Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said that consumer empowerment will be a paramount feature of developed India and that efforts are being made for speedy disposal of pending cases in consumer cases to reduce backlog. The Consumer Affairs Ministry also launched the right to repair portal and revamped the National Consumer Helpline to provide services in 12 languages.
Speaking at an event to mark the celebrations of National Consumer Day, the minister said, “Within a short span of six months, we have doubled the disposal of consumer cases to nearly 90,000. Given the thrust on technology, it will get better. Our consumers are deserving of speedy justice.”
Focus on key themes
Stating that the Ministry’s initiatives are focused on key themes of convergence, capacity building and climate change, he added that in the last few years over 1,500 redundant laws have been removed from the statute, about 39,000 compliances have been simplified and a number of minor offences have been decriminalised.
Goyal added that the government has come out with the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill 2022 in which 19 ministries have taken up 42 different laws and over 100 provisions of the law for decriminalisation to improve ease of business.
He emphasised that the three Ts — Technology, Training and Transparency — will help towards achieving greater consumer awareness and greater service to consumers. He added that the Bureau of Indian Standards is also working towards “One Nation One Standard” which is in line with the government’s focus on convergence. “We are considering the convergence of the entire testing ecosystem as well as standard setting to make it easier for consumers so that they can get high quality products and speedy justice for grievance resolution as well,” he added.
On the Ministry’s ‘right to repair’ portal, manufacturers will share the manual of product details to aid customers in getting products repaired, especially through third parties. Initially, mobile phones, electronic, consumer durables, automobile and farming equipment will be covered.
Among the other initiatives, the mobile app for National Test House was also launched. At the same time, a new premise for the National Consumer Helpline was inaugurated by the minister.