By Arun Kumar Singhal
This piece is the result of an invitation I received from Brig KG Behl (Retd), President of the All-India Consumer Council, Uttarakhand, to an event highlighting the importance of upholding consumer rights and protection in today’s fast-changing world.
World Consumer Rights Day 2025 is observed annually on 15 March and is conducted by Consumers International. This year’s theme is “A Just Transition to Sustainable Lifestyles”. While the global event took place on 15 March, Uttarakhand will explore this theme further on 29 March 2025, in an event presided over by the Governor of Uttarakhand.
Elaborating on this theme, I firmly believe that a just transition to sustainable lifestyles is essential. It ensures an inclusive and equitable shift toward eco-friendly living, while addressing social, economic, and environmental dimensions. It prioritises marginalised communities, fosters green jobs, and promotes responsible consumption, ensuring that no one is left behind in the pursuit of a sustainable and resilient future.
The year 2025 is particularly significant due to pivotal global events, such as the United Nations Environment Assembly, where a historic resolution on promoting sustainable lifestyles was passed. Likewise, sustainable living will be a key focus at COP 30, to be held in Brazil in November 2025. With just five years remaining to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), urgent action is needed to bring many off-track goals back on course.
While speaking with Brig Behl, I learned that World Consumer Rights Day serves as an opportunity to promote the fundamental rights of all consumers and advocate for their protection and respect. First observed in 1983, this date was chosen to commemorate President John F Kennedy’s address to the US Congress on 15 March 1962, where he became the first world leader to formally recognise consumer rights.
Hearing Brig Behl speak about the many initiatives of the Consumer Council that he has been serving for over three decades as social work, I truly felt his deep dedication to raising awareness about consumer rights, empowering individuals with knowledge, and advocating for fair practices to ensure transparency, accountability, and justice in the marketplace—through his own selfless efforts, as well as those of others who are voluntarily dedicated to the cause.
It is heartening to note that the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, has introduced several new initiatives and policies aimed at empowering consumers, strengthening grievance redressal mechanisms, and ensuring a transparent and fair marketplace. In 2024, significant developments included enhanced e-commerce regulations, digital consumer protection, product safety standards, and sustainable consumption initiatives.
A well-known slogan that immediately comes to mind when thinking about consumer rights is the Department of Consumer Affairs’ campaign: “Jaago Grahak Jaago” (Be an Empowered Consumer). The Jaago Grahak Jaago online portal, along with the recently launched mobile application, plays a crucial role in raising awareness and empowering consumers. It provides essential information, resources, and support to help consumers make informed decisions and assert their rights in the marketplace. Leveraging AI for consumer grievance redressal through Grahak Nyay chatbox and enhancing digital literacy through ‘Be an Empowered Consumer’ campaign is a significant step in strengthening consumer rights in India.
Committed to safeguarding consumer interests, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the National Standards Body of India, has recently been encouraging the public to engage with it through the BIS Care app—a crucial step toward ensuring safer markets and improved product quality.
In an era of e-marketing, to curb the distribution of non-compliant products on e-commerce platforms, BIS has reportedly conducted seizure operations at multiple locations of leading e-commerce companies to identify and remove non-certified products from circulation. Additionally, the growing number of dubious e-commerce platforms must also be addressed. Consistent and rigorous enforcement remains the need of the hour in consumers’ interest.
By prioritising consumer rights and fair business practices, existing standards aim to empower buyers with greater transparency and security in online transactions. The importance of these measures includes the following:
- Prevent deceptive pricing, hidden charges, and forced bundling of services.
- Ensure secure payment processes and clear refund policies.
- Include anti-counterfeiting measures requiring swift action on complaints about fake products.
- Mandate e-commerce platforms to protect consumer data and obtain explicit consent for marketing communications.
- Provide accessible mechanisms for dispute resolution.
If properly implemented, this framework will enhance consumer trust in e-commerce, promote ethical business conduct, and create a more accountable digital marketplace in India.
While educating consumers about their rights is crucial, as a consumer myself, I believe that India’s observance of World Consumer Rights Day must go beyond ensuring a safer, more transparent, and consumer-friendly economy. It should also focus on stronger enforcement of rights, long-term impact, and the promotion of healthy business practices.
Needless to say, the greater priority should be reaching illiterate and underprivileged populations to an even greater extent, making them aware of their consumer rights. This awareness must be strongly reinforced, and a nationwide campaign should be launched on a massive scale by the Department of Consumer Affairs under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution. Until this information reaches and benefits the last person in line, our efforts remain incomplete.
(Arun Kumar Singhal, a resident of Doon, is an economist. He has been a social worker, an author, and a writer specialising in energy and environmental issues.)
