Lok Sabha Question No. 1624 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-10
Subject: Reforms in Consumer Protection Laws
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Aditya Yadav

## Government of India

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1624 (OIH)

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.12.2025

## REFORMS IN CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS

1624.  SHRI ADITYA YADAV: (OIH)

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

- (a) whether the Government has reviewed the impact of recent reforms in consumer protection laws on market  behaviour  and  consumer  grievance  redressal  system  and  the  effectiveness  of  awareness campaigns on consumer rights in Budaun district;
- (b) if so, the details of steps being taken by the Government to strengthen enforcement against unfair trade practices, increase the speed and efficiency of resolution of consumer complaints and expand consumer education programmes in the district; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c) : 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 consumer  protection  in  the  era  of  globalization,  technologies,  e-commerce  markets  etc.,  the  Consumer Protection Act, 2019 was enacted.

Salient  features  of  the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019  are  establishment  of  a  Central  Consumer Protection Authority(CCPA); simplification of the adjudication process in the Consumer Commissions such as  enhancing  pecuniary  jurisdiction  of  the  Consumer  Commissions,  online  filing  of  complaint  from  the Consumer Commission having jurisdiction over the place of work/residence of the consumer irrespective of the place of transaction, videoconferencing for hearing, deemed admissibility of complaints, if admissibility is not decided within 21 days of filing; provision of product liability; penal provisions for manufacture/sale of adulterated products/spurious goods; provision for making rules for prevention of unfair trade practice in e-commerce and direct selling.

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. As of 04.12.2025, a total of 1,766 consumer cases have been filed before the Budaun District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, of which 1,582 cases have been disposed of.

## ORIGINAL IN HINDI

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 prelitigation 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 (nch-ca@gov.in), the NCH app, the web portal (consumerhelpline.gov.in) and the Umang app, as per their convenience.  1169 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.

The technological transformation of the NCH has significantly boosted its call-handling  capacity. The number of calls received by NCH has grown from 70,159 in October, 2019 to 3,08,130 in October, 2025. This growth reflects the rising confidence of consumers in the helpline. Similarly, 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]. Additionally,  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.

NCH 2.0 aims to make the grievance filing process more seamless, efficient and inclusive. The AIpowered Speech Recognition and Translation System enables consumers to file complaints through voice input,  reducing  manual  intervention.  The  AI  enabled  Chatbot  provides  real-time  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.

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.

Under  the  provisions  of  the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019,  the  Central  Consumer  Protection Authority (CCPA), an executive agency, came into existence on 24.07.2020. It is designed to intervene, to prevent consumer detriment arising from unfair trade practices and to initiate class action(s), including the enforcement of recalls, refunds and return of products.

The  CCPA  has  also  notified  the  Guidelines  for  Prevention  of  Misleading  Advertisements  and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 on 9 th 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 CCPA has issued 'Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023' on 30th November,  2023  for  prevention  and  regulation  of  13  specified  dark  patterns  identified  in  e-Commerce sector. These 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.

Department of Consumer Affairs has been running a country-wide multimedia consumer awareness campaign  under  the  aegis  of  'Jago  Grahak  Jago'.  Consumers  are  made  aware  of  unfair  trade  practices, grievance  redressal  mechanisms,  Hallmarking,  ISI  marked  products  and  various  other  consumer  related issues through almost all types of media including traditional media like TV, radio, cinema theatres, IVRS, fairs  &  festivals  as  well  as  digital  media  like  Youtube  etc.  Under  the  scheme,  Grant-in-Aid  are  also provided by the Department to States / UTs for carrying out activities on consumer awareness with local content  in  regional  level.  The  Department  has  been  actively  using  social  media  with  various  creatives, infographics and videos for consumer awareness. With the objective of strengthening consumer awareness at  the  village  and  Gram Panchayat level, the Department has also conducted a series of virtual capacitybuilding sessions for Gram Panchayats across States/UTs.

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