     | 9178     | 9178     |
| 16   | JHARKHAND           | 17370    | 17370    | 19969    | 19969    | 21838    | 21838    |
| 17   | KARNATAKA           | 54794    | 54794    | 72459    | 72459    | 89028    | 89028    |
| 18   | KERALA              | 19729    | 19729    | 30690    | 30690    | 40298    | 40298    |
| 19   | LADAKH              | 136      | 136      | 137      | 137      | 218      | 218      |
| 20   | LAKSHDWEEP          | 11       | 11       | 191      | 191      | 198      | 198      |
| 21   | MADHYA PRADESH      | 50808    | 50808    | 61528    | 61528    | 67094    | 67094    |
| 22   | MAHARASHTRA         | 103989   | 103989   | 125190   | 125190   | 147432   | 147432   |
| 23   | MANIPUR             | 362      | 362      | 310      | 310      | 471      | 471      |
| 24   | MEGHALAYA           | 523      | 523      | 663      | 663      | 751      | 751      |
| 25   | MIZORAM             | 84       | 84       | 133      | 133      | 156      | 156      |
| 26   | NAGALAND            | 211      | 211      | 325      | 325      | 362      | 362      |
| 27   | ODISHA              | 19318    | 19318    | 25731    | 25731    | 28501    | 28501    |
| 28   | PUDUCHERRY          | 558      | 558      | 921      | 921      | 1086     | 1086     |
| 29   | PUNJAB              | 21364    | 21364    | 23314    | 23314    | 26486    | 26486    |
| 30   | RAJASTHAN           | 72109    | 72109    | 85086    | 85086    | 78675    | 78675    |
| 31   | SIKKIM              | 337      | 337      | 490      | 490      | 602      | 602      |
| 32   | TAMIL NADU          | 29466    | 29466    | 44129    | 44129    | 53343    | 53343    |
| 33   | TELANGANA           | 40571    | 40571    | 50214    | 50214    | 58810    | 58810    |
| 34   | TRIPURA             | 1607     | 1607     | 2134     | 2134     | 2581     | 2581     |
| 35   | UTTAR PRADESH       | 139774   | 139774   | 173845   | 173845   | 192311   | 192311   |
| 36   | UTTRAKHAND          | 11541    | 11541    | 13456    | 13456    | 15281    | 15281    |
| 37   | WEST BENGAL         | 64105    | 64105    | 77107    | 77107    | 94465    | 94465    |
|      | Total               | 954199   | 954199   | 1167571  | 1167571  | 1343412  | 1343412  |

## ANNEXURE-II

## ANNEXURE-II  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  to  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NUMBER NO.1839 FOR 10.12.2025 REGARDING 'CONSUMER COMPLAINTS'.

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| Sl.                   | Year                                       | 2022            | 2022                | 2023            | 2023                | 2024            | 2024                |
|-----------------------|--------------------------------------------|-----------------|---------------------|-----------------|---------------------|-----------------|---------------------|
| No.                   | State                                      | Number of Cases | Number of Cases     | Number of Cases | Number of Cases     | Number of Cases | Number of Cases     |
|                       |                                            | Filed           | Cumulative Disposal | Filed           | Cumulative Disposal | Filed           | Cumulative Disposal |
|                       | NCDRC                                      | 5810            | 6384                | 4497            | 7230                | 3656            | 4125                |
| 1.                    | ANDAMANAND NICOBAR ISLANDS                 | 23              | 36                  | 8               | 2                   | 10              | 1                   |
| 2.                    | ANDHRA PRADESH                             | 2678            | 3388                | 3391            | 3948                | 3213            | 2784                |
| 3.                    | ARUNACHAL PRADESH                          | 22              | 19                  | 39              | 30                  | 42              | 23                  |
| 4.                    | ASSAM                                      | 553             | 619                 | 559             | 520                 | 532             | 589                 |
| 5.                    | BIHAR                                      | 5257            | 3054                | 4240            | 4877                | 3731            | 3253                |
| 6.                    | CHANDIGARH                                 | 2121            | 1659                | 1770            | 2631                | 1620            | 2097                |
| 7.                    | CHHATTISGARH                               | 2829            | 2364                | 3403            | 4669                | 3020            | 4875                |
| 8.                    | DELHI                                      | 4942            | 5150                | 5843            | 8704                | 5894            | 6904                |
| 9.                    | GOA                                        | 177             | 180                 | 214             | 379                 | 250             | 245                 |
| 10.                   | GUJARAT                                    | 14676           | 16166               | 17570           | 18082               | 17451           | 13437               |
| 11.                   | HARYANA                                    | 11958           | 9020                | 13241           | 11815               | 13005           | 10388               |
| 12.                   | HIMACHAL PRADESH                           | 2267            | 1834                | 2408            | 2159                | 2196            | 2475                |
| 13.                   | JHARKHAND                                  | 1870            | 2124                | 1634            | 2042                | 1306            | 1413                |
| 14.                   | KARNATAKA                                  | 9032            | 12021               | 10391           | 12637               | 11464           | 10493               |
| 15.                   | KERALA                                     | 6117            | 7222                | 8467            | 6715                | 11336           | 6964                |
| 16.                   | MADHYA                                     | 16301           | 21194               | 11783           | 18401               | 10190           | 15538               |
| 17.                   | PRADESH MAHARASHTRA                        | 22588           | 16782               | 18415           | 7648                | 15320           | 15440               |
| 18.                   | MANIPUR                                    | 74              | 61                  | 50              | 62                  | 86              | 36                  |
| 19.                   | MEGHALAYA                                  | 67              | 191                 | 55              | 60                  | 68              | 48                  |
| 20.                   | MIZORAM                                    | 67              | 107                 | 64              | 53                  | 99              | 57                  |
| 21.                   | NAGALAND                                   | 13              | 15                  | 12              | 12                  | 5               | 1                   |
| 22.                   | ODISHA                                     | 4106            | 5188                | 5913            | 7146                | 5461            | 4658                |
| 23.                   | PUDUCHERRY                                 | 45              | 55                  | 93              | 145                 | 132             | 172                 |
| 24.                   | PUNJAB                                     | 8141            | 8184                | 6955            | 8459                | 8418            | 7193                |
| 25.                   | RAJASTHAN                                  | 14796           | 11573               | 13624           | 12391               | 12028           | 11348               |
| 26.                   | SIKKIM                                     | 22              | 10                  | 32              | 26                  | 47              | 26                  |
| 27.                   | TAMIL NADU                                 | 7079            | 10105               | 7120            | 9162                | 7141            | 7791                |
| 28.                   | TELANGANA                                  | 4369            | 5395                | 3954            | 4581                | 3974            | 4088                |
| 29.                   | THE DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELIAND DAMANAND DIU | 18              | 2                   | 19              | 0                   | 9               | 0                   |
| 30.                   | TRIPURA                                    | 512             | 596                 | 223             | 264                 | 238             | 170                 |
| 31.                   | UTTARAKHAND                                | 2214            | 2250                | 1101            | 934                 | 664             | 602                 |
| 32.                   | UTTAR PRADESH                              | 20412           | 26112               | 19002           | 25832               | 17363           | 20473               |
| 33.                   | WEST BENGAL                                | 6350            | 7138                | 5662            | 6800                | 4897            | 4180                |
| 34.                   | JAMMU& KASHMIR                             | 10              | 0                   | 19              | 4                   | 30              | 172                 |
| 35. LAKSHADWEEP Total | 35. LAKSHADWEEP Total                      | 177516          | 186198              | 171775          | 188420              | 164898          | 162061              |