The National Consumer Helpline received 5.41 lakh complaints in 2025 so far, out of which 23 per cent were from Southern States ,reflecting strong regional engagement, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nishi Khare said in her keynote address at a recently held workshop.

As part of its efforts to monitor consumer cases across the country, the Department of Consumer Affairs has been organising one-day regional workshops and state-specific meetings in various parts of the county. 

The Department has been undertaking focused efforts for the regular monitoring of consumer cases across the country.

“Of the 28.54 lakh cases filed nationally, only 5.62 lakh are pending, with Southern States accounting for just 13.34 per cent,” she added. 

Khare emphasized that the digital age requires “adaptive legal and digital mechanisms.”She pointed out to recent the initiatives like the Right to Repair Portal, e-Jagriti among others.

She also noted the regulatory steps of CCPA to curb dark patterns, fake reviews and misleading ads and praised the Southern States’ exemplary performance, particularly in case disposal rates, an official statement added . 

Khare noted that “Karnataka and Kerala Commissions disposed of more cases than filed, and several District Commissions achieved 100 per cent disposal rates over three consecutive years.”

She also pointed  that over 11,900 cases were heard via Virtual Courts. “Introducing e-Jagriti, an AI-powered unified platform, and integration of key systems like e-Daakhil and Confonet, offers features such as chatbot-based registration, multilingual access and support for legal professionals and differently-abled users,” the statement added. 

The workshop featured four thematic technical sessions addressing digital innovation through e-Jagriti, real estate and insurance grievance mechanisms, and medical negligence redressal, with active participation from judicial leaders, state officials, and legal experts. 

It was attended by officials from the Ministry, Members of State Commissions, Presidents of District Commissions, Members of District Commissions and other dignitaries from the Southern States/UTs in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. 

Published on June 14, 2025