Department of Consumer Affairs is working in collaboration with States towards safeguarding consumer rights and ensuring prompt redressal of consumer grievances. Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), Govt of India in collaboration with Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh organized a day-long workshop on "Consumer Protection in Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu & Telangana" in Vishakhapatnam today. The main issues in the Consumer Protection Framework, Development & Enforcement of Standards, Price Monitoring & Price Stabilization, and Ensuring Quantity through Legal Metrology Act 2009 were discussed in the workshop.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi, President NCDRC, Shri Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary Department of Consumer Affairs, Mrs. Nidhi Khare, Special Secretary Department of Consumer Affairs, Shri H. Arun Kumar, Secretary to Government of Andhra Pradesh, Shri Pramod Kumar Tiwari, DG, BIS, Dr. Alok Kumar Srivastava, DG, NTH, along with Senior Officials from the Department of Consumer Affairs including Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands attended the workshop. The workshop was also attended by the Presidents and Members of the State Commissions & District Commissions from the seven States/UTs.

Previously Department organized various one–day regional workshops in Guwahati on 2^nd December 2022 in which the north-eastern states participated and in Chandigarh on 10^th April 2023 in which the northern states participated. In the regional workshops, the issue of pendency of consumer cases was highlighted and its solutions were discussed in brief. Further, State-specific meetings in various states like Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Bihar, Maharashtra and Kerala were also held by the Secretary (CA), which were attended by Presidents/Members of the State Commissions and Principal Secretaries/Secretaries of the respective State Governments and discussions were held on addressing the challenges faced by the States in efficient and effective disposal of cases. Also, the Department has conducted sector-specific brainstorming sessions on insurance and real estate to reduce the pendency in the consumer commissions.

Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs praised the proactive steps taken by the President of NCDRC in resolving consumer disputes and marking the month of August 2023 with 188% disposal rate. He mentioned that in a significant development, Department of Consumer Affairs has successfully improved case disposal rates through extensive engagement with consumer commissions and focused efforts. The year 2023 witnessed a remarkable milestone, with 1.36 lakh cases being resolved, surpassing the 1.26 cases filed, reflecting a higher disposal rate. The Southern Region states have demonstrated commendable performance, with most states achieving disposal rates higher than 100%.

Secretary further added that the department is working on using the AI enabled solutions to reduce the pendency of cases in the National, State, and District Consumer Commissions. The case filed in the Consumer Commissions will be analyzed through AI and will generate the summary of the case and many more actions will be done through AI in resolving the case.

Secretary congratulated the Legal Metrology Division for becoming the authority for issuing internationally accepted OIML certificates for selling weights and measures anywhere in the world and making Bharat the 13th country in the world that can issue Internationally Accepted OIML (International Organization of Legal Metrology) Certificates.

He said the department actively monitors the prices of 22 essential commodities daily from 545 centers across the country and we receive data through mobile application. Because of this the department is able to find out the pattern of the price movement in the market and is able to intervene appropriately.

The Secretary said we are delighted by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) efforts in ensuring product quality. BIS develops standards, quality framework which has become guide to industries for safety & reliability. He stated how BIS work tirelessly as new products keep coming to market.

Hon'ble Justice Mr. Amreshwar Pratap Sahi emphasized the need for the timely disposal of cases while also chairing a panel discussion on reducing the pendency of cases in Consumer Commissions. He said there is no substitute for hard work

Parallel sessions were also held during the workshop to discuss the implementation and enforcement of the Legal Metrology Act and rules made thereunder, the use of the National Test House for materials used in government projects and testing, the utilization of ISI products in state government projects, and price monitoring and price stabilization.

The workshop concluded with participating states and stakeholders committing to work together to strengthen consumer protection mechanisms in their respective jurisdictions. The Department of Consumer Affairs will continue to collaborate with states and other stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of consumer protection laws, regulations, and initiatives for the betterment of consumers in the Southern States/UTs and across the country.

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