The National Consumer Day or Bharatiya Grahak Diwas is celebrated every year on December 24 with an aim to spread awareness about consumer rights and the power of a consumer. In India, to keep the integrity of consumers and protect them from malpractices, a set of rights is conferred to every citizen under the Consumer Protection Act.
History and significance
In 1986, the Consumer Protection Bill was passed by both the Houses of Parliament. The bill received the assent of the President on December 24, 1986, and came into force. Thus, to commemorate the importance of the day, December 24 is marked as National Consumer Day.
The Consumer Protection Act gives provisions for easy and fast compensation for consumer grievances. It safeguards and encourages consumers to raise their voices against insufficiency and flaws in goods and services. The act outlines six consumer rights that all Indian citizens have, and it further mentions five responsibilities that every consumer should fulfil.
National Consumer Day aims to make every consumer aware of their rights and responsibilities.
Further amendments were made to the Consumer Protection Act in 1991, 1993 and 2002 to make it more effective and consumer friendly. The amended act came into effect on March 15, 2003.
In August 2019, the Parliament passed the Consumer Protection Act 2019, which replaced the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. The 2019 Act came into force in July 2020.
Consumers are provided protection against unfair trade practices like hoarding, fake advertisements, false offers, insufficient or poor products and many others. Consumers can register their grievances through an effective complaint redressal forum. This act assures that there is an efficient settlement of consumer disputes.
Another celebration aimed at spreading awareness about consumer rights is World Consumer Rights Day. Both days share the same goal, but World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated on March 15 every year.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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