Food and Civil Supplies Minister P. Thilothaman has said that the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, may create a new breed of merchants who respect enhanced consumer rights. He was addressing the National Consumer Day 2019 celebrations, organised by the Kerala Consumer Affairs Department, on Monday.
“The new act may reform errant merchants and curb corruption. The market has changed over the years. We find that e-commerce has bridged the distance between the market and the consumer. The new Act recognises this change and modernises consumer protection laws,” he said.
More complaints
He said that the people of Kerala were increasingly being aware of consumer rights. “We get calls from consumers complaining about alleged irresponsible acts by merchants. We direct them to the consumer dispute redressal mechanism set up in the State. We are happy that more people are coming forward and bringing such instances to notice,” he added.
Be a Smart Consumer, a booklet brought out by the Kerala Consumer Affairs Department and The Hindu, was formally released on the occasion. T.J. Vinod, MLA, released the booklet by handing over a copy to Cherian K. Kuriakose, president, District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Kochi.
P.T. Thomas, MLA, released Upabhoktru Keralam, a bi-monthly being brought out by the Consumer Affairs Department.
Consumer awareness
The 16-page booklet, Be a Smart Consumer, highlights consumer rights and responsibilities, consumer protection laws in the country and the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection. It gives details about consumer helplines; consumer disputes redressal fora and their pecuniary jurisdiction; legal metrology issues; standards formulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards that cover important segments of the economy; food safety rights; e-commerce; and consumer rights protection in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
Quiz for children
A highlight of the booklet is a quiz for children. Students below the age of 12 may take part in it. Three top winners will get ₹10,000, ₹7,000 and ₹5,000 respectively.
Those who wish to take part may check out the page 15 of Be a Smart Consumer, distributed with The Hindu on December 22.
