Question

What factors gave birth to the consumer movement in India? Trace its evolution.

Answer 1

Consumer Movement – Dissatisfaction Among Consumers, Lack of Legal System

• Due to many unfair practices that were being practiced by the sellers, there was massive dissatisfaction among consumers. This ultimately led to the rise of the consumer movement in India.
• To protect the consumers from exploitation in the marketplace a legal system did not exist.
• For a long time, when a consumer was unhappy with a certain shop or brand product, he or she would stop purchasing from that shop or generally avoid buying that brand or product.
• There was a notion that while buying a service or commodity it was the responsibility of consumers to be careful.
• To create awareness amongst people, it took many years for organizations around the world as well as in India.
• There has been a shift in the responsibility, it lies on the shoulders of the sellers, to maintain the quality of services and goods.

Consumer Movement – Social Force in India

• With the aim of promoting the interests and protecting the interests of consumers against unfair trade practices and unethical trade practices, in India, the consumer movement originated as a ‘social force’.
• The consumer movement in India took the shape of an organized form in the 1960s due to adulteration of food and edible oil, black marketing, hoarding and rampant food shortages.
• Consumer organizations were largely engaged in holding exhibitions and writing articles till the 1970s.
• Consumer groups were formed to look into the overcrowding in the road passenger transport and to look into the malpractices in ration shops.
• An upsurge in the number of consumer groups was witnessed in India, more recently.

Result of Consumer Movement in India

• Due to all the above-mentioned efforts, the Consumer Movement in India succeeded in bringing pressure on Government and business firms to rectify the conduct of businesses that were indulging in unfair trade practices and whose business conduct was against the interests of consumers at large.
• The Consumer Protection Act was enacted in 1986. It was a major step taken by the Government of India in 1986 to protect the rights of the consumers. This law was commonly referred to as COPRA.
• For redressal of consumer disputes, the Government set up a quasi-judicial system consisting of three tiers at the national, state, and district levels as per the provisions given under COPRA.