jayaraj project(1).docx

PROJECT REPORT

CONSUMERS PERCEPTION OF THEIR RIGHTS AND DUTIES – A STUDY WITH SPECIAL

REFERENCE TO KOCHISubmitted to

School of Management Studies

Cochin University of Science and Technology

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the

Degree of Master of Business Administration

JAYARAJ .G

Reg.No.85412028

Under the supervision of

DR. MANOJ EDWARD

ASST. PROFESSOR

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

COCHIN- 682022, KERALA.

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the report titled “CONSUMERS PERCEPTION OF THEIR

RIGHTS AND DUTIES – A STUDY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KOCHI.”is a

bonafide record of the work done by myself during the academic year, 2013-2014 in partial

fulfilment of the requirements of MBA degree from Cochin University of Science &

Technology. This work has not been undertaken or submitted elsewhere in connection with

any other academic course.

Place: Cochin JAYARAJ .G

Date: 03-08-2013

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project report entitled “CONSUMERS PERCEPTION OF

THEIR RIGHTS AND DUTIES – A STUDY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO

KOCHI.” is a bonafide record of the work done by Mr. JayarajG ,fourth semester MBA

student of this school, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the

degree of Master of Business Administration of Cochin University of Science and

Technology.

Dr. MANOJ EDWARD Dr. M. Bhasi

Project Guide Director

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My indebtness and deep sense of gratitude to everyone that guided and helped me to complete this project.

First of all, I bow before the God Almighty for all his benevolence mercy upon me.

My heartiest thanks to our respected director Dr. M. Bhasi for providing all required facilities for completing the project.

I am extremely thankful to Prof. Manoj Edward, my project guide and Prof Dr. Sebastian Robert Mampilly, head of the department of management studies, who gave me guidance and illuminating suggestions, inspired me in shaping the report in its existing form.

I express my whole hearted thanks to all the teaching staffs, my family and my friends whose continuous encouragement, cooperation, appreciation and support helped me in the successful completion of this project.

JAYARAJ G

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter No:

CHAPTERS PAGES

1.INTRODUCTION

STATEMENT OF PROBLEMSIGNIFICANCE OF STUDYSCOPE OF STUDYOBJECTIVES OF STUDYHYPOTHESIS OF STUDYRESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE3. THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

CONSUMER PROTECTION AND ITS IMPLICATIONSPROBLEMS FACED BY CONSUMERSCONSUMER PROTECTIONLEGAL PROTECTION TO CONSUMERSCONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 1986

4. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION5. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS6. REFERNCES7. APPENDIX

LIST OF TABLES

Sl no Particulars Page no1 AGE OF RESPONDENTS2 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION3 OCCUPATION4 MONTHLY INCOME5 GENDER6 CONSUMERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW

7 EXTENT AWARENESS OF RIGHTS

8 MEDIA EXPOSURE

9 BUYING BEHAVIOUR

10 PROCEDURAL KNOW HOW

11. BUYING COMPETENCY

12 CONSUMER EDUCATION

13 CONSUMER EXPECTATION

14 TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS 1

15 CONSUMER PROTECTION AS A WHOLE

16 TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS 2

17 HYPOTHETICAL TABLE

LIST OF CHARTS

Sl no Particulars Page no1 CONSUMERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW2 THE EXTENT AWARENESS OF RIGHTS3 MEDIA EXPOSURE

4 BUYING BEHAVIOUR

5 PROCEDURAL KNOW HOW

6 BUYING COMPETENCY

7 CONSUMER EDUCATION

8 CONSUMER EXPECTATION

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

India is one of the biggest rural consumer markets in the world. Indian markets

havebeen witnessing several changes following on towards globalization,

liberalization andprivatization and a large scale entry of multinational company

is a major outcomes of neweconomic order.A consumer are vital values of

man, they are notdepends of producer or seller, the producer and seller depends

only a consumer, the consumerare the boss of business and the producer or

business man is the server of the consumer.Now a days, the most of the

consumer watching television, hearing radio, readingnews paper and magazines.

Even though Television attracted by various programme, in thisprogramme

many advertisement appearing on, radio, newspaper and magazines etc.

Sometime, they are mishear, they are burden withproblem of choosing the

product because morethan one product some utility with less

information.Cosumers’ perception is mainly based on their awareness about the

consumer protection.

Consumer Awareness

“Any person who buys or uses goods and services is a consumer. A consumer is

anyperson, business, firm or governmental unit that chooses goods and services,

spends moneyon them, and uses these goods and services primarily to satisfy

their own wants. From birth,everyone is a consumer in one or the other way”

The Government, Industry and the Consumers form the three main partners in

the

venture of National Development. While the Government provides the capital

resource,industry utilizes the capital for producing goods and consumer

procures the goods payingmoney for their benefits and facilities. Thus, in

layman's understanding, money gets convertedto products which in turn get

reconverted back to money for an everlasting and constantlygrowing cycle

operation, through the agencies concerned viz. Government, Industry

andConsumers.But this is not as simple as stated. In any cycle operation, there

can be many blocks.For example, bad counterfeit money is not accepted and

circulation gets limited to goodmoney only. Similarly good products get

circulated better than bad ones. In other words, goodquality products get better

acceptance from the consumers who are the buyers. So consultingconsumers

and satisfying their needs is essential for developing Consumers play a vital role

in the development of a nation. Mahatma Gandhi said, "A consumer is the

most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us, we are on

him. He is not an interruption to our work; he is the purpose of it. We are not

doing a favour to a consumer by giving him an opportunity. He is doing us a

favour by giving us opportunity to serve him.” But of late unfortunately

cheating by way of overcharging, black marketing, misleading advertisements,

etc has become the common practice of greedy sellers and manufacturers to

make unreasonable profits and without heed to confer consumer rights and

interests.

Modern business is an integral part of current day society. Each company has as

a socio-economic impact on the people and has to deliver the goods and

services and the standard of living as per the aspirations of the people. It has a

great social responsibility towards the well being of society. Therefore

consumer is an important component of society and business has an obligation

to him. But, when the goods are short in supply the producers charge high prices

and consumers have no choice other than to purchase what is available.

Therefore, consumer is to be protected from unsafe products, poor quality of

goods and services, high prices, unfair trade practices and misleading

advertisements. Therefore, it is necessary for CRA, awareness to prevail

amongst the consumer to protect them from unscrupulous trade practices and to

give them the idea of the utility of money spent by them. Consumer occupies a

supreme position in a free economy. But, he never received the attention he

deserves. In a country like India, he is not the sovereign but a slave. The welfare

of the consumer lies in the fulfillment of his normal and legitimate expectation

with regards to the goods and service.

Consumer rights awareness is about making the consumer aware of products or

services; however, this is largely unknown to many citizens irrespective of

whether they are educated or uneducated. With an enormous population along

with high levels of poverty, unemployment and poor literacy levels, consumer

rights awareness continues to remain low. Education is a lifelong process of

constantly acquiring relevant information, knowledge and skills. Consumer

education is an important part of this process and is a basic consumer right that

must be introduced at the school level. Consumers by definition include all

citizens who are, by and large the biggest group, who are affected by almost all

government, public or private decisions. The most important step in consumer

education is awareness of consumer rights. However, consumer education is

incomplete without the responsibilities and duties of consumers, and this

influences individual behaviour to a great extent.

Consumer rights awareness is now an integral part of our lives like a

consumerist way of life. They have been well documented and much talked

about. We have all made use of them at some point in our daily lives. Market

resources and influences are growing by the day and so is the awareness of one's

consumer rights. These rights are well-defined and there are agencies like the

government, consumer courts and voluntary organizations that work towards

safeguarding them. While we all like to know about our rights and make full use

of them, consumer responsibility is an area which is still not demarcated and it

is hard to spell out all the responsibilities that a consumer is supposed to

shoulder. There are six rights of consumer which are provided in the Consumer

Protection Act, 1986.

Today an average Indian consumer is poor, illiterate, ignorant, passive,

unaware, unorganized and sometimes helpless. Due to illiteracy, unawareness,

traditional or passive outlook consumer is being exploited in different ways.

The manifestation of consumer neglect are evident in the adulterated food we

eat, the spurious, unsafe and substandard product we buy, the repeated shortage

of essential commodities accompanied by black marketing and profiteering, the

hazardous drugs (banned in some of the countries) that are pushed through the

counter, the glossy, unethical and manipulative advertisements with which we

are bombered, the humiliation, indignity and harassment that we are subjected

to by public sector undertakings such as railways, transport corporations,

nationalized banks insurance companies, hospitals, etc. and the polluted water

we drink and air we breathe.

Business firms spend huge amount of money on advertising their products and

services. Most of these advertisements contain exaggerated and unprovable

claims. Commonly seen advertisements of tooth-pastes, cosmetics, tonics, body-

building, figure improving and height increasing instruments makes claims in

very attracted way and catchy way. Through these advertisements do not

explain how the claimed qualities of the products produce the benefits; the

consumer believes them because of the appealing way of presentation,

ultimately the consumer feel cheated at last. Although the above points clearly

states the problems exploitation of consumer, but some other points can also be

mentioned in support of these. These exploitation are in the forms of:

Unfair trade practices (ii) spiraling prices (iii) adulteration (iv) poor quality

products (v) deceptive packing (vi) deficiency in services (vii) monopolistic

trade practices etc.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The particular topic is chosen because the consumerism is fast emerging as an

environment force affecting major business decisions as consumers become

aware about the rights. Even though there are consumer protection and redressal

system most of the consumers are not reacting to it. This study is conducted to

know about consumers’ perception about their rights and the Act and also their

action in case of dissatisfaction from the purchased goods. The problem is to be

investigated in this project is stated as” CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION OF THEIR

RIGHTS AND DUTIES – A STUDY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KOCHI ”

SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

Consumerism is fast emerging as an environmental force affecting major

business decisions. Even though comprehensive statutory measures have been

provided in India for curbing unfair business practices, for promoting

consumerism, there yet to do a lot. The consumers are not in a position to utilize

their knowledge and are simply ignorant of these laws. The reason may be the

non popularity of these laws because they are framed in highly technical

terminology that it would not be possible to comprehend by a layman. Some

customers are aware about the Act but not go for redressals.

Modern technological growth and complexities of the sellers techniques,

existence of a vast army of middlemen and unethical and untruthful

advertisements have aggravated the situation of consumer exploitation. The

consumer has to be aware of his rights and play a key role. The success of

consumerism is a strong function of consumer awareness and to avoid

exploitation consumer must become knowledgeable. This study is conducted to

know about consumers’ perception about consumer protection.

SCOPE OF STUDY

Due to the constraint of time and resources only Kochi is selected for this study.

The prime objective of this project is to study the consumers’ perception on

consumer protection. The sample taken for this is 50 persons based on a

convenience sampling technique. Different questions are asked to the

respondents on the basis of purpose of study. The study is conducted taken into

consideration of seven variables such as; knowledge about the Law, procedural

know how, consumption habits, buying competency, media exposure, consumer

education and consumer expectation.

Amballorpanchayath is selected because it is highly literate panchayath situated

in rural area. Study covers all the aspects of consumer protection. The study is

not only confronted to consumer protection Act 1986 only , it also covers all

other consumer laws, legislations, organizations etc. The variables selected in

the study are analysed from different point of views. Consumer in the study is

between the age of eighteen to sixty five who buys goods and services at a

consideration.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

1. To study about the theoretical framework of consumer protection in

India.

2. To study consumers’ knowledge and perception about consumer

protection movement including COPRA 1981.

3. To study the influence of media upon consumer rights protection.

4. To understand the buying behavior of people.

HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

There is no difference between the gender of the respondents and their

level of perception about consumer protection .

People irrespective of their formal education have similar competency

in buying.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

UNIVERSE OF STUDY

The study is undertaken in Kochi in Ernakulum District. Everybody is a

consumer, so the entire peoples in the panchayath are considered as universe.

To make the study more realistic peoples or customers of the age between

eighteen and sixty five is considered.

SAMPLING PROCEDURE

Samples are selected from Kochi. Each sample is selected in such a way

that it should be one which truly represents the population.

Sampling method

Sampling method adopted is convenience sampling. Samples are

selected conveniently from different wards after considering many

aspects. To make the sampling selection more realistic different

age, education, income category peoples are selected

proportionately from 16 wards.

Sampling size

Sampling size is 50. The total population of AmballoorPanchayath

is 20970, in which 10477 is males and 10493 are females. At least

3 persons are selected as samples from all wards.

SOURCE OF DATA

The data for this study has been collected from primary andsecondary sources.

Primary data

Primary data are those, which are collected a fresh and for the time

and thus happen to be original in character. In this study the

Questionnaire was used for the primary data collections.

Secondary data

Secondary data are those which have already been collected by

some

other context and which have been already processed through the

Statistical process. Secondary data was collected through journals,

Books, websites, and published data.

METHOD OF STUDY

This study is based on different factors. Seven factors are selected for the

study, they are;

Consumers’ knowledge of law

media exposure

consumption habits

buying competency

procedural know how

consumer education , and

Consumer expectation.

Consumers’ knowledge of law is a factor which studies the extent of

knowledge of consumers about the law especially about their rights. By law

there are six rights to consumers viz; Right to Information, Right to Safety,

Right to be Heard, Right to Choose, Right to Consumer Education, Right to

Redressal and by analyzing this factor the awareness of consumers about this

rights are checked.

Media exposure is the second factor in which the role of medias in consumer

protection and consumer education is analyzed. Media is the most important

role player in consumer protection movements. Here the role of media in

spreading consumer awareness is enquired.

Next factor is consumption habits of the consumers; it varies from consumers

to consumers because the extent and type of products purchased are different

among consumers. Consumption habits checks the purchasing power of

consumers.

Next is buying competency of the consumers , it checks the competency of

customer while purchasing and includes awareness about MRP,quality

standards, expiry date etc.

The next factor is the procedural know how, here with this factor, consumers’

knowledge about the procedures of various rules and regulations are observed.

It is an important factor because it is a strong determinant of perception of

consumers on consumer protection especially about their duties and rights.

The sixth factor is consumer education here the level of consumer education

obtained by the consumers and the need for consumer education is pointed out.

Consumer education is a vital factor to be studied to measure the consumers’

perception because it give the base in consumer knowledge, buying

competency, procedure know how etc.

And the last factor is consumer expectation, here consumers expectations about

the consumer protection in future. It measures their hope for a better consumer

era. So all the above factors are considered in detail to conduct this study.

Consumers’ perception on their duties and rights are analyzed from various

perspectives.

TOOLS OF STUDY

Based on the objectives of study different statistical tools like tables ,graphs,

charts , Averages, chi square etc is used. The statistical tools are selected in

accordance the pattern of questions asked and the usability of each question.

SCHEME OF PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT

CHAPTER1:It is the introductory chapter. It includes statement of problem,

significance of study, scope of study, objectives of study, hypothesis of study,

research methodology etc. This chapter gives an overall picture of the study.

CHAPTER2:It deals with Review of literature. Review of literature is based on

past studies and journals on the topic consumers’ awareness and perception on

consumer protection. The studies inside India which is conducted between the

year 2000 to 2013 are considered.

CHAPTER3:This chapter focuses about Consumer Rights and Consumer

Protection and the Theoretical Framework of the study. Here the historical

background of consumer protection, various laws on consumer protection

especially consumer protection Act is discussed deeply. Various factors of the

study is also considered here in detail.

CHAPTER4:This chapter is Data analysis and Interpretation. The data collected

through questionnaire are analyzed using various statistical tools especially chi-

square test , and this analysed data is interpreted based on the results. Here the

hypothesisis tested.

CHAPTER5:Last chapter is Findings and Recommendations. Valuable findings

and suggestions are made after analysis and interpretation. Here the hypothesis

either rejected or accepted.

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The consumer movement in India is as old as trade and commerce. In

Kautilya’sArthashastra, there are references to the concept of consumer

protection against exploitation by the trade and industry, short weighment and

measures, adulteration and punishment for these offences. However, there was

no organized and systematic movement actually safeguarding the interests of

the consumers.

With the advent of the 20th century due to rapid industrialization and

multifaceted development in India after the Independence, there appeared a

flood of consumer goods and services in the Indian Market, which almost

changed the relationship between the consumer and the trader. Technological

advancements in the field of media led to flooding of advertisements of goods

and services further worsening the otherwise grim situation. Lack of consumer

awareness, illiteracy, poverty, etc. further led to the exploitation of consumers.

Awareness of consumer rights varies in different regions in the country. It is

very poor especially among the population in rural and far-flung areas of the

country. Compared to the developed countries, the levels of consumer

awareness in such a vast country with a large population like India is much

lower. This is rooted in economic inequality, low levels of literacy and

ignorance. Because of this, consumers are not able to assert their rights and on

many occasions are exploited by the trade and industry and service providers.

Protecting and promoting the welfare of consumers has thus become one of the

major concerns.

At present the consumer movement in India is in its infancy. Vast majority of

the people are not even aware of consumerism as a movement closely connected

with the protection of their interest. Many constitutional provisions have been

made by government to protect the consumers. Until and unless the consumers

avail of these provisions, the protection of consumer becomes inevitable. There

is a great need to make them aware of their rights and responsibilities.

To study the implications of different issues in the implementation of the

Consumer Protection Act and also to identify the areas already investigated,

certain important studies already undertaken on consumer protection and

awareness are given below.

1. The first study is one which is conducted by CUTS International in

three years from 2010 to 2012 by Focusing on... Consumer movement,

Consumer Policy, Consumer protection, consumer rights, Consumer

trust, India .

George Cheriyan from CI member CUTS International discusses the results of a

recent survey showing the poor state of consumer awareness in India.Even after

25 years of the Consumer Protection Act (CoPRA) in India, only 20 percent of

consumers know about it and only 42 percent have heard about consumer rights.

Fifty-three percent of consumers are unaware of the country’s redress system,

the objective of which is to give consumers access to simple, speedy and

inexpensive redress of their grievances. These are some of the key findings of a

national survey conducted by CUTS International as part of a project entitled

‘Indian Consumers in the New Age: A Forward Looking Agenda to Address the

Concerns of the Common People’

The purpose of the study is to get a closer look at the consumer’s level of

awareness of their basic rights and to present a forward-looking outline to the

Indian government to help guide ongoing action based on the recommendations.

The study has been conducted in the backdrop of the establishment of a working

group to give input into the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer

Protection(UNGCP) . The UNGCP are an international reference point for the

consumer movement and Consumers International will be working with its

members over the coming months to feed in proposals on how the guidelines

can better address the concerns of today's consumers.

Key findings of the research;

From Part A :Out of the total 2419 respondents from 12 districts, almost

quarter of percent were female participants. 32 and 33 percent of the total

respondents were graduate and higher secondary pass respectively. Remaining

was divided among primary, upper primary or illiterate. 96 percent of these

respondents had electricity at home, and out of this, 60 percent had agriculture,

84 percent had domestic, 4 had industrial and 8 with non-domestic category

connection

From Part B: 96 percent of the respondents avail electricity connection and

from the remaining four percent, a huge number of respondents, almost 68

percent, felt procedural delays as the main reason for not getting them to

electricity services, whereas 10 percent from this four percent accounted for

lack of proper infrastructure and 12 percent from this four percent only quoted

exorbitant prices of electricity as the other concerns/reasons. With regard to

regulatory reform process, a huge number of respondents, almost 65 percent are

still unaware of Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission and its functions.

This definitely indicates an improvement in the overall awareness on these

reforms that started around 12 years back, sometime in year 2000. But it is a

matter of concern that from the remaining 35 percent of respondents, who are

aware or had heard about RERC or know about its functioning, 84 percent had

not participated in any public hearing either on their own or through some

organisation, which represents a disappointing picture of consumer participation

in the regulatory reform processes. Almost half of the respondents had rated

feeder renovation programme as good project run by the government and found

it useful and consumer-friendly. On the other hand, 59 percent are not aware of

the new Public Service Guarantee Act.

From Part C: On questions related to consumers’ satisfaction, 59 percent

respondents are still unaware of the available grievance redressal mechanism

(GRM) adopted by utilities. From the remaining 41 percent, who are aware of

GRM, 65 do not know about the process to access GRM. From the remaining

35 percent, who knows how to reach it, 74 had not lodged. any complaint and

surprisingly 69 of the remaining 26 percent respondents, who had lodged any

type of complaint, do not seemed to be satisfied with the way their complaint

was resolved. From this set of 74 percent respondents, who had not lodged any

complaint under GRM, 26 found the redressal system as huge time taking, 22 as

worthless, 33 percent never felt the need for it presuming that it will

automatically get resolvedand rest quoted that they dis-believe in GRM.

Regarding receiving electricity connections after applying, 45 percent

respondents found it difficult to get the connection, which almost take more

than 30 days. In continuation, 53 percent were charged separately as additional

amount while given connection. 63 percent respondents do not know electricity

police stations (EPS) and from the remaining 37 percent, who knows it, 85

percent have never filed any complaint in EPS. From the remaining 15 percent,

who have filed complaint in EPS, only 13 percent seemed satisfied with the

response, they did get from EPF. 79 percent respondents are not aware of

Ombudsman. From the remaining 21, who knows it, 83 never filed appeal of

their complaints. 66 percent of the respondents reported problems/loss caused

due to supply of high voltage and out of these 66 percent, 87 percent

respondents reported that they did run to get compensation from the service

providers on account of loss caused due to high voltage resulting in burning of

electrical appliances and equipment etc. but in vein. 75 percent of the

respondents reported about the insufficient (in terms of quantity) supply, while

69 were totally unsatisfied with the quality. In case of changing faulty

meters/transformers etc., 33 percent specified nearly seven days’ time to get

these. 68 percent complained about fast running of their meters, which resulted

into rapid change in reading.In an interesting question, respondents were asked

as to whether the distribution companies pay to the consumers 5 percent of the

cost as compensation for taking more than the prescribed time limit to get the

meter replaced, a huge number of 80 percent said that they never received any

such compensation. 53 percent of the respondents said that electronic meters

were much more efficient and worthy than the normal meters. This result totally

disapproves the myths about this kind of meteramong consumers. 53 percent

seemed satisfied with their complaints being rectified for defective billing.

2. Another study conducted in june 2012 on the topic “A Study on Consumer

Protection Awareness among Rural Consumers in Cuddalore District”

by

B. Krishnakumar and S. Sakthiventhan .

The purpose of this study is to examine the consumer protection awareness in

rural consumer and lone of consumer protection awareness in rural area, in

Cuddalore district. And to examine the validity of this general statement that is

being discussed day to day activities, of consumer Protection awareness.

Sampling Procedure of the study was the researcher adopted multi stage

randomsampling technique. Cuddalore district has 7 Taluk.These 7 taluk are

classified two categories viz., high population and low population.One block

from each category was randomly selected for the study.

Cuddaloretalukwaschosen from the group of high populationtaluk and

Kurinjipaddi was selected for lowpopulation taluk. Finally, 20 respondents from

each village were randomly selected. In totally 160 sample respondents are

approached to collect the information. But, out of 160, the researcherreceived

only 125 responses were found to fit for analysis. Hence the total sample

sizedworked out to 125. The researcher developed a ten statement regarding to

the consumer protection awareness withfive point scale. Their opinions are

grouped and calculated the mean and standard deviation.From the mean value it

is observed, the respondents are experienced that the advertisementhas not

educated consumer rights and they also worried about of false weights. But

therespondents are un familiar with their rights regarding adulteration, misuse

of weights andmeasures. Packaging is also a big problem for the rural

respondents. Respondents are felt thatthey are getting deceitful packaging.

Using store for weights, using handmade balance andadulteration of food are

the protection laws are not much aware of the respondents. It is found that the

respondents are somewhat aware of law on protection of false

weights.Advertisements are exaggerated the product quality and quantity also. It

is understand thatthe consumers are less aware of consumer legal lawexplain the

role of mass media for creating consumer legal law about productstandard. The

respondents are asked to view their opinion, how they are get the

informationregarding the product standard. Majority of the respondent’s got

some information ofconsumer protection through newspaper (60.8%) followed

by Radio (53.6%) and out dooradvertisement (52.0%). Journal and magazine

are the media least commonly used sources ofinformation. TV is played a

moderate role of creating consumer interest. It is found that mostof the rural

consumer they came to aware of consumer protection they newspaper and

Radio.

It is a fact that the rural consumers are highly favored to listening Radio

programme. In everyvillage there is a tea shop, in the tea shop, most of them

assembled every morning and gothrough the newspaper and then they passed

the message to others. On the basis the ruralconsumers have the awareness of

consumer legal law. Hence, they are given higher priority toRadio and

newspaper.

Level of awareness regarding various terminologies is observed in the table-3.

The

data showed that 78.4 percent of the respondents aware of 916KD terminology

and 56 percent of them aware of carat (CT) terminology. 52.8 percent and 45.6

percent of respondentsare aware of Agmark and ISI terminology. But, very few

of them only aware of sanforzed,mercerized FPO, BIS and star terminology. It

is found that the rural respondents aresomewhat aware of the popular

terminology likes 916KDM, CT, Agmark and ISI. But, theother terminology

sanforized, mercerized, BIS and star. It is understand that the ruralconsumers

are having some level of awareness when they purchase gold and food.

Hence,they have awareness of gold item terminology and food item

terminology. But, they are nothaving awareness on steel related terminology,

electrical goods terminology.

Table - 4 explain the respondent’s opinion towards consumer protection

awareness

based on gender of the respondents.From the mean value it is observed that the

male respondents are comparativelyhaving the high level of awareness towards.

But, female are having comparatively moreawareness towards.

Findings, Recommendation and Conclusion

On the basis of research objectives the researcher applied a appropriate

statistical toolsto know the awareness level of consumer protection among the

rural consumers. From theanalysis the researcher found the important findings

of the study. In this chapter the researcherpresented a finding of the study,

recommendation to the policy makers and conclusion also

drawn.The awareness of legal law on adulteration of food stuff is low among

the rural respondents.The awareness of legal action for adulteration of drugs are

moderate level among the ruralrespondents.Awareness of legal law for misuse

of weight, using handmade balance for weight, lessquantity in the package are

very low.Rural respondents are felt that the advertisements are deceitful. Apart

from that packages arealso deceitful.Most of the respondents are expressed that

the mass media like TV, Radio and Newspaper arethe most important sources

for creating consumer protection awareness. Whereas Journalsand Magazine are

the least sources among the rural respondents fro making consumerprotection

awareness. Moreover, out door advertisements are also having the some impact

on

consumer protection awareness.There is a significant difference of opinion

towards consumer protection legal law on thebasis of respondent’s age. Young

age respondents are having more level of awareness on legallaw of adulation of

food and drug then others. And they also felt that the advertisement

andpackaging are dishonest. Middle age respondents are having moderate level

of awareness

towards the legal law of misuse of weights. But, old age people are having less

awareness onconsumer protection law.There is a significant different of opinion

towards consumer protection legal law on the basisof respondents gender. When

comparing the male and female, male are having comparativelyhigh level of

awareness than female.

Recommendation

It is found that the rural respondents are having low level of awareness on

consumerprotection/law. The government, voluntary organization and

educational institute shouldcome forward to educate the rural respondents

towards important of their rights andresponsibilities. This com be done through

the frequently conducting of awareness compagain in rural area.Hence, the

manufactures try to create the awareness on this terminology. And

therespondents should be trained the importance of these terminology.

Manufacture/firm ownersshould spend some of the amount towards educating

the rural respondents.TV, Radio and Newspaper are the vital media in rural

places. Hence, the authorities try tosave advertisement through this media for

consumer protection. What are protection laws isavailable for them and how

they can protect themselves. These things can be advertised

through this media.It may be recommended that Mass Media and educational

institutions need play an effectiverole in consumer awakening and imparting

information regarding organizations working forthe consumer’s interest in their

area.It is extremely imperative to encourage volunteers; who are gallant,

audacious and fort rights,concerned in consumer protection movement.

Organizations, NGO’s, institutions and agencies allied to consumer movements

shouldhearten administrative advocacy in setting consumer disputes.

3. Another study is on the topic “Consumer Protection Act – Awareness

among dentists?” conducted in november 2012 by Sikka MS, Anup NP,

Aradhya Singh in Jaipur.

The background of the study was ,With the inclusion of health care services

under Consumer Protection Act, a spurt in litigations arising out of breach in

medical/dental profession is seen. Thus, it becomes imperative for health

professionals today to be aware of such laws. And the objective of the study

was to assess and compare the awareness about Consumer Protection Act

among dentists (dentists in teaching institutions and dentists in private practice.)

And the materials and method of the study was questionnaire survey was carried

out on

a total of 224 dentists [112 dentists in teaching institutions (DTI)] from Manipal

and Mangalore and 112 dentists in private practice (DPP) from Udupi and

Mangalore, Karnataka, India]. Statistical Analysis was done using SPSS version

10. Chi- square test was used to compare between the categorical variables. The

findings from the study was as follows; the demographic details of the

participating dentists are given in Table 1. A total of 224 dentists completed the

questionnaire. Males and females were equal in proportion. Among the

participating dentists, 69.6% of dentists in teaching institutions (DTI) as

compared to 76.8% of dentists in private practice (DPP) stated to be aware of

Consumer

Protection Act (Table 2) however subsequent analysis did not reveal the

same. A non significant difference was seen among DTI and DPP for awareness

regarding various rules and regulations about COPRA. Only 15.4% and 11.6%

of

DTI and DPP respectively were aware of maximum compensation under

COPRA as greater than 20 lakhs. Similarly very less percentage of DTI and

DPP (23.1% Vs

23.3%) were aware of maximum time period to sue with evidence under

COPRA

as within 2 years of treatment. Relatively few DTI 59% as compared to 69.7%

of DPP were aware that beneficiaries in case of mishap in a minor case are both

child and parents/guardians .

4. Next study conducted by CUTS international with the support of Minstry of

consumers Affairs ,Government of India in 2012 . The title of the study is,

Indian Consumers in the New Age: A Forward Looking Agenda to Address

the Concerns of theCommon People (ConsumersUp)

The major findings of the study was In India, even after 25 years, only 20

percent consumers know about the Consumer Protection Act (COPRA)

and who has heard about consumer rights is just 42 percent. However,

these findings are still encouraging considering the fact that five years

ago the consumer awareness level was just18 and 34 percent

respectively.

There are various laws and regulations that directly or indirectly

influence citizens’ right to basic needs. However, in spite of this basic

right, it is still a distant dream mainly due to the lack e of proper

implementation of various schemes/programmes to ensure this right.

In order to make the sustainability approach both successful and

sustainable, India needs to have a process of giving incentives to

producers of green goods through preferential allocation of resources,

facilitate development of infrastructure, additionally there is a need to

make the supply chains of resources and technology more efficient and

effective.

There is an increasing felt need for an introduction of consumer issues

with more emphasis in school and college curriculum, establishment of

consumer clubs in education institutions, increasing involvement of civil

society organisations in consumer awareness programmes would further

strengthen consumer education.

The strength of the right to choice of consumers is directly proportional

to the level of competition in the economy.

There is also a need for massive awareness campaigns and information

dissemination among the consumers about the existing legal remedies

available to consumers.

To make the grievance redressal process more convenient for consumers

an effective consumer education with respect to consumer rights need to

be provided and the existing mechanism for grievance redressal need to

be further strengthened.

5. Another study is on the title “ Comparative Study of Consumer

Awareness among Males and Females of Kangra District of Himachal

Pradesh” and it was conducted in 2012 by JatinderKishtwaria, Shikha

Sharma, Avinash Sharma and ArunaRana.

The study was conducted on 120 respondents comprising 60 males and 60

females in Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh to ascertain awareness level of

both the categories for consumer terminologies, legal laws and organizations.

Mean scores on consumer awareness statements depicted that nearly fifty

percent respondents were having low level of awareness.

The objectives of the study was

To assess the awareness of respondents towards (i) consumer

terminology (ii) legal laws.

To ascertain the awareness of respondents regarding consumer

organizations and various information sources.

The Research methodology of the study are: a) Research Design: Survey

method was used with a structured type questionnaire as the data-collecting

instrument.

(b) Pre- Testing: Pre – testing was done on 20 subjects (10 males and 10

females) for clarity andreliability of the tool.(c) Sampling Procedure: The

sample for the

study was selected from Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Selective

sampling was chosen after critical review of literature. It has been observed that

consumer behaviour has been imposed on a range of people belonging to middle

class. Both rich and poor have different problems. Therefore, the present study

was limited to middle class society. Fifty percent respondents were males and

50 percent females having formal education. (d) Data Collection: In total 150

questionnaires were distributed out of which 120 sample was finally selected.

The results of the study are as follows;

Consumer Awareness: It was observed from Table 1 that out of total, 41.6

percent respondents have low level of awareness regarding consumer terms.

Amongst this, 15.0 percent are males and 26.6 percent females. Only 23.3

percent respondents had partial awareness out of which 15.0 percent are males

and 8.3 percent females.

Out of total, 35 percent respondents had high level of awareness with 20 percent

belonging to males and 15 percent to females.

Legal awareness: Regarding legal awareness showed that majority of males

and female respondents were awareabout the legal laws protecting the

consumers

against adulteration of food stuffs (90 percent males, 86.6 percent females),

adulteration of drugs (90 percent males, 86.6 percent females): short weighing

(86.6 percent each of males and females); false weights and measures (86.6

percent males, 76.6 percent females); using stones for weights (80.6 percent

males, 63.3 percent females); using hand made balance (76.6 percent males and

50

percent females) and using deceitful packaging (70 percent males and 43.3

percent females). It was concluded from the above findings that males were

having better awareness regarding legal laws than female respondents.

Awareness of Respondents Regarding Consumer Terminology: Level of

awarenessregarding various terminologies was observedin Table 3. The data

showed that 53.3 percentmales and 66.6 percent females were aware ofterm Ag

mark. The term I.S.I was known to 60percent males and 66.6 percent female

respondents. About 30 percent males and 40 percent female respondents were

aware of the term mercerization. It was inferred from the findings that more

number of female respondents were aware of these specific terms than men. It

may be attributed to the fact that it is related more to clothing which is

frequently purchased.

Source of Information Regarding Consumer Terminology: Majority of male

and femalerespondents got some information of consumerinterest through T.V.

(86.6 percent males and6.6 percent females) followed by radio, newspaperand

magazines (Table 4). Journals were leastcommonly used sources of information

(33.3percent males and 36.3 percent males). It can be concluded that mass –

media can effectively be used to promote information and awareness especially

to educated respondents belonging to middle income group. Mass- media can

also play an effective role for masses belon-ging to different socio- economic

categories also.

Awareness Regarding Consumer Organizations: The data in Table 5 showed

that 80percent males and 53.3 percent females were awareabout consumer

organizations working in andaround their area. On the contrary, only 40 males

and 26.6 percent females had shown any interest in joining these organizations.

The reason given by majority of them was lack of time and no interest in joining

them, as it will yield no results.

Recommendation of the study was mass- media and educational institutions

need to play an effective role in consumer awakening and imparting information

regarding organizations working for the consumer’s interest in their area.

6. Another study conducted by DR. AbhigyanBhattacharjeeAssociate

Professor, Department of Management, North Eastern HillUniversity, Tura

Campus, Meghalaya in October 2013 on the title “An Empirical Analysis

on the Consumers’ Awareness of Rights and Educationwith reference to

FMCG products”

Objective of the Study of the study where ;To have an idea about the utilization

of existing knowledge of consumereducation towards FMCG products, an

extensive empirical survey among the ruralpopulace was conducted in Kamrup

district (rural) among the target consumers.The prime objective of the paper is

to find the extent of utilization of existingknowledge of Consumer Education

among the rural populace of Assam towardsFMCG products.

The research methodology of the study was Altogether 300 consumers

belonging to General, SC and ST community were surveyed adopting a multi

staged random sampling technique. Over twenty villages in the two sub-

divisions are being selected for the purpose of our study. The selection of four

blocks from Guwahati sub-division constitutes 30 per cent of the total blocks

(11) in the same sub-division, whereas the selection of one block from Rangia

sub-division constitutes 30 per cent of the total blocks (4) of the same

subdivision. The proportion of households belonging to the three classes, viz,

Gen, ST and SC categories is kept in the ratio 3:2:1 i.e. out of 300 household

150 for General Caste, 100 for Scheduled Tribe and 50 for Scheduled Caste.

The results of the study are as follows ;

Extent of Utilization of Existing Knowledge of Consumer Education by

Rural

Consumers on matter of bargain over MRP: Table1 indicates that of the rural

respondents, nearly half (47%) of theGeneral category respondents always

bargained over the MRP, while 25% seldombargained and rest 28% of the

respondents belonging to general category neverbargained over the MRP. In

case of respondents belonging to the ST community thefigure shows that 35%

of the respondents always bargained over the MRP, thefigure is more in case of

respondents who seldom bargain over the MRP (44%),whereas 21% of the

respondents never bargained over the MRP. The respondentsbelonging to the

SC community were 36% who always bargained over the MRP,while 44%

bargained seldom and 20% of the respondents of the same communitynever

bargained over the MRP.It may be seen that the respondents have the

knowledge that there is a

provision to bargain over the MRP of a product. In most of the cases the

respondents opined that the retailer also lowered the price on the MRP if

bargain is made in a proper way.


Rural

Consumers on matter of expiry of products: It is important to note that more

than half of the respondents belonging to the category, viz., GEN, ST and SC,

never verify expiry date before buying goods as reflects from Table 2. This

figure tends to 57.3%, 52% and 46% respectively among the category of

respondents. Whereas only 24.6%, 8% and 10% of the respondents belonging to

the Gen, SC and ST respectively always verify the expiry date before buying the

goods. The respondents who seldom verify the expiry date entailed to 18.6%,

40% and 44% of the same category respectively. The figure connotes that

verifying expiry date is not a necessary criteria while buying goods.


Rural

Consumers on looking /insisting popular branded products: In case of

respondents who always insist for popular branded products while making

purchase, amounts to 56% of the General, 36% of the ST and 54% of the SC

community as evident from Table 3. While 11.3%, 35% and 32% respondents

respectively seldom insist for popular branded products. Further, respondents

who

never insist for popular branded products were 12% in case of SC, and 32.6% in

case of Gen and 29% for ST respectively.

It is also found that the reason for insisting popular branded products was

due to the influence of advertisement which they see in the TV. The respondents

are having latest knowledge of the availability of branded products which they

insist for while making purchase.


Rural

Consumers on matter of insisting retailer for vouchers/cash memo: It was

strange to note from Table 4, that more than three-fourth of the respondents

belonging to the Gen, ST and SC (84.6%, 82%, and 84%) respectively never

took cash memo after buying. Only 6%, 8% and 4% of the respondents

belonging to the Gen, ST and SC category took cash memo after buying.

Respondents who seldom take cash memo were 9.3%, 10% and 12 % of the

category respectively. This reflects that majority of the respondents never know

it to be a necessary right to be exercised. Many respondents although construed

that they are provided with a paper slip with the amount mentioned which they

consider as good as cash memo.


Rural

Consumers on checking ISI/AGMARK: Regarding the checking of ISI mark

and AGMARK a very similar pattern has been observed in rural areas (Table 5).

Approximately identical percentage (71.3%, 73% and 72%) belonging to the

Gen, ST and SC category respectively of the rural respondents never bothered

to check these marks on the products. As far as checking of ISI mark

/AGMARK on food products among fast moving consumer goods is concerned

only 14% in case of Gen, ST and only 12% belonging to SC of the rural

respondents always checked it, followed by almost identical percentage, i.e.

14.6% for Gen, 13% for ST and 16% for ST who seldom checked the concerned

mark.

This shows that the buying decisions of the rural respondents belonging to the

each of the category viz., Gen, ST and SC are almost identical.

The findings and recommendations of the study was from the present study, it

has been observed that amongst all the respondents belonging across GEN, ST

and SC populace, the rural consumers are having poor awareness in displaying

adequate knowledge in consumer education. Although consumers exhibited

awareness in some segments of consumer knowledge as explored in the study,

the rural consumers need to be much aware in the extent of utilization of

existing knowledge of consumer education in their respective purchase

decisions. The post purchase evaluation in terms of which a selected product

meets or exceeds the expectations of the consumer is generally held to be ideal

outcome of consumer decision which is guided by adequate consumer

knowledge leading to consumer satisfaction. Thus, it is need of the hour that the

rural consumers exhibit more knowledge in their purchase behaviour in order to

safeguard their own rights and shield themselves from deception and

malpractices of sellers which cannot be overcome in midst of ignorance and

lack in consumer knowledge and education. Consumer awareness camps,

organizing seminars by NGOs and proactive role of government and more

particularly an informed populace can help in ensuring a sustained practice in

the domain of consumerism.

7. Next study is on the title “Assessment of Consumer Awareness amongst

Undergraduate Students of Thane District-A Case Study” conducted by

Indira Nair M.A., M. Phil., Assistant Professor, Smt. C.H.M. College,

Ulhasnagar- Mumbai, India in may 2012.

The objectives of the study were;

To prod consumer awareness regarding ration card and card holders

rights.

To assess consumer awareness amongst under graduate students

regarding information to be displayed in a ration shop.

To probe the awareness of the undergraduate students regarding the

intellectual property rights and consumer protection.

To analyze the opinion poll amongst the students.

The research methodology of the study are ; the study is largely descriptive and

analytical. The required data for the study was collected from primary and

secondary sources; the primary source constitutes the main corpus of

information as it will make the major thrust area to collect reliable complete and

first hand information about the awareness of consumers in the areas under

study. To test the objectives, field study was conducted wherein a combination

of direct approach, comprising of questionnaire-aided interviews, discussions

and observational techniques was followed.

Primary data was collected from the sample subjects, the undergraduate

students of conventional courses from six different colleges which were

randomly selected from the areas of Ambarnath, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan, Murbad,

Bhiwandi, and Thane talukas of Thane District on the basis of geographical

location convenient to the researcher.

Similarly, information was collected from officials of Consumer Guidance

Society, Mumbai GrahakPanchayat and consumers at large.

In order to test the above stated objectives 850 questionnaires were distributed

to the under graduate students. Out of the 850 questionnaires, 758

questionnaires which were correctly filled were taken into account, out of which

404 were females and 354 were male students.

Findings of the study are ;Assessment Regarding Ration Card and Card

Holders Rights:While assessing the awareness of student regarding the

statement that weekly quota is not forfeited if not purchased, it was observed

that only 17.5% students from all the six colleges taken together were aware of

the law. Partially aware percentage was estimated to be 12.0% and majority of

the students who were unaware of the law was 70.4%.

While assessing the awareness of students regarding the statement that samples

of food grains to be displayed in sealed plastic bags it was observed that

majority of students from all the six colleges taken together were aware of the

law i.e. 48.4%. Partially aware percentage was estimated to be 17.8% and the

students who were unaware of the law was 33.8%.

While assessing the awareness of students regarding the information that yellow

receipts have to be issued with date of purchase, it was observed that majority

of students from all the six colleges taken together were aware of the law i.e.

52.2%. Partially aware percentage was estimated to be 12.7% and the students

who were unaware of the law was 35.1%.

While assessing the awareness of students regarding the law that there is no rule

that ration quota can be purchased only once a day, it was it was observed that a

meager percentage of the students from all the six colleges taken together were

aware of the law i.e. 14.9%. Partially aware percentage was estimated to be

12.9% and majority of the students who were unaware of the law was 72.2%.

While assessing the awareness of students regarding the law that no fees to be

charged for adding or deleting names in the existing ration card , it was

observed that a small percentage of the students from all the six colleges taken

together were aware of the law i.e. 25.7%. Partially aware percentage was

estimated to be 8.5% and majority of the students who were unaware of the law

were 65.8%.

Assessment Regarding Information to be displayed in a Ration Shop:

While assessing the awareness of students regarding the rule that it is mandatory

to display registration number of the ration shop , it was it was observed that

majority of the students from all the six colleges taken together were aware of

the law i.e. 60.8%. Partially aware percentage was estimated to be 8.5% and

students who were unaware of the law were 30.7%.


to display inspector‟s name and time of his weekly visit, it was it was observed

that only30.7% of the students from all the six colleges taken together were

aware of the law. Partially aware percentage was estimated to be 17.9% and

students who were unaware of the law was estimated to be 51.4%.


to display of stock position of all ration commodities in units, it was observed

that only18.6% of the students from all the six colleges taken together were

aware of the law. Partially aware percentage was estimated to be 11.6% and

majority of the students who were unaware of the law i.e. 69.8%.


to display of official price list, it was observed that 32.6% of the students from

all the six colleges taken together were aware of the law. Partially aware

percentage was estimated to be 11.9% and majority of the students who were

unaware of the law i.e. 55.5%.


to display of total number of ration cards registered with the shop, it was

observed that meager percentage of the students from all the six colleges taken

together were aware of the law i.e.14.6%. Partially aware percentage was

estimated to be 11.4% and majority of the students who were unaware of the

law i.e. 74.0%.


to display of total number of units registered with the shop, it was observed that

a very small percentage of the students from all the six colleges taken together

were aware of the law i.e.13.7%. Partially aware percentage was estimated to be

11.4% and majority of the students who were unaware of the law i.e. 74.9%.

Assessment Regarding Intellectual Property Rights and Consumer

Protection:

While assessing the information of students in all the six colleges under study

regarding the awareness of existence of Trademarks Act of 1999, it was found

that majority percentage of the students i.e. 63.2% of the students from all the

six colleges taken together were aware of it and only 36.8% of the students were

unaware of the Act.

While assessing the information of students regarding the awareness of

Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection Act, 1999), it

was found that only a meager percentage of the students i.e. 18.2% of the

students from all the six colleges taken together were aware and majority of the

students who were unaware of it was estimated to be 81.8%.

While assessing the information of students regarding the awareness of

Competition Act, 2002, it was found that only a meager percentage of the

students i.e. 25.5% of the students from all the six colleges taken together were

aware and majority of the students who were unaware was estimated to be

74.5%.

Suggestions of the study are;

Imparting Consumer Education ,Formation of Local Organizations of Ration

Card Holders,Need for a Strong Intellectual Property Right Regime,Activation

of Consumer Clubs in Schools andColleges etc.

8. Another study is on the title “Buying Practices and Consumer Rights

Awareness Amongst Management Students” conducted by Manoj S.

Kulkarni1 and M. B. Mehta ,AssistantProfessores, Institute of Management

Studies Career Development & Research,Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India in

july 2013.

Objectives of the study was;

To examine the buying practices among management scholars,

To ascertain the awareness level of management scholars about consumer

rights.

Research methodology of the study was;

Both primary as well as secondary data are used to compile this study. Primary

data is collected from the students of management institutions from

Ahamadnagar while secondary data is collected from ministry of consumer

affairs food and public distribution and various consumer organizations. The

survey is conducted through a questionnaire in order to collect data. Sample size

for this study was 50 management students from the Ahmednagar city, which

were selected through simple random sampling method.

Research results and discussion of the study are;

The research result indicates that 54% management students as a consumer

always check the expiry date of the products, 22% management students as a

consumer often check the expiry date of the products, 8% sometimes, while 6%

rarely and 10% never check the expiry date of the products which they buy. It is

very interesting that most of the management students as a consumer (92%)

don‟t cross check the weights of the products, just only 8% cross check weights

of the products. Most of the management students as a consumer (70%) always

check the prices of the goods while 20% often check, 6% sometimes and 4%

rarely check the

prices of the products. A large number of management students as a consumer

(68%) always check the quality of the products, 24% often, 4% sometimes and

4% rarely check the quality of the products while purchasing the merchandise.

It is surprising that 42% management students as a consumer never ask for the

purchasing bill, but 40% always ask while 10% rarely, 4% sometimes and 4%

often ask for the same. Most of the management students (65%) are aware about

consumer forums while 62% also are aware about consumer rights.Among these

62% management students, most of them are aware about their five basic rights

as a consumer i.e. right to information, right to redressal, right to safety, right to

choose, and right to education about products and services. It is also surprising

that only 5% of the total aware and educated (about consumer rights)

management students have lodged the complaint in consumer forums.

Findings and suggestions of the study was the management students as

consumers check the expiry date of the product, quality, the price of the

merchandise, but the majority of the consumers does not cross check the weight

of the merchandise and do not for the bill. Due to this approach, the government

loses the revenue. Management students are aware about consumer rights but

they never lodge complaint against sellers. Consumer organizations and

government should make them aware about the procedure of registering

complaints and seeking redressal. Their complaints should be heard and taken

care off. Only these efforts can bring change in the mindset of society regarding

consumers‟ rights.

9. Next study is on the title “ Consumer awareness and Consumer

Protection Act –a study” by Sewanand,Research Scholar, CMJ University

in june 2010.

The Paper has been written to study the general awareness among consumer for

consumer protection and specially awareness of provisions of Consumer

Protection Act. It specifically studies the level of awareness with regard to

procedural formalities to be completed while filing a complaint in consumer

forum. It also explains the important theoretical points related to protection of

consumer’s interest. For this purpose a sample of 50 respondents has been

taken. Data has been collected through well structured questionnaire. Analysis

and interpretation of data have shown very interesting, alarming and

informative results and findings. At the end some recommendations have been

given for strengthening the present setup more effective.

Important objectives of the present study are:

To understand the concept of consumer and its problems, to have a

glimpse on the concept of consumer protection and on methods of

consumer protection.

To study the general awareness among consumers regarding consumer

protection measures.

To specifically study the awareness among consumers regarding the

various important procedural formalities for filling complaints under

Consumer Protection Act 1986.

To draw some conclusions and give some recommendations for

strengthening the consumer awareness programme more effective.

Research methodologyofthe study is mainly based on primary data. The primary

data has been collected from 50 consumers, through a well - structured

questionnaire. Consumers have been selected from the various parts of Haryana

State. This was purposive-cumconvince sampling method. In addition to

primary data, secondary data also have been used. Various journals, magazines,

books, electronic sources have also been consulted.

The general awareness regarding consumer protection among 50 respondents. It

shows that all the respondents are fully aware about the concept of consumer

protection. The entire respondent are aware about the term, 'JagoGrahakJago',

the special punch line used by the government to create consumer awareness

among society, All of them have listened or seen some or more advertisement

on this theme. Everyone is aware regarding qualitative aspects related to

products and services. Consumer protection act 1986 is a known Act for all of

them. Table has shown that 100% response in relation to general awareness

regarding consumer protection.

Conclusions and Suggestions of the study are Consumer Awareness in India is

growing day by day. Consumer Associations, Business Associations and

Government Legislations are working to safeguard the interests of the

consumers. The consumer protection Act 1986 is the benevolent social

legislation intended to protect the large body of consumers from exploitation. It

has become vehicle for enabling consumers to secure speedy and inexpensive

redressal of their disputes. It clearly specify the concept of goods, services,

defect, deficiency etc. It clearly explains the procedure for filing complaint,

relief available, appeals etc. It is working as a three tier system (District, State,

National) as a quasi-judicial machinery. The survey clearly shows that all the

respondents are having general awareness in relation to consumer protection.

They are well-versed with the term 'JagoGrahakJago' almost in all respect.

Quality parameters/standards like ISI, ISO, Agmarks etc. are also not new for

them. To overcome this unawareness it is hereby suggested that although huge

amount is being spended by the government for creating awareness, but the

procedural part is not being shown in the advertisements. Special

advertisements should be created to educate the consumers regarding procedure

for filing complaint, where to file complaint, when to file complaints etc. News

Paper, News Channels should also come forward to educate the consumers on

these points. Consumer Association should also come forward to should work

more and more to aware the consumers to raise voice against exploitation. Last

but not the least; the consumers must educate himself/herself

about his rights and availability of redressal mechanisms.

10.Next study is on the title “Perception Of Ethics & Consumer Protection

Act (CPA) Among Doctors” by Santhosh C S, Associate Professor,

andNawaz B, Assistant professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, J. J.

M. Medical College, Davangere, India conducted in November 2013.

The purpose of this study is to stress the importance of medical ethics & CPA

among Doctors. This study included the Academic Professional doctors as they

have to realize the importance of these topics in their day to day practice.

A cross-sectional study was conducted at Bapuji Hospital and Research

center, Davangere. A questionnaire was prepared and one hundred Doctors

(Academic professionals) who willfully consented to participate were asked to

fill their response among the choice given. A self-administered, structured

questionnaire written in English validated through a pretested survey including

20 items was used to evaluate the awareness and practices regarding ethics and

CPA among all the participants. The questions were based on ethics, awareness

of provisions of CPA as applied to medical profession, aims and objectives of

CPA, conditions a consumer comes under CPA, time period for the patient to

sue the concerned doctor, in case of frivolous complaint, time of appeal against

orders of

the district forum. No prior intimation was given about this questionnaire and

they had to fill their response on the spot. Knowledge about medical ethics and

Consumer Protection Act (CPA) is very essential now a day as it is the era of

litigations. A questionnaire regarding Ethics and CPA was prepared to know

about the awareness of these topics among doctors. Though 98% of the doctors

had heard about CPA and knew that they were included in CPA, only 46% of

the doctors could identify the limitation period for suing a doctor correctly. A

overwhelming 32% of the doctors believed that limitation period for filing a

complaint was 14 days. To conclude it is our duty to know about CPA and adapt

protective measures like good documentation, discussing with the patients about

treatment/ operation, taking Consent personally and thus avoid litigations in the

future. The results clearly indicate the knowledge of Medical Ethics and CPA is

limited. Adapt protective measures like good documentation, discussing with

the patients about treatment/ operation, taking Consent personally and thus

avoid litigations in the future.

CHAPTER 3

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

CONSUMER PROTECTION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

In business and economic planning the consumer should be held supreme in any

economy. It is his ultimate satisfaction that matters. While addressing a group of

businessmen, Gandhiji also once said, "A customer is the most important visitor

on our premises. He is dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an

interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is a part of it. We are not

doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an

opportunity to do so." Gandhi's words place the consumer on a very high

pedestal. But the consumer's high place is only a myth so far as the Indian

economy is considered. Indian consumer is an utterly helpless fellow. He has no

say in the quality or nature of goods that are sent to the market for his

consumption.

He is a victim of numerous malpractices. He is often made to buy adulterated or

substandard goods. Second hand goods are passed on to him as new. Clever

businessmen, through glossy salesmanship, misleading advertisements and tall

claims about their products, rob the consumer of his hard-earned money. The

consumer knows what is happening to him. But except making a loud,

individual kind of protest, which has no effect on the mammon-worshipping

businessmen, there is very little that he can do to check his systematic

exploitation.

Since a majority of our consumers, particularly in the rural areas, are illiterate,

they are not able to distinguish between the genuine and the spurious or the

good and the bad. It is mainly these consumers who suffer at the hands of

unscrupulous businessmen. Our consumers also suffer from a total absence of

awareness among them. They know nothing about their rights, they are ignorant

of the laws. First of all, the laws on trademarks, essential commodities, drugs,

weights and measures etc., are not very effective. Secondly, the standard of

morals in our country being what it is, the businessmen do not find it difficult to

steer clear of laws through greasing the palms of the inspection staff. Besides,

litigation is such a costly and time consuming affair that no consumer has the

courage and patience to throw cudgels on behalf of his ever suffering

community.

The cumulative result of these commissions and profit margins has been a lop-

sided and totally unfair arrangement which seeks to take advantage of the plight

of the consumer who realizes that he is being fleeced but is totally helpless to do

anything about it. Fortunately, the realization has lately dawned on the

authorities at various levels that something needs to be done to protect the

interests of the consumer to save him from exploitation arid to ensure that he

gets the worth of his money in respect of both quality and quantity.

Some years ago, Mr. Rajyadhyaksha, a former judge of the Supreme Court

spoke of the rights of a consumer in a free society and of how these rights could

be assured. In particular, he laid emphasis on three rights the right to choose, the

right to be informed and the right to be heard. All these rights assume the

existence of certain conditions.

The basic rights of a consumer were precisely defined by no less a person than

the late President John F. Kennedy, who articulated what had long been known

in advanced countries and among vigilant, highly educated people. The rights as

defined by him are : (1) the right to safety and to be protected against the

marketing of goods which are health hazards or pose a danger to life itself; (ii)

the right to be informed so as to be protected against fraudulent, deceitful or

grossly misleading information, advertising, labeling or other such practices and

to be given the facts he needs to make an informal choice; (iii) The right to

choose and to be assured; as far as possible, access to variety of products and

services at competitive prices, and in industries in which free competition is not

workable and Government regulation is substituted to be assured satisfactory

quality and service at fair prices; and (iv) The right to be heard and thus to be

assured that consumer interests will receive full and sympathetic consideration

in the formulation of governmental policy and fair and expeditious treatment in

its administrative tribunals.

Since India has for decades been a seller's market where the manufacturer and

the trader have the upper hand and manage to sell whatever is marketed, the

awareness of the consumer's basic rights as defined by former President,

Kennedy and others, has taken a longtime coming. For all practical purposes,

the consumer has been made the victim of monopolistic practices even where

there is no monopoly goods. Until recently, there was no appropriate legislation

on the statute book to ensure a fair deal to the consumer, where there was some

kind of protective legislation, it was seldom enforced and remained on paper

only.

A few purposeful Acts have been passed by Parliament to protect the interests

of the consumer and these reflect the Government's desire to do the needful in

this direction. But as stated above, the flaw has been in the implementation. The

manufacturers, the traders, both wholesalers and retailers, know this and,

therefore, they go on merrily overcharging and fleecing the consumer in both

quality and quantity. The poor consumer is left high and dry.

The Weights and Measures (Law Revision) Committee, commonly known as

the Maitra Committee, estimated a few years ago that the faulty weights and

measures enabled the trade to gain both ways; even one per cent error in

commercial transactions carried out in the country by inaccurate weights and

measures causes the consumer a loss of over Rs 170 crores in cities; the farmers

stand to lose about Rs. 150 crores by such a fault. A later report released in

January 1977 disclosed that under-weighing alone cheated the consumers to the

extent of Rs. 3,000 crores annually. This indicates the magnitude of the loss the

consumerssufferall through the lapse on the Government's part in enforcing a

strict check on the weights and measures being used by traders at various levels.

The interests of the consumer can be protected by making more stringent laws

and making the enforcement machinery perform its function honestly and

diligently. Among the methods adopted by the Government in its effort to

protect the consumer's interests are : the order requiring display of price lists in

shop; the orders fixing the limits of stocks of certain commodities which can be

stored at one time; the order requiring fixation of price tag& and printing weight

and prices on cartons; opening of more fair price shops; the prescription

necessitating a certificate from the Bureau Indian of Standards (BIS) regarding

the quality of the stuff being sold. There is also the Monopolies and Restrictive

Trade Practices Act (MRTP) to act as the watch dog of the Indian consumer.

The consumer movement in India, unfortunately, has developed very slowly.

Periodic efforts are made to organize a network of consumer societies, but the

impact has been minimal. Again it is ironical that while defects in automobiles,

freezers, fans, packed foods etc. have been, highlighted, not much attention has

been given the people's essential requirements. The masses are virtually

voiceless in this field; they accept whatever is given by the 'grocer'. Owing to

their general ignorance, they are the most common victims of the force of

capitalist’s exploitation. Consumer protection should start at the lower levels

and work upwards. The laws of the land should be adjusted accordingly.

The Indian consumer also needs to be educated about his rights, as has been

done in the U.S.A., Britain and other advanced coun¬tries. Quality should

become the norm instead of being the excep-tion in this country. Every possible

effort should be made to enable the consumer to get full value for his money. In

this venture the co-operation of all sections of the people and also of the

industria¬lists is essential. If industry exercises self-discipline and persuades all

the manufacturers and businessmen to ensure quality and correct weights, much

of the difficulty will vanish. Consumer’s organizations exist in some towns of

the country, but after the initial flush of enthusiasm they become silent and

cease to function. The network of super patroni was established with high

hopes, but they have made only a marginal impact on the general price level.

They do have considerable patronage but owing to a certain bureaucratic

practices and the time-consuming procedures they follow, many people prefer,

to continue patronizing the petty traders near their homes.

Obviously, consumers’ protection is possible in India, but effective enforcement

by legislation and a sustained ‘drive to educate the people are necessary.

Happily, TV programmes have begun to dis-cuss the problems of consumer

protection and consumer’s movement and a separate cell for consumer

protection has been formed in the Ministry of Food and Supplies. Let us hope

the consumer movement gathers momentum in times to come.

PROBLEMS FACED BY CONSUMERS

Consumers may be deceived in various ways by unscrupulous businessmen

including traders, dealers, producers and manufacturers as well as service

providers. Some of the following unfair practices must have come to your

notice sometime or the other:

Adulteration

Sale of spurious products

Use of false weights and measures

Sale of duplicates

Hoarding and black-marketing

Tie-in-Sales

Offering gifts having no additional value

Misleading advertisement

CONSUMER PROTECTION:-

Consumerism/consumer Awareness in India is growing. The growing feeling

among them that they are ruthlessly exploited and taken for a ride which has

organized the consumer movement. Many sellers even do not response to the

genuine grievance of consumers and many products fails to satisfy the requisite

quality and safety standards. Due to all these consumer have been more

critical/aware of the policies and practices of business houses in the recent years

than ever before. Consumers are organizing themselves for the protection of

their interests. Such a move to better the protection offered to the consumer is

called ‘consumerism’, which in other word is also called consumers protection

awareness. In simple words consumer protection is a form of social action

which is created to attain the well being of consumers.

For effective consumer protection, a practical response on the part three parties,

for example, the business, the government and the consumers, is essential.

Firstly, the business, comprising the producers and all the elements of the

distribution channels, has to pay due regard to consumer rights. The producer

has an inescapable responsibility to ensure efficiency in production and quality

of output. He should also resist the temptation to charge exorbitant prices in a

sellers’ market. Many a time, the imperfections on the supply side, like

hoarding and black marketing, mercilessly gouge the consumer. Hence, a

socially responsible producer should see to it that whatever is produced reaches

the ultimate consumer in time and at reasonable prices.

As T.Thomas observes,” Restraint is best exercised voluntarily than through

legislation which will otherwise become inevitable. Advertising agencies and

marketing management have a very important role to play in this respect. By

overplaying the claims, they will be cutting the very branch on which they are

perched”

Secondly, the government has to come to the rescue of the helpless consumer to

prevent him from being mislead, duped, cheated and exploited. It should also

take special care of the vulnerable sections.

The UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection points out that “the government

role in consumer protection is vital and finds expression through policy making,

legislation and the development of institutional capacity for it enforcement. To

provide a legal basis for enforcing basic consumer rights, every country needs

to have an irreducible minimum of consumer protection legislation, covering

physical safety, promotion and protection of consumers’ economic interests,

standards for the safety and quality of goods and services, distribution facilities,

redress, and education and information programmes. Government also requires

the necessary machinery to enforce such legislation.” The guidelines encourage

governments to develop, strengthen or maintain a strong consumer protection

policy. In so doing each government must set its own priorities for the

protection of consumers in accordance with its economic and social

circumstances and the needs of its population.

The UN Guidelines also calls upon the Government to establish distribution

facilities for essential consumer goods and services. It is suggested that

governments should ,where Appropriate ,consider: (a)Adopting or maintaining

policies to ensure the efficient distribution of goods and services to consumers;

where appropriate ,specific policies should considered to ensure the distribution

of essential goods and services where this distribution is endangered ,as could

be the case particularly in rural areas .such policies could include assistance for

the creation of adequate storage and retail facilities in rural centres ,incentives

for consumer self-help and better control of the conditions under which

essential goods and services are provided in rural areas; and (b)encouraging the

establishment of consumer cooperatives and related trading activities ,as well as

information about them especially in rural areas.

Further, according to the Guidelines, governments should establish or maintain

legal and/or administrative measures to enable consumers or, as appropriate,

relevant organizations to obtain redress through formal or informal procedures

that are expeditious, fair, inexpensive and accessible. Such procedures should

take particular account of the needs of low-income consumers. Governments

should also encourage all enterprises to resolve consumer disputes in a fair,

expeditious and informal manner, and to establish voluntary mechanisms,

including advisory services and informal complaints procedures, which can

provide assistance to consumers. Information on available redress and other

dispute –resolving procedures should be made available to consumers.

Thirdly, consumers should accept consumerism as a means of asserting and

enjoying their rights .consumerism should succeed in making the business and

the government more responsive to the rights of the consumers. Consumerism is

a social force to (i) make the business more honest, efficient, responsive and

responsible, and (ii) pressurize the government to adopt the necessary measures

to protect consumer interests by guaranteeing their legitimate rights.

Peter Drucker has remarked that” consumerism is the shame of the total

marketing concept”, implying that the concept is not widely implemented.

Consumerism reflects not only the failure of the business to widely implement

the marketing concept but also the need to give the business policies a social

orientation so as to enhance long –run social welfare.

LEGAL PROTECTION TO CONSUMERS

A number of laws have been passed by the Government of India over the

yearsto protect the interest of consumers. A brief outline of the purpose of

theselaws in given below:

(i) Agricultural Products (Grading and Marketing) Act, 1937:ThisAct

provides for grading and certifying quality standard of agriculturalcommodities

which are allowed to be stamped with AGMARK seal ofthe Agricultural

marketing department of the Government.

(ii) Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951: This Act provides

for control over production and distribution of manufactured goods.According

to this Act, the Central Government may order investigationof any industry, if it

is of the opinion that there has been substantial fall inthe volume of production,

or a marked decline in the quality of a product,or any unreasonable rise in price.

After due investigation, the Governmentmay issue directions to set things right.

If the directions are not actedupon, the Government may take over the

concerned undertakings.

(iii) Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954:

This Act provides forsevere punishment for adulteration of food articles. In the

case of saleof adulterated food which is injurious to health and likely to

causedeath, life imprisonment with a minimum fine of Rs 3000 may bepayable.

Food inspectors are appointed and they have powers to liftsamples and send

them for analysis. Penalties are also provided underthe act for offences

committed by persons with regard to manufacture,import, storage, sale and

distribution of adulterated food articles.

(iv) Essential Commodities Act, 1955: Under this Act, the Government

haspower to declare any commodity as essential in the public interest.Thereby

the Government can control the production, supply anddistribution of the

trading of such commodities. It also provides for actionagainst anti-social

activities of profiteers, hoarders and black-marketers.

(v) The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1956:This Act providesfor

the use of standard weights and standard measures of length throughoutthe

country. ‘Metre’ has been specified as the primary unit for measuringlength,

and ‘kilogram’ as the primary unit for measuring weight. Beforethis act came

into force, different system of weights and measures wereused in different parts

of the country like ‘Pound’, ‘Chhatak’ and ‘Seer’as Weights, Yard, Inch and

Foot for length, etc. These differences providedopportunities for traders to

exploit the consumers.

(vi) Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969:Under

theprovisions of this Act, as amended in 1983 and 1984, consumers

andconsumer groups can exercise their right of redressal by filingcomplaints

relating to restrictive and unfair trade practices. TheGovernment has constituted

the MRTP commission which isempowered to deal with consumer complaints

after due investigationand enquiry. The Commission has power to award

compensation forany loss or injury suffered by consumers.

(vii) Prevention of Black-marketing and Maintenance of EssentialSupplies

Act, 1980:The primary objective of this act is to provide fordetention of persons

with a view to prevention of black-marketing andmaintenance of supplies of

commodities essential to the community.The maximum detention for persons

acting in any manner against theintention of the act can be imprisonment upto 6

months.

(viii) Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986:The Bureau of Indian

Standardshas been set up under this Act, replacing the Indian Standards

Institution(ISI), to protect and promote consumer interest. It has two major

activities: formulation of quality standards for goods and their certification

throughthe BIS certification marks scheme by which manufacturers are

permittedto use the standardisation mark (ISI) on their products after

dueverification of conformity with prescribed quality standards of safetyand

performance. The Bureau has set up a consumer affairs departmentto create

quality conciousness among ordinary consumers. There is alsoa public

grievances cell to which consumers can make complaint aboutthe quality of

products carrying ISI mark.

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 1986

INTRODUCTION :-

The Consumer Protection Act 1986, (herein after to be referred to as 'Act') is

one ofbenevolent social legislation intended to protect the large body of

consumer fromexploitation. The Act has come as a panacea for consumers all

over the country and hasassumed the shape of practically the most important

legislation enacted in the country duringthe last few years. It has become

vehicle for enabling people to secure an inexpensiveredressal of their disputes.

With the enactment of this law, the consumer now feel that theyare in a position

to declare" sellers beware" whereas previously the consumers were at

thereceiving end and generally told 'buyer beware'.The Act postulates

establishment of central consumer protection council and state

consumerprotection councils for the purpose of spreading consumer awareness.

Central council isheaded by minister, incharge of the consumer affairs in the

Central Government and in thestate it is the minister incharge of the consumer

Affairs in the state government who headsstate council.

To provide cheap, speedy and simple redressal to consumer disputes, quasi-

judicial

machinery is set up at each District, State and National level called District

Forums, StateConsumer Disputes Redressal Commission and National

Consumer Disputes RedressalCommission respectively. At present there are

604 District Forums, 35 state commissions,with apex body as a National

Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) havingits office at

JanpathBhawan, A wing, 5th floor Janpath, New Delhi.Important information

shows that the Act has started working in the right - direction. Totalno. of cases

filed, before National commission since inception of National commission up

to05.08.11were 70787 out of which 61484 (86.86%) were disposed off. Further

total no. ofComplaints filed, before state commissions since inception of state

commissions were (up to05.08.11) 546134 out of which 446440 i.e. 81.75%

were disposed off. Whereas total no. ofcases complaints filed before district

forums since their inception (up to 05.08.11) were3010281, out of which

2755418 (i.e., 91.53%) were disposed off.

SOME IMPORTANT PROVISIONS OF THE ACT

Who Can File Complaint

The followings can file a complaint under the Act : (i) A consumer, (ii) Any

voluntaryconsumer organisation registered under the Registration of Societies

Act, 1860 or under thecompanies Act, 1956 or under any other law for the time

being in force, (iii) The centralGovernment (iv) The state Government or Union

Teritory Administration, (v) One or moreconsumers on behalf of numerous

consumers who are having the same interests.

What Constitute a Complaint

Under the Act 'Complaint' means any allegation in writing made by complainant

in regard toone or more of the following:

i) Any unfair trade practice or a restrictive trade practices adopted by any trader.

ii) The goods bought by him or agreed to be bought by him suffer from one or

moredefects.

iii) The services hired or availed of or agreed to be hired or availed of by him

suffer fromdeficiency in any respect.

iv) A trader charging excess of price as compared to : (a) fixed by or under any

law forthe time being in force or (b) displayed on goods, (c) displayed on any

packet

containing such goods, or (d) agreed between the parties.

Where to File a Complaint

A written complaint as amended by consumer (Amendment) Act, 2002 can be

filed;

If the cost of the goods or services and compensation asked for is uptoRs. 20

lakh,then the complaint can be filed in District Forum which has been

notified by the stateGovernment for the district where the cause of action has

arisen or where the oppositeparty resides. A complaint can also be filed at a

place where the branch office of theopposite party is located.

If the cost of goods or services and compensation asked for is more than Rs.

20 lakh,but less than Rs. 1 crore, then the complaint can be filed before the

state commissionnotified by the state commission or UT concerned.If the

cost of goods or service and compensation asked for exceed Rs. 1 crore then

the complaint can be filed before the National Commission at New Delhi.

How to File a Complaint

Procedure for filing complaints and seeking redressal are simple. There is no

prescribedperforma for the submission of complaint. However it must be

written. It may be submitteddirectly or by post. A nominal amount of fees is

also required to be deposited for makingcomplaints before Distt. Forum. A

complaint should contain the following information: (i)Name and address of the

complainant, (ii) Name and address of the opposite party or parties,(iii)

Description of the fact of the complaint, (iv) Documentary evidence

collaborating thecomplaint, (v) Relief expected as redressal of complaint, (vi)

Signature of the complainant orhis authorised agent.The complaint can be filed

within two years from the date on which cause of action hasarisen. Complainant

can plead his case/complaint on his own, this means that he is not

undercompulsion to hire the services of lawyer.

Relief Available to the Consumer

If after the proceedings conducted under section 13, the District Forum is

satisfied that thegoods complained against suffer from any of the defect

specified in the complaint or that anyof the allegation contained about the

services are proved, it may give orders for one or moreof the following reliefs :

(i) removal of defects from the goods, (ii) replacement of the goods,

(iii) refund of price to the complainant, (iv) award appropriate compensation for

the loss orinjury suffered (v) Removal of deficiencies from service, (vi)

discontinuance of unfair tradepractices, (vii) to cease manufacturing of

hazardous goods (viii) award for adequate costs toparties (ix) removal of

misleading advertisement.

Procedure for Filing Appeal

Any person aggrieved, by an order made by District Forum may prefer an

appeal against suchorder to the state commission within a period of 30 days

from the date of order, in such formand manner as man be prescribed. No

appeal shall be entertained by the state commissionunless the appellant has

deposited in the prescribed manner 50% of that amount in terms ofan order of

the District Forum or Rs. 25000, whichever is less. Further any person

aggrieved,by the order made by the state commission, may prefer an appeal,

against such order to thenational commission within a period of 30 days from

the date of the order in such form and

manner as may be prescribed. In this situation appellant has to deposit in the

prescribedmanner 50% of the amount or Rs. 35000 whichever is less. Appeal

against the order of theNational commission can be filed before the Supreme

Court within a period of 30 days. Atthis stage the appellant is required to

deposit in the prescribed manner 50% of that amount orRs. 50000 whichever is

less.

The Six Consumer Rights

Another important point which is the most important is the rights of the

consumer specificallymentioned (chapter II, Sec. 6) in the act. The Act which

was enacted in India in 1986 verysoon after the adoption of the U.N. guidelines

for consumers in April, 1985, is considered asone of the most unique

legislations of the world for consumer protection. The Act enrichessix rights to

the consumers which are: (i) Right to safety, (ii) Right of Choice, (iii) Right to

beinformed (iv) Rights to be heard (v) Right to seek redressal and (vi) Right to

consumerEducation.

Right to safety:

Consumers have a right to be protected against marketing of goods

which are injurious to health and life. As a consumer if you are conscious of this

right, youcan take precautions to prevent the injury or if injury is caused in spite

of precaution, youhave a right to complain against the dealer and even claim

compensation. For example, ifyou buy any medicine, the pharmacy selling it

can be held responsible if the medicine provesharmful. Again if gas cylinder is

used for cooking, you have to check that it does not leakwhen it is supplied to

you. If it starts leaking afterwards, the supplier will be liable to

paycompensation if the leakage of gas leads to fire and causes injury or death to

anyone.

(ii)Right to be informed:

Consumers also have the right to be informed about the quantity,quality, purity,

standard or grade and price of the goods available so that they can makeproper

choice before buying any product or service. Also, where necessary, the

consumer

must be informed about the safety precautions to be taken while using the

product to avoidloss or injury. Taking the example of gas cylinder again, the

supplier must inform the user tostop the flow of gas with the help of the

regulator when it is not in use.

(iii)Right to choose:

Every consumer has the right to choose the goods needed from a widevariety of

similar goods. Very often dealers and traders try to use pressure tactics to sell

goods of poor quality. Sometimes, consumers are also carried away by

advertisements onthe TV. These possibilities can be avoided if consumers are

conscious of this right.

(iv)Right to be heard :

This right has three interpretations. Broadly speaking, this right meansthat

consumers have a right to be consulted by Government and public bodies when

decisionsand policies are made affecting consumer interests. Also, consumers

have a right to beheard by manufactures, dealers and advertisers about their

opinion on production andmarketing decisions. Thirdly, consumers have the

right to be heard in legal proceedings inlaw courts dealing with consumer

complaints.

(v)Right to seek redressal :

If and when any consumer has a complaint or grievance due tounfair trade

practices like charging higher price, selling of poor quality or unsafe products,

lack of regularity in supply of services etc. or if he has suffered loss or injury

due to defectiveor adulterated products, he has the right to seek remedies. He

has a right to get the defectivegoods replaced or money refunded by the seller or

dealer. He also has the right to seeklegal remedies in the appropriate courts of

law. Through this right the consumers are assuredthat their complaints will

receive due attention. This right also provides for due compensationto

consumers if they have suffered a loss or are put to inconvenience due to the

fault of the supplier or manufacturer

(VI)Right to consumer education :

To prevent market malpractices and exploitation ofconsumers, consumer

awareness and education are essentially required. For this purpose,consumer

associations, educational institutions and Government policy makers are

expected

to enable consumers to be informed and educated about (a) the relevant laws

which areaimed at preventing unfair trade practice; (b) the ways in which

dishonest traders andproducers may try to manipulate market practices to

deceive consumers; (c) how consumerscan protect their own interest; and (d)

the procedure to be adopted by consumers whilemaking complaints

Responsibilities of consumers

There is a well known saying that ‘there cannot be rights without

responsibilities’. Having examinedthe consumer rights and the purpose served

by them, it is necessary to consider whether consumersshould also be

responsible enough to be entitled to exercise their rights. For instance, to be

ableto exercise their right to be heard, consumers should avail of the

opportunities to know and keepinformed about consumer problems. To exercise

their right to seek redressal of complaints,

consumers must take all precautions to choose the right goods at the right price

and learn how touse the products to prevent injury or loss. Specifically, the

responsibilities of consumers mayinclude the followings:

(i) Responsibility of self-help

It is always desirable that a consumer should not depend on the seller for

information and choice as far as possible. As a consumer, you are expected to

act in a responsible manner to protect yourself from being deceived. An

informed consumer can always take care of his/her interest more than any one

else. Also, it is always better to be forewarned and forearmed rather than getting

remedies after suffering a loss or injury.

(ii) Proof of Transactions:

The second responsibility of every consumer is that the proof of purchase and

documents relating to purchase of durable goods should be invariable obtained

and preserved. For example, it is important to get a cash memo on purchase of

goods You should remember that in case you have to make any complaint about

defects in goods, the proof of purchase will enable you to establish your claim

for repair or replacement of the goods. Similarly, durable consumer goods like

TV, refrigerator, etc. carry warranty /guarantee cards issued by the dealers. The

cards entitle you to get the service for repairs and replacement of parts free of

cost during a certain period after purchase.

(iii) Proper claim:

Another responsibility that consumers are expected to bear in mind is that while

making complaints and claiming compensation for loss or injury, they should

not make unreasonably large claims. Very often, consumers have to exercise

their right to seek redressal in a court. There have been cases in which

consumers claimed huge compensation for no apparent reason. This is regarded

as an irresponsible act which should be avoided.

(iv) Proper use of Product/services:

Some consumers, especially during the guarantee period, make rough use of

the product, thinking that it will be replaced during the guarantee period. This is

not fair on their part. They should always use the products properly. Besides the

above responsibilities, consumers should be conscious of some other

responsibilities. They should stick to the agreement made with manufacturers,

traders and service providers. They should make timely payment in case of

credit purchases. They should not tamper with the media of services, like

electric and water meters, bus and train seats, etc. They should rememberthat

they can exercise their rights only when they are willing to fulfill their

responsibilitiesCONSUER PROTECTION AND CONSUMERISM IN INDIA

Plight of the Indian Consumer

An examination of the important problem facing the Indian consumer would

make clear the need for more effective government intervention and consumer

movement to safeguard consumer rights.

The following factors make the plight of the Indian consumer miserable.

1. Short supply of many goods and services, especially of essential items, is a

very serious problem afflicting the Indian consumer. The demand –supply

imbalance has produced all the associated evils of profiteering, hoarding and

black marketing, corruption nepotism irresponsiveness and arrogance towards

consumers. Although the situation has improved as a result of the increase in

competition due to liberalization, it is still far from satisfactory.

2. Many products with which consumers in advanced countries are quite

familiar are still new to a very large segment of the Indian consumers. The

unfamiliarity of consumers with product features makes the sale of substandard,

inferior or even defective products easier in India than advanced in advanced

countries.

3. Due to low literacy levels and unsatisfactory information flows, the Indian

consumers, by and large, are not conscious of all their rights. This encourages

irresponsible and unscrupulous business attitudes and tactics.

4. It has been said that the legal process in India is comparatively time-

consuming and cumbersome .this discourages the consumers from seeking the

redressal of this grievance by means of the judicial process.

5. Consumerism in India is not well organized and developed.

6. Though the public sector had been developed and expanded to serve the

public interest by providing effective competition to the private sector,

increasing production, improving distribution etc.,it failed to produce benefits

that were commensurate with the investment. It is an irony that through

consumer welfare is an avowed objective of the public sector , in certain areas

the poor performance of the public sector monopolies has made the plight of the

consumer miserable. Some of them have even been charged with unfair trade

practices.

7. Though there are a number of laws to safeguard the interests of consumers,

they are not effectively implemented and enforced to achieve the objectives.

8. The Indian consumers is also victim of lack of effective or workable

competition. Competition among sellers, even though imperfect, may be

regarded as effective or workable if it offers buyers real alternatives sufficient to

enable them ,by shifting their purchase from one seller to another, substantially

to influence quality,service,and price. Unfortunately this is not working

properly in India.

The above factors call for the effective state intervention and consumerism to

ensure the rights of consumers.

CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

General Information

Age of the respondents:

Below 30 30-40 45-60 Above 60 Total

20 15 11 4 50

(percentage)

Below 30 30-40 45-60 Above 60 Total

40 30 22 8 100

Educational qualification:

Upto SSLC Upto plus two Upto Degree Above degree Total

8 9 12 21 50

(percentage)

Upto SSLC Upto plus two Upto Degree Above degree Total

16 18 24 42 100

Occupation:

Monthly income:

Rs. 25000 25000-50000 50000-75000 75000-100000 Above 100000 Total

19 11 9 8 3 50

(percentage)

Rs. 25000 25000-50000 50000-75000 75000-100000 Above 100000 Total

38 22 18 16 6 100

Gender:

Private employee

Government employee

Self employee Profesional others Total

19 7 6 10 8 50Private employee

Government employee

Self employee Profesional others Total

38 14 12 20 16 100

Male Female Total

29 21 50

Male Female Total

29 21 50

(Percentage)

The study is based on seven factors and each factor is analysed separately.

The first factor is Consumers’ Knowledge Of The Law.

(percentage)

Yes No No response TotalRight to information 48 2 _ 50

Right to safety 46 4 _ 50

Right to be heard 39 11 _ 50

Right to choose 43 7 _ 50

Right to consumer education

47 3 _ 50

Right to redressal 32 15 3 50

Yes No No response TotalRight to information 96 4 _ 50

Right to safety 92 8 _ 50

Right to be heard 78 22 _ 50

Right to choose 86 14 _ 50

Right to consumer education

96 6 _ 50

Right to redressal 64 30 6 50

As the graph shows 96% of the

respondents are aware about the right to

information and 4% of the respondents

are unaware about it.92% of the

respondents are aware about the right to safety and 8 % of the respondents are unaware about

the right. Another right is right to heard , only 78% of repondents are aware about it and 22%

are unaware. 86% of respondents are aware about the right to choose and 14% are unaware

about it. 94% of respondents are aware about the right to consumer education. Next is right to

redressal ,64% of the respondents are aware about it andand 30 % of the respondents are

unaware about the right and 6% of the respondents have no response.

Next is the analysis of the extent awareness of rights.

(percentage)

Right to

inform

ation

Right to

safet

y

Right to

be hea

rd

Right to

choose

Right to

consumer

educati

on

Right to

redres

sal0

40

80

120

YesNoNo response

Fully Awar

e

Moderately Aware

Reasonably

Aware

No Response

Total

Right to Information

13 19 15 3 50

Right to Safety

15 13 15 7 50

Right to be Heard

15 12 15 8 50

Right to Choose

15 20 12 3 50

Right to Consumer Education

12 16 18 4 50

Right to Redressal

15 10 13 12 50

a)

Right to

Inform

ation

b) R

ight to

Safet

y

c)

Right to

be Hear

d

d) R

ight to

Choose

e)

Right to

Consumer

Educati

on0

10

20

30

40

FULLY AWAREMODERATELY AWAREREASONABLY AWARENO RESPONSE

The right to informtion is fully awared by 26% of the respondents and moderately aware by 38% and 30% reasonably aware and 6% has no response. The right to safety is fully aware by 30%and moderately aware by 26% and reasonably awared by 30% and 14% has no response. 30% is fully awared the right to heard and moderately aware by 24%and reasonably awared by 30% and 16% of the respondents have no response. The right to choose is fully awared by 24 % and moderately awared by 32% and reasonably awared by 36% and 8% no response.the right to heared is fully awared by 30% and moderately awared by 20% and 26% reasonably awared and 24% have no response.

Next factor to be analysed is the media exposure.

Fully Awar

e

Moderately Aware

Reasonably

Aware

No Respons

e

Total

Right to Information

26 38 30 6 100

Right to Safety

30 26 30 14 100

Right to be Heard

30 24 30 16 100

Right to Choose

30 40 24 6 100

Right to Consumer Education

24 32 36 8 100

Right to Redressal

30 20 26 24 100

SL.NO SOURCES RANK

1.1 Television A

1.2 Radio E

1.3 Newspaper B

1.5 Magazine D

1.6 Outdoor advertisement F

1.7 Social networking sites C

The above rank is assigned on the basis of the ranking of respondents. Most of them rank television as the best source from which they get consumer protection awareness. Second rank goes to newspaper and then social networking sites. Fourth rank goes to radio and outdoor advertisement is has least rank as as a source of consumer awareness.

Second analysis in media exposure is on the basis of the below table.

Yes no No response

Total

Do you think media can play an

important role in increasing consumer

awareness?

42 8 _ 50

Do you think that the media favours

the business corporates ? 30 13 7 50

Do you think that the effort of media is

not enough towards protecting

consumerism?

32 13 5 50

Do you expect more standard in

awareness campaigns of media? 31 16 3 50

Do you think that the media influence

your buying behavior? 28 19 3 50

(percentage)

yes no No response

Total

Do you think media can play

an important role in

increasing consumer

awareness?

84 16 - 100

Do you think that the media

favours the business

corporates ?

60 26 14 100

Do you think that the effort

of media is not enough

towards protecting

consumerism?

64 26 10 100

Do you expect more

standard in awareness

campaigns of media?

62 32 6 100

Do you think that the media

influence your buying

behavior?

56 38 6 100

As the graph shows for the question Do you think media can play an important role in

increasing consumer awareness? 84% of the respondents said yes and 16% said no. and for

the question do you think media favours business corporate 60% vote as yes and 26% as no

and 14% has no response. And for the question Do you think that the effort of media is not

enough towards protecting consumerism?64% answered as yes and 26% as no and 10% have

no response . 62% said yes and 32% said no and 6% have no reponse in the question Do you

expect more standard in awareness campaigns of media?. And for the question Do you think

that the media influence your buying behavior? 56% said yes and 38 said no and 6% said no

response.

020406080

yesnoNo response

The third factor considered for the study is buying behaviour.

Ten variables are considered to analyse the factors considered by consumers while making purchase.

Sl.no FACTORS OF PURCHASE RANK

1. Price of the Product 12. Quality of the product 23. Promotional offer 6

4. Brand preference 7

5. Eco- friendly Products 5

6. Packaging 107. Availability 48. Attractive advertisement 8

9. Image of the company 310. After sale service 9

By analyzing the response of 50 persons on the factors considered before making purchase, price of the product is the most considering factor by consumer. Second preference goes to quality of the product. Next is image of the company and fourth rank goes to availability of the product. The respondents prefer eco friendly products as next and promotional offer comes after that. Next is preference is for the brand preference and eighth rank goes to attractive advertisement. After sales service and packaging score the last two positions respectively.

Frequently

Occasionaly RarelyNot At

AllNo

Comments

Total

a) Do the Children influence purchase of particular product?

12 16 8 8 6 50

b) Do you purchase goods in bulk quantity? 6 16 20 8 _ 50

c) Do you purchase consumer durables from super stores or from big show rooms?

17 19 8 6 _ 50

d) Did you purchase products at season and festival times?

17 15 13 5 _ 50

e) Did you interested to avail the credit facilities to purchase the product?

12 18 5 15 _ 50

The purchase behaviour of the respondents is analysed by asking some questions they are ;

Frequentl Occasionaly RarelyNot At

AllNo

Comment Total

y sa) Do the Children influence

purchase of particular product?

24 32 16 16 12 100

b) Do you purchase goods in bulk quantity? 12 32 40 16 _ 100

c) Do you purchase consumer durables from super stores or from big show rooms?

34 38 16 12 _ 50

d) Did you purchase products at season and festival times?

34 30 26 10 _ 100

e) Did you interested to avail the credit facilities to purchase the product?

24 36 10 30 _ 100

(percentage)

Children

’s influen

ce

Goods in bulk

Purchase

from big s

hops

Purchase

at fe

stivel ti

me

Credit f

aciliti

es05

1015202530354045

FrequentlyOccasionallyRarelyNot At AllNo Comments

For the question do the Children influence purchase of particular product? 24% of the

respondents answered frequently and 32% respond occasionally 16 %said rarely 16% as not at

all and 12% no response. For the question Do you purchase goods in bulk quantity? 12%

answered frequently and 32% occasionally and 40% rarely, 16% as not at all. The next question

is Do you purchase consumer durables from super stores or from big show rooms? For that

question 34% respond frequently, 38% occasionally, 16% rarely and 12% not at all. And for the

question did you purchase products at season and festival times? 34% answered frequently,

30% occasionally and 26% rarely and 10% respond as not at all. And for the question did you

interested to avail the credit facilities to purchase the product? 24% answered frequently, 36%

occasionally 10% rarely and 30% as not at all.

YES NO

NO RESPONSE

Total

Did you heard the term ‘JAGO GRAHAK JAGO’?36 14 -

50

Have you ever used national consumer helpline? 8 42 - 50

Have you ever attended any seminar regarding consumer Protection? 12 38 - 50

Do you know the procedure for filing complaint? 16 34 - 50

Are you aware about the time-limit for filing complaint? 21 29 - 50

Have you ever filed any complaint in consumer forum? 11 37 2 50

Are you aware about that the services of lawyer required or Not? 16 29 5 50

Are you aware about the levels of consumer forum? 11 37 2 50

Are you aware about the jurisdiction of consumer forums? 12 35 3 50

Are you aware about the ‘Appeal’? 18 32 - 50

The next variable under study is procedural know how.

(percentage)YES

NO NO RESPONSE

Total

Did you heard the term ‘JAGO GRAHAK JAGO’?72 28 -

100

Have you ever used national consumer helpline? 16 84 - 100

Have you ever attended any seminar regarding consumer Protection? 24 76 - 100

Do you know the procedure for filing complaint? 32 68 - 100

Are you aware about the time-limit for filing complaint? 42 58 - 100

Have you ever filed any complaint in consumer forum? 22 74 4 100

Are you aware about that the services of lawyer required or Not? 32 58 10 100

Are you aware about the levels of consumer forum? 22 74 4 100

Are you aware about the jurisdiction of consumer forums? 24 70 6 100

Are you aware about the ‘Appeal’? 36 64 - 100

YES

NO No response

Total

a) Do you check the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) before buying a product?

76 16 8 100

b) Are you charged the MRP or more than/less than the MRP? 56 40 4 100

c) Do you examine the expiry date of the items you buy? 86 14 - 100

d) Do you check the weight of the products mentioned on the items?

54 46 - 100

e) Have you check the standards like ISI, ISO, AGMARK, HALL-MARK etc. Of the product?

58 38 4 100

f) Do you check whether the price match with the product level before buying? 56 34 10 100

g) Do you demand for the bill before making payment?64 36 - 100

h) Do you check the eco friendly standards of the product?52 42 6 100

i) Do you examine whether the product has match up with the trend and technology? 50 42 8 100

‘JAGO GRAHAK JA

GO’

national c

onsumer help

line

seminar

regard

ing consumer

Protection

proced

ure for fi

ling c

omplaint

time-lim

it for fi

ling c

omplaint?

filed an

y complai

nt

servi

ces of la

wyer re

quired

levels

of consumer

forum

juris

diction of co

nsumer foru

ms

‘Appea

l’0

20

40

60

80

YES NO NO RESPONSE

For the question did you heard the term ‘JAGO GRAHAK JAGO’? 72% of the

respondents said yes and 28% said no. And for the next question have you

ever used national consumer helpline? 16% of the respondents said yes and 84%

said no. the next question is have you ever attended any seminar regarding

consumer Protection? In which 24% of the respondents said yes and 76% said no.

and for the question do you know the procedure for filing complaint?32% of the

respondents said yes and 68% said no. next question are you aware about the time

limit for filing complaint in which 42% said yes and 58% said no. and for the

question are you aware about the services of a lawyer needed or not?22%

answered as yes,74% as no and 4% have no response. And for the question have

you ever filed any complaint in consumer forum? 32% said yes , 58% said no and

10 % have no response. Next question is are you aware about the levels of

consumer forum? 22% said yes, 74% no and 4% have no response. Ans for the

question are you aware about the jurisdiction of the consumer forums? 24% said

yes . 70% said no and 6% have no response. And for the last question are you

aware about the appeal? 36% said yes and 64% said no.

Next factor is consumers’ buying competency.

For the question do you check theMRP before buying a product? 76% of the respondents said yes and 16% said no and 8% have no response. next question Are you charged the MRP or more than/less than the MRP? 56% said yes ,40% said

no and 4% have no response . for the question do you examine the expiry date of the items you buy?86% said yes and 14% said no. And for the question do you check the weight of the products mentioned on the items?54% said yes and 46% said no. Next question have you check the standards like ISI, ISO, AGMARK, HALL-MARK etc. Of the product? 58% said yes ,38% said no and 4% said no response. For the question Do you check whether the price match with the product level before buying? 56% said yes ,34% said no and 10% have no response. And for the question do you demand for the bill before making payment? 64% said yes and 36% said no. Next question Do you check the eco friendly standards of the product? 52% of the respondents said yes , 42% said no and 6% have no response. The last question Do you examine whether the product has match up with the trend and technology? 50% said yes 42% no and 8% have no response.

Next factor is consumer education.

yes no No response

Total

Do you think that you have received consumer education? 14 33 3 50Do you have become member of a voluntary consumer forum? 5 43 2 50Do you have the habit of regularly attend its meeting? 4 36 4 50Do you spend some time to read articles on consumer education? 31 17 2 50Do you think that reasonable consumer education is necessary to every common man now a days?

39 8 3 50

(percentage)

yes no No response

Total

Do you think that you have received consumer education? 28 66 6 100Do you have become member of a voluntary consumer forum? 10 86 4 100Do you have the habit of regularly attend its meeting? 8 72 8 100Do you spend some time to read articles on consumer education? 62 34 4 100Do you think that reasonable consumer education is necessary to every common man now a days?

78 16 6 100

0306090

YESNONo response

0306090

yesnoNo response

For the question do you think that you have received consumer education?28% of the respondents said yes, 66% said no and 6% said no response. Next question do you have become member of a voluntary consumer forum? 10% said yes 86% said no and 4% have no response. For the question do you have the habit of regularly attend its meeting? 8% said yes 72% said no and 8% said no response. For the question do you spend some time to read articles on consumer education?62% said yes 34% said no and 4% said no response. And the last question do you think that reasonable consumer education is necessary to every common man now a days? 78% said yes , 16% said no and 6% said no response.

The last factor is consumer expectation.

yes No No response

Total

Do you think that awareness about consumer rights and protection should be started in school levels?

48 2 - 50

If you are not satisfied with the price/quality of the products do you realize the need for joining with some consumer clubs to fight for rights?

33 15 2 50

Are you ready to join such forums for the redressal of your grievance? 31 14 5 50

Do you think that there is a need for change the laws of consumer protection?

21 17 12 50

Do you think that there is a need to change in the working of consumer forum?

33 8 9 50

Do you think that there is any need for change in the working of consumer organizations?

28 10 12 50

yes No

No response

Total

Do you think that awareness about consumer rights and protection should be started in school levels?

96 4 - 100

If you are not satisfied with the price/quality of the products do you realize the need for joining with some consumer clubs to fight for rights?

66 30 4 100

Are you ready to join such forums for the redressal of your grievance? 62 28 10 100

Do you think that there is a need for change the laws of consumer protection? 42 34 24 100

Do you think that there is a need to change in the working of consumer forum? 66 16 18 100

Do you think that there is any need for change in the working of consumer organizations?

56 20 24 100

For the question do you think that awareness about consumer rights and protection should be started in school levels? 96% said yes and 4% said no. Next question If you are not satisfied with the price/quality of the products do you realize the need for joining with some consumer clubs to fight for rights? 66% said yes 30% said no and 4% have no response. For the question

Are you ready to join such forums for the redressal of your grievance? 62% said yes 28% said no and 10% said no response. For the question do you think that there is a need for change the laws of consumer protection? 42% said yes ,34% said no and 24% have no response. For the question do you think that there is a need to change in the working of consumer forum?66% said yes, 16% said no and 18% have no response and the last question do you think that there is any need for change in the working of consumer organizations?56% said yes 20% said no and 24% have no response.

Testing of hypothesis 1

Null hypothesis: there is no difference between the gender of the respondents and their level of perception about consumer protection.

Consumer Protection

Male FemaleZ

ValueConclusionMean

ScoreStandard Deviation

Score

Mean Score

Standard Deviation

Score1 Knowledge

About The Law

16.24 9.93 16.14 6.12 .075 Table value is 1.96 at 5% significance level, here z value is less than the table value, hence the null hypothesis is accepted

020406080

100120

yesnoNo response

2 Media Exposure


3 Buying Behaviour


4 Procedural Know How


5 Buying Competency


6 Consumer Education


7 Consumer Expectation

14.17 8.3241 15 5.29 .43 Table value is 1.96 at 5% significance level, here z value is less than the table value, hence the null hypothesis is accepted

Consumer protection as a whole

Male Female

Z value

Sum of Mean Scores

Sum of Standard Deviation

scores

Sum of

mean scores

Sum of standard deviation

scores

Consumer protection

15.66 10.34 15.11 7.863 .2157

From the above test we can analysethat the z value is less than the table value 1.96 at 5 % significance level , hence the null hypothesis can be accepted and we can conclude that there is no difference between the gender of the respondents and their level of perception about consumer protection. When taking each factor one by one , z value of all the factors are less than the table value hence we can conclude that there is no difference between the gender of the respondents and their level of perception about consumer protection.

Z value =

X1 – X2

√(S1)2 – (S2)2

n1 n2

Testing of hypothesis 2

Null hypothesis: People irrespective of their formal education have similar competency in buying.

Chi square test:

Education opinion

SSLC and Plus Two

Degree

Post Graduation

Total

Yes 5 9 12 26

Neutral and No 12 6 6 24

Total 17 15 18 50

Hypothetical table:

Education opinion

SSLC and Plus Two

Degree

Post Graduation

Total

Yes 9.18 6.48 11.34 27

Neutral and No 7.82 5.52 9.66 23

Total 17 12 21 50

Chi square test:

O E O-E O-E2 O-E 2

E

5 9.18 4.18 17.4724 1.9033

7 6.48 1.48 2.1904 .3380

15 11.34 3.66 13.3956 1.1812

12 7.82 4.18 17.4724 2.2343

5 5.52 .52 .2702 .048

6 9.66 3.66 13.3956 1.3867

X2 = 7.0915

Here the chi square value is less than the table value at 5% significance level. The table value is 5.991. The null hypothesis is rejected because the chi square value is more than the table value.So we can conclude that buying competency have relation with their formal education . Buying competency is depends upon educational qualification

CHAPTER 5

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

Key findings and suggestions of the study as follows; the findings are made after different statistical analysis of the collected data.

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

Following are the various findings made from the study;

1. Almost all the respondents are aware about six consumer rights. 85% of the respondents are aware about various consumer rights in total and 14% not aware about the rights and 1% have no response.

2. When come to the extent of awareness of rights in total 28.34% of respondents fully aware about their rights, 30% of respondents are moderately aware about the rights, 29.33 %of the respondents are reasonably aware and 12.33% have no response.

3. Television is ranked first by the respondents as the best source in which they get consumer protection awareness, newspaper and social networking sites get second and third rank respectively.

4. Most of the respondents think that media plays an important role in consumer awareness and they admit that media influence their buying behaviour. So the role of media in consumer protection is very crucial.

5. Price of the product is the most important factor considered by the respondents while making purchase decision. Quality of the product, image of the company, advertisement, and eco friendly products are also factors which affect buying behaviour.

6. The procedural know how of the respondents is not much favorable .only 32.2% of respondents are aware about the procedures in totality, 65.4% not aware about the procedures of consumer protection and 2.4% have no response.

7. The term ‘JagoGrahakJago’ is known by 72% of the respondents and 28% don’t know it. But in the same time only 16% known about the consumer helpline number and 84% is unaware about it.

8. Buying competency of the respondents is better than the procedural know how.62% of the respondents have competency in buying that they check the MRP, expiry date, price, bill, weight ,standards etc of the

product.34.44% of the respondents don’t have buying competency and 3.56% of respondents have no response.

9. Consumer education of the respondents is not so much satisfiable.37.2% of the respondents are aware about consumer education and expect for a better consumer education,54.8% of the respondents are not aware or not get any education as a consumer and 8% of the respondents have no response.

10. 62% of the respondents spent time in reading articles on consumer education and 78% of the respondents think that reasonable consumer education is necessary to every common man now a days.

11.Among the respondents 96% think that awareness about consumer rights and protection should be started in school levels. 62% of the respondents are ready to join consumer clubs for the redressal of their grievance.

12.In the matter of consumer protection laws 42% of the respondents think that there is a need for change the laws of consumer protection and 34% don’t need such change and 25%have no response.

13. 66% of the respondents think that there is need to change in the working of consumer forums and 56% of the respondents think that there is a need to change in the working of consumer organsations.

14.Even though most of the consumers aware about the consumer rights only 22% of the respondents file complaint in the consumer forum.

15.The educational qualification and buying competency is interrelated. A person with good educational qualification is more competent in buying.

16.The next and last finding of the study is that there is no difference between the gender of the respondents and their level of perception about consumer protection.

SUGGESTIONS

Following are the various suggestions made after analyzing the findings;

1. The main problem is consumers are well aware that they have rights but they don’t know how to execute or how to respond. They are unaware about the procedural complexities. So step should be taken by consumer organization and government to improve the procedural knowledge of the respondents.

2. The role of media is significant in consumer protection. First position goes to television, but to make a better result in future new trends should be adopted like social networking site. Also all other components of media should also used to increase consumer awareness on consumer protection.

3. The consumer helpline number is not much popular, or it is not used more by the consumers. so to increase the popularity of consumer helpline number more advertisement should be given by the government and it should be made mandatory that in the packing of every product the consumer helpline number should also printed with the MRP and expiry date.

4. Consumer protection awareness programmes should be conducted through ayalkootams and kudumbasree so that rural masses also get knowledge about it.

5. Consumer laws should be amended based on the changes in the society and it should made more user friendly that common man can also understand it easily.

6. Consumer education should be started from school level and booklets and articles should be distributed among students so that they can make use of it for future reference. Exams should also be conducted on consumer protection and this will help to build up a future generation with good knowledge.

7. Small booklets and journals should be made by the government including consumer rights, laws and duties. And the booklets should be printed in different languages and so that all common

man can read and understand it. These booklets should be distributed through schools, book stalls, panchayath etc.

8. Buying competency of the uneducated ones should be improved by giving proper training through different government programmes . This is important because buying competency makes the consumer more able in making wise purchase decision and this will also act as a check on manufacturers too.

9. Buying behaviour of the consumers is changed day by day this will make changes in consumer protection aspect also. So that laws should be redrafted by considering the changes in buying behaviour.

10. Consumer organizations should be given more assistance and support by the government and the organization should adopt steps to attract more consumers as members towards it. There should be atleast one consumer organization in each panchayath.

11. It should be made mandatory for the traders and suppliers to display the address and telephone numbers of the nearest district forum at prominent places in the shop.

CHAPTER 6

REFERNCES

REFERENCES

1. Books and magazine

a. Francis(2005) Business environment, Himalaya Publishing House, Chennai, p.166-185

2. Websites

a. https://www.academia.edu/721893/consumer protection in India/

b. https://www.theinternationaljournal.org/ojs/index.php?journal...

c. http://www.uky.edu/~wmbowl0/consumerm protection %5B1%5D.ppt

d. http://www.slideshare.net/enallst/india-presentation-consumer protection in india

3 .Research thesis

a) Prajapati R. (2009) “A Study of Consumer Awareness Regarding Household Goods and Services Among Female of Mehsana City” unpublished Master dissertation submitted to Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, Patan

b) GandotraV.andDivatia A. 2005, “Consumer Education’ 1st ed., Dominant Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi

http://www.slideshare.net/enallst/india-presentation-consumer

http://www.uky.edu/~wmbowl0/consumerm%20protection%5B1%5D.ppt

http://www.uky.edu/~wmbowl0/consumerm%20protection%5B1%5D.ppt

https://www.academia.edu/721893/consumer

CHAPTER 7

APPENDIX

CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION OF THEIR RIGHTS AND DUTIES - A STUDY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KOCHI

QUESTIONNAIREPERSONAL INFORMATION

1. NAME :

2. AGE : BELOW 30 30 - 45 45-60 ABOVE 60

3. EDUCATION : Up to SSLC PLUS TWO GRADUATION POST GRADUATION

4. OCCUPATION : PRIVATE EMPLOYEE GOVT EMPLOYEE SELF EMPLOYEE PROFESSIONAL

OTHERS

5. GENDER : MALE FEMALE

6. MONTHLY INCOME ( In Rs/-) : Up to 25000 25000-50000 50000-75000

75000-100000 100000 and above

I.A. DO YOU AWARE OF THE FOLLOWING CONSUMER RIGHTS?

CONSUMER RIGTHS YES NO NO COMMENTSa) Right to

Information

b) Right to Safety

c) Right to be Heard

d) Right to Choose

e) Right to Consumer Education

f) Right to Redressal

I.B. IF YOU ARE AWARE IN WHAT EXTENT?

II.A. FROM WHERE DID YOU SEE AND UNDERSTAND CONSUMER PROTECTION/

AWARENESS COMPAIGNS MOSTLY? RANK THE SOURCES ACCORDINGLY;

SL.NO SOURCES RANK

FULLY AWARE

MODERATELY AWARE

REASONABLY AWARE

NO RESPONSE

a) Right to Information

b) Right to Safety

c) Right to be Heard

d) Right to Choose

e) Right to Consumer Education

f) Right to Redressal

1.1 Television

1.2 Radio

1.3 Newspaper

1.4 Magazine

1.5 Outdoor advertisement

1.6 Social networking sites

II.B.

YES NO NO COMMENTS

a) Do you think media can play an important role in

increasing consumer awareness?

b) Do you think that the media favours the business

corporates?

c) Do you think that the effort of media is not enough

towards protecting consumerism?

d) Do you expect more standard in awareness

campaigns of media?

e) Do you think that the media influence your buying

behavior?

III.A. WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER MORE WHILE PURCHASE ?

RANK THEM ACCORDINGLY;Sl.no FACTORS OF PURCHASE RANK

11.

Price of the Product12.

Quality of the product13. Promotional offer

14. Brand preference

15. Eco- friendliness Products

16. Packaging17.

Availability18. Attractive advertisement19.

Goodwill of the company20. After sale services

III.B.

FREQUENTLY

OCCASIONALY

RARELYNOT AT

ALLNO

COMMENTS

f) Do the Children influence purchase of particular product?

g) Do you purchase goods in bulk quantity?

h) Do you purchase consumer durables from super stores or from big show rooms?

i) Did you purchase products at season and festival times?

j) Did you interested to avail the credit facilities to purchase the product?

YES NO NO RESPONSE

a) Did you heard the term ‘JAGO GRAHAK JAGO’?

b) Have you ever used national consumer helpline?

c) Have you ever attended any seminar regarding consumerProtection?

d) Do you know the procedure for filing complaint?

e) Are you aware about the time-limit for filing complaint?

f) Are you aware about that the services of lawyer required or Not?

g) Have you ever filed any complaint in consumer forum?

h) Are you aware about the levels of consumer forum?

i) Are you aware about the jurisdiction of consumer forums?

j) Are you aware about the ‘Appeal’?

IV.

V.

YES NO NO COMMENTS

a) Do you check the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) before buying a product?

b) Are you charged the MRP or more than/less than the MRP?

c) Do you examine the expiry date of the items you buy

d) Do you check the weight of the products mentioned on the items?

e) Have you check the standards like ISI, ISO, AGMARK, HALL-MARK etc. Of the product?

f) Do you check whether the price match with the product level before buying?

g) Do you demand for the bill before making payment?

h) Do you check the eco friendly standards of the product?

i) Do you examine whether the product has match up with the trend and technology?

VI.

YE NO NO

S COMMENTS

a) Do you think that you have received consumer education?

b) Do you have become member of a voluntary consumer forum?

c) Do you have the habit of regularly attending its meeting?

d) Do you spend some time to read articles on consumer education?

e) Do you think that reasonable consumer education is necessary to every common man now a days?

YES NO NO RESPONSE

a) Do you think that awareness about consumer rights and protection should be start in school levels?

b) If you are not satisfied with the price/quality of the products do you realize the need for joining with some consumer clubs to fight for your rights?

c) Are you ready to join such forums for the redressal

of your grievance?

d) Do you think that there is a need for change the laws of consumer protection?

e) Do you think that there is any need for change in the working of consumer forums?

f) Do you think that there is any need for change in the working of consumer organisations?

VII.

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