Consumer movement on life support

National Consumer Rights Day is observed every year on December 4 to commemorate the President signing the Consumer Protection Act in 1986. In 2025, however, the day passed with little attention, despite the apt theme: “Efficient and speedy disposal through digital justice.”  

The e-Jagriti Platform presents a rosy picture of consumer grievance redressal. As of the mid-November, it had facilitated the filing of 1.35 lakh cases and settled 1.31 lakh of them. These figures are impressive and are cited to demonstrate the efficacy of the new digital system. By contrast, under the old system, barely 23% of cases were resolved within the loosely prescribed 90-day timeline. If one applies a more realistic limit--counting from the time a consumer approaches the forum--the number of cases settled within 90 days is negligible. 

Speedy redressal, however, is only one aspect of the consumer movement. When the larger picture is considered, India’s consumer movement appears to have been on life support for the past few years. 

This assertion can be substantiated by examining six critical areas: securing unadulterated and quality food; uninterrupted quality power supply; an efficient justice delivery system; a world-class banking system that meets basic needs through a customer-first approach; curbing medical malpractice to save lives and prevent financial ruin; and treating voters as masters rather than supplicants while delivering government services. These six areas alone are sufficient because of their strategic importance to everyday consumer welfare.  

Despite the strong provision of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which allows heavy penalties, a significant proportion of food adulteration cases go unpunished. In recent months, for instance, nearly 60% of such cases in Hyderabad reportedly went scot free. Even after 77 years of Independence and considerable investment and reforms in power sector, round-the-clock electricity remains a pipe dream. Justice delayed, as everyone knows, is justice denied; with nearly 50 million cases pending, it could take an estimated 300 years to clear the backlog. 

Indira Gandhi nationalised India’s leading banks in 1969 to serve the poor. Are they doing so today? In 2023-2024 alone, 95 scheduled commercial banks received nearly 10 million complaints. Meanwhile, India witnesses an estimated 5.2 million medical malpractice cases annually, with nearly 80% of medical error-related deaths attributed to surgical mistakes. As for government services, it is virtually impossible to access them without paying a bribe.

These examples amply support the claim that the consumer movement is on life support. 

India’s formal consumer movement began only after Independence and can be broadly classified into three periods to better understand how it might be revitalised. 

The first period predates the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. The Second period, which marked the real dawn of the consumer movement, began with the enactment of the Act. It enabled aggrieved consumers to obtain quicker relief through consumer commissions, without the elaborate procedures of civil courts. Economic liberalisation followed in 1991, driven by foreign exchange crisis, usher in competition and greater choice. 

Post-liberalisation, consumers gained options in cars, two wheelers, air travel, and eventually telecommunications, with the advent of mobile phones.

The third period began around 2000. Consumer commissions increasingly came to resemble civil courts, online trade opened new avenues for fraud and cybercrime, and corruption spread across sectors despite the introduction of direct benefit transfer schemes. 

Even today, democratic India lacks a genuine consumer movement--one that ensures the consumer is king in the private sector and compels public officials to recognise that they are servants of the citizens, who are the true sovereign masters.

To revitalise consumer movement, only two simple strategies are needed. First citizens must actively participate in the democratic process to elect suitable representatives. Second, they must support-- and wherever possible, participate in--the consumer movement. The million-dollar question of course, is how to implement these strategies.

A small, but promising beginning was made this year in Mysuru by involving a few schools in administering a questionnaire with 13  questions related to consumer issues. Each student was required to interview at least 10 people. Such practical, participatory approach--introducing students to the consumer movement through a fun, real-world exercise--may leave a lasting impact and encourage future engagement. 

(The writer is founding-working president of Mysuru Grahakara Parishat and trustee of Consumer Voice) 

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.