Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution

Year-End- Review of Department of Consumer

Affairs– 2023

Department of Consumer Affairs adds 140 price reporting

centers during 2023, total now is 550

Centre launched sale of chana dal as ‘Bharat Dal’ in retail packs

of Rs.60 per kg and Rs.55 per kg for 30 kg pack

8 Rules/Regulations/Guidelines notified in 2023

National Consumer Helpline revamped

From April 2023 –November 2023, 1320 standards (455 new

and 865 revised) were formulated and 2118 Standards were
reviewed

Posted On: 20 DEC 2023 5:03PM by PIB Delhi

From keeping check over price rise of essential commodities to strengthening price monitoring and
sensitising consumers about Consumer Rights, the Department of Consumer Affairs under the Ministry of
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution made concerted efforts round the year.

Some of the key initiatives and achievements of the Department in the year 2023 are:

Efforts towards strengthening Price Monitoring Mechanism

Price Monitor Cell monitors wholesale and retail prices twenty two essential commodities (Rice, Wheat,
Atta, Gram Dal, Tur (Arhar) Dal, Urad Dal , Moong Dal, Masur Dal, Sugar, Gur, Groundnut Oil, Mustard
Oil, Vanaspati, Sunflower Oil, Soya Oil, Palm Oil, Tea, Milk, Potato, Onion, Tomato and Salt) based on
data collected from 550 market centres spread across the country representing North, West, East, South
and North-eastern regions of the country. These prices are collected through the mobile app. Further,
following achievements have been attained;

i. During the year 140 price reporting centers were added. Number of price reporting centers increased
from 410 on 01/01/2023 to 550 till date.
ii. Operational Guidelines of the scheme for Strengthening of Price Monitoring Cell were issued on
19/08/2021
iii. During the year, Rs. 6,23,68,711/-has been provided to States/UTs for strengthening the price
monitoring mechanism.
iv. Mobile App for reporting operationalised w.e.f 1st January, 2021. All price collection centres
migrated to daily price reporting through Mobile App.
v. Predictive price forecasting model developed.

Price Stabilization Fund to check price volatility

Prices of some of the horticulture commodities especially onion, potato and pulses are highly volatile. At
the harvest time and soon thereafter, a steep fall in the wholesale and retail prices is normally observed.
With depletion of the stored stocks, the prices tend to increase. This phenomenon is more apparent in the
case of onions, potatoes and pulses. Price volatility affects consumers in a big way. Abnormal increase in
price of these commodities affect the consumers by way of increase in food consumption budget. Wide
price fluctuations also lead to speculation which further impact prices in retail market.

Launch of Bharat Dal

In order to ensure availability of dal to consumers at affordable prices, Bharat Dal has been launched in
July, 2023 by converting Chana stock with the Government into Chana dal for retail disposal. The Bharat
Dal is made available to the Army, CAPF, State Governments and to consumers at subsidized rates of
Rs.60 per kg for 1 kg pack and Rs.55 per kg for 30 kg pack. Retail sale of Bharat Dal is being done
through 3,836 retail outlets – both stationary and mobile outlets - across the country. Similarly, the
Government has decided to convert Moong stock from the buffer into Moong Dal and Moong Sabut for
retail sale to the consumers at subsidized prices. Government has also introduced Bharat Atta at subsidized
price of Rs.27.50 per kg to make it affordable for the consumers.

Celebration of World Consumer Rights Day

The World Consumer Rights Day was celebrated on 15.03.2023 at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi. The
theme of the event was “Empowering Consumers through Clean Energy Transitions”. Shri Piyush Goyal,
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textile
presided the event. In addition, the Department organised several conferences across the industry. Along
with a Round Table Conference on Consumer and the Insurance Sector in March, the Department also
organised day long workshop on "Consumer Protection in the Northern States" in Chandigarh, Round
Table Conference on "How to Effectively Redress the Grievances Pertaining to Real Estate Sector" in
Mumbai, interactive consultation with stakeholders on "Dark Patterns" in Mumbai, workshop at
Vishakhapatnam focused on consumer protection, and others.

Rules/Regulations/Guidelines notified in 2023

The following Rules/Regulations/Guidelines have been notified under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019
during 2023:

i. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Group ‘B’ posts) Recruitment Rules, 2023
ii. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Group ‘A’ posts) Recruitment Rules, 2023
iii. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Registrar) Recruitment Rules, 2023
iv. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Other terms and conditions of service of
officers and employees) Rules, 2023
v. Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) (Amendment) Rules, 2023
vi. Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission) (Amendment) Rules, 2023
vii. The Consumer Protection (Qualification for appointment, method of recruitment, procedure of
appointment, term of office, resignation and removal of the President and members of the State
Commission and District Commission) (Amendment) Rules, 2023
viii. Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023

Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issues guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of
Dark Patterns, 2023

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of
Dark Patterns. CCPA issued Guidelines under Section 18(2)(1) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to
regulate dark patterns which are deceptive practices similar in the nature of "misleading advertisements"
or "unfair trade practice" defined under Section 2(28) and 2(47) respectively of the Consumer Protection
Act, 2019. Guidelines specify 13 types of dark patterns including False urgency, Basket Sneaking,
Confirm shaming, forced action, Subscription trap, Interface Interference, Bait and switch, Drip Pricing,
Disguised Advertisements and Nagging, Trick Wording, Saas Billing and Rogue Malwares. Guidelines are
notified with an objective of safeguarding consumer interests and promoting a fair and transparent
marketplace, especially in the increasingly expanding and penetrative digital space.

Efforts towards e-Filing

Under the provisions of Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a Consumer Commission online application
portal named “edaakhil.nic.in” has been developed to facilitate the consumers/advocates to file the
consumer complaint online through the e-Daakhil portal from home or anywhere at their own comfort.
This E-daakhil portal also provides facility to pay the complaint fees online as well as having option to
pay the fees offline with uploading the proof of payment of fee. Appeals can now also be filed on E-
Dakhil.

As of now, the e-Daakhil portal can be accessed in NCDRC and in 35 States/UTs except Ladakh.

Disposal of Cases

As a result of various initiatives undertaken by the Department of Consumer Affairs such as various
regional workshops, state specific meetings and various sector-specific conferences, from July 2022
onwards, there is a significant positive shift towards the speedy and efficient disposal of cases with a
disposal rate of more than 100% in many States and District Commissions. In this context, the Department
has been pro-actively taking steps to ensure that the objective of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 i.e the
speedy, effective and timely disposal of cases, may be achieved effectively.

Revamp of National Consumer Helpline

The Department has revamped, the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) which has emerged as a single
point of access to consumers across the country for grievance redressal at pre-litigation stage. Consumers
can register their grievances from all over the country in 17 languages through a toll-free number 1915.
These grievances can be registered on Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM), an omni
channel IT enabled central portal, through various channels- Whats App, SMS , mail , NCH app, web
portal, Umang app as per their convenience.

CONFONET

CONFONET application launched in 2007 has been modernized with upgradation in technology, safety
and usage. This upgradation and modernization has been done based on the feedback from various
stakeholders. The upgraded state of the art new central software application named e-Jagriti will
significantly improve the consumer case management process. This new application has integrated the
CMS, OCMS, e-daakhil and NCDRC modules at a single platform.

For the facilitation of consumers and with a mandate to bring justice at their doorsteps, Video
Conferencing facilities are being installed in 10 benches of NCDRC and 35 benches of SCDRCs. This
new service will help Consumer Commissions to hear cases through hybrid hearing which will help in
remote appearances of petitioners, lawyers and organizations and also support faster disposal and hearing
of a large number of cases. The order for procuring the VC facilities has been placed and the services will
be available in early 2023 to the consumers.

Standards Formulation

During April 2023 – 25 November 2023, 1320 standards (455 new and 865 revised) were formulated and
2118 Standards were reviewed. The total number of standards in force, as on 25 November 2023 is 22320.
8500 Indian Standards have been harmonized with ISO/IEC standards.
New Initiatives in Standards Development: Standards National Action Plan (SNAP) 2022-27

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to effectively perform its responsibility as the National Standards
Body (NSB) of India evolved the Standards National Action Plan (SNAP) 2022-27 which was formally
released by the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles and
Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal on 06 January 2023.

BIS has undertaken extensive stakeholder consultations to develop this action plan. Due consideration has
also been accorded to government policies and priorities. To prioritize the standardization work on the
identified subjects/ topics of standards development, an assessment of national socio-economic
requirements was made through a process of secondary research against the ISO guidelines available in
this regard. A total of 34 Sectors, 138 Fields and 533 Subject Areas have been identified in SNAP 2022-
27.

Efforts towards Hallmarking

During the period from 1st April, 2023 to 25th November, 2023 number of hallmarking registration has
grown from 1,60,866 to 1,84,296 while the number of BIS recognized Assaying and Hallmarking centres
have increased from 1403 to 1499. 26 Off-Site Centres were also recognized during the period. During the
same period, 10.39 crore articles of gold and silver jewellery/artefacts have been hallmarked.

Amendment to Quality control order for mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery/artefacts has been
issued on 06 September, 2023 by the Govt. of India which has increased the number of districts covered
under mandatory hallmarking from 288 districts of the country to 343 districts where there is at least one
Assaying and Hallmarking Centre since 01 June 2022.

In view of the implementation of Mandatory Hallmarking Order, a new online system for the automation
of the assaying & hallmarking activities at AHCs was made functional with the new Hallmark consisting
of six digit HUID (Hallmarking Unique ID) since 01 July 2021. Since the launch of HUID based system
for hallmarking, 30.54 crore articles of gold jewellery/artefacts have been hallmarked as on 25 November
2023.

Hallmarking of gold Bullion in the fineness of 999 & 995 as per IS 1417:2016 was started in October
2015. Under this scheme, so far, 50 licences have been granted to refineries/ India Government Mint for
Gold bullion and coin as on 25 November, 2023.

Govt. of India has launched Gold Monetization Scheme on 05 November 2015. So far, 48 A&H centres
and one Jeweller have been qualified to act as Collection and Purity Testing Centres (CPTC). · Under the
Plan Scheme for Hallmarking, during this period, three AHCs were provided Central Assistance for setting
up the centre in deficient location. In capacity building one programme was for training of BIS officers.

G20 Standards Dialogue 2023 on 02-03 November 2023 in New Delhi

Within the framework of India’s G20 presidency, BIS organized the G20 Standards Dialogue 2023 on 02-
03 November 2023 at Bharat Mandapam, ITPO, New Delhi, India. The dialogue explored how
sustainability can be addressed through inclusive standardisation and good regulatory practices to achieve
‘Zero Defect and Zero Effect’. The event was organized with the support and guidance of Ministry on
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of
India. The Dialogue witnessed enthusiastic response and participation from leaderships of International
Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) & International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), international delegations from National Standards Bodies of G20
members and invitee countries and Missions, Ministries, Regulatory Bodies, Accreditation Bodies,
Industry, Industry Associations, Laboratories, Academia and Consumer Organizations within India. The
dialogue was attended by around 750 delegates. G20 Standards Dialogue comprised of an Opening
Ceremony and three Technical Sessions followed by Remarks by G20 Members and Invitees in the
Concluding Session on the theme of the event ‘Zero Defect and Zero Effect’.

Steps towards Legal Metrology

Online Portal for services provided by Legal Metrology:

All the services provided under Legal Metrology are online through the portals. These portals are for ease
of doing business and reducing compliance burden. The work of certification has become very fast and
reduces the time for submitting application etc.

NSWS Portal: The following two services provided by Legal Metrology are on the portal
www.nsws.gov.in
(a) Approval of models of weights & measures
(b) Registration of Manufacturers/ Packers/ Importers of pre-packaged commodities
(ii) The portal developed by the Department of Consumer Affairs www.lm.doca.gov.in is used for
submitting applications/ issuing certificates for the following:
(a) Nomination of Director of a company
(b) Registration of import of weighting and measuring instrument under section 19 of Act

Following amendments are made under the Rules for ease of doing business:
Section 49 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 allows the companies to nominate any of its Directors as a
person responsible for the business of the Company. There was request from various industries to allow
nominating the person who is actually having the authority and responsibility of the establishment or
branch. To reduce the compliance burden, the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011 have been amended
allowing the companies having different establishments or branches or different units in any establishment
or branch to nominate an officer who has the authority and responsibility for planning, directing and
controlling the activities of the establishments or branches or different units.

The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 were amended to allow the electronic
products industries to declare certain mandatory declarations in the digital form through the QR Code, if
not declared in the package itself. This permission is to enable greater use of technology in this digital era
to declare the mandatory declaration through the QR Code which can be scanned to view the declarations.

The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 were amended to declare month and year of
manufacture on pre-packaged commodities and to make few declarations for loose commodities ordered
through e-commerce in the interest of consumers.

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023 has been published as Act No. 18 of 2023. The
Bill contains amendments in 42 Acts across 19 Ministries/ Departments including the Legal Metrology
Act, 2009. Under the said Act, 7 sections of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 have been decriminalized.

As per the sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act 2023,
respective Ministries/ Departments may issue notifications wherein the date for enforcement of
amendments may be decided by respective Ministries / Departments. The said Notification has been
issued and the said amendment is in force w.e.f. 01.10.2023.

OIML is an Intergovernmental organization which was established in 1955.

Bharat became it’s member in 1956. It has 63 Member States and 64 Corresponding Members. To sell a
weight or measure in the International market an OIML Pattern Approval certificate is mandatory. Bharat
has now become authority for issuing internationally accepted OIML certificate for selling weights &
measures anywhere in the world.
The domestic manufacturers can now export their weighing and measuring instrument worldwide without
incurring additional testing fees, resulting in significant cost savings. Bharat can also support the foreign
manufacturers by issuing OIML pattern approval certificates from our certified RRSLs. By issuing the
OIML approval certificates of weighing & measuring instrument to the foreign manufacturers Bharat will
also generate forex in terms of fees etc.

Bharat now joins an exclusive group of nations, including Australia, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic,
Germany, Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, and Slovakia, as the 13th
country worldwide, authorized for issuing OIML approval certificates.

Compliance of provision of country of origin for all goods including on e-commerce platforms

i. In the interest of consumers all the importers are required to declare country of origin for imported
products including on e-commerce entities
ii. Various notices have been issued to e-commerce entities for not complying the provisions of rules of
declaring mandatory information on digital platforms
iii. The cases against the violators who have not compounded the offence are being filed in the court of
law.

Advisories issued:

i. An advisory was issued to Controllers of Legal Metrology of all States/ UTs to create awareness
among the manufacturers/ importers/ packers to pack and sell the welding electrodes in “weight
with diameter of welding rod (as per the required Standard)” in the interest of consumers/ users.
ii. An advisory/ direction was issued to the Controllers of Legal Metrology of all States/ UTs
requesting to direct the field Officers to ensure that the surgical and industrial gloves meant for
retail sale are complying with the provisions made under the Legal Metrology (Packaged
Commodities) Rules, 2011. It was came into the notice that spurious quality of surgical and
industrial gloves are being imported and sold in the country in contravention of the mandatory
declarations required under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011.
iii. An advisory/ direction was issued to the Controllers of Legal Metrology of all States/ UTs
requesting to direct the field Officers to ensure compliance of the provisions of the Legal Metrology
(Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. It was also requested that if the prices are allowed to be
revised by the Government/ NPPA/ any other Statutory Body, then the industries may be allowed to
revise the prices as per the Notification issued by Government/ NPPA/ any other Statutory Body.
iv. To understand the difficulties faced by petroleum industries and for ease of doing business, a round
table workshop was organized on 9.6.2023 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. After the workshop
various advisories/ directions were issued to the State Governments and Oil Marketing Companies
in the interest of consumers and retail dealers.

Efforts towards Consumer Awareness

Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) implements policies for the benefit of consumers and
public at large, strengthening consumer protection and generating awareness in the process. DoCA
has undertaken various initiatives towards this objective of driving the consumer rights and
information activity. Creating awareness among consumers about these initiatives, especially in
rural and backward areas is necessary so that consumers may take benefit from these initiatives and
are better informed about their choices.
Recognizing the importance of promoting consumer awareness, Department of Consumer Affairs
(DoCA) has been conducting country-wide multimedia awareness campaigns titled "Jago Grahak
Jago". Through simple messages, consumers are made aware of fraudulent practices and problems
and the mechanism to seek redressal.
 The new mascot of the Department “Jagriti” was launched to strengthen the campaign and reinforce
top-of-mind awareness which connects well with all the consumers. The Department has been using
the “Jagriti” mascot along with “Jago Grahak Jago” tagline in all its media campaigns for re-
enforcement of brand and synergies with consumer awareness tagline.
Audio spots (live messages by RJs) were run through All India Radio (AIR) to generate consumer
awareness on various topics. The Department broadcasted consumer awareness related jingles
during Asia Cup cricket tournament, 2023 and ICC Cricket World Cup, 2023.
Video spots for generating consumer awareness have been telecast on DD National and regional
channels of Doordarshan network.
The Department has been using the cinema theatres across the country in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities by
running video spots on screens for spreading consumer awareness.
Due to increased digitalization, social media, is a strong influence and helps in sensitizing the
individual or society. Regular posts in the form of creatives and audio / visual on Consumer
Protection Act, 2019 and other initiatives of the Department are being uploaded on the Department’s
social media handles
https://twitter.com/jagograhakjago,https://www.facebook.com/ConsumerAdvocacy/
https://www.instagram.com/consumeraffairs_goi/ , Koo and Public App platforms to educate and
empower consumers. These tweets are helpful to consumers in obtaining relevant information
including redressal mechanism.
The Department participates in various fairs/festivals/events to generate awareness amongst the
consumers who congregate at those events/fairs/festivals specially people living in backward areas
of the country. The Department has participated in India International Trade Fair (IITF) - 2023, held
in New Delhi by publicizing on tickets and hoardings during the fair duration.
Considering the fact that active involvement of State Governments in awareness campaign is crucial
in taking forward the movement to rural, remote and backward areas, State / UT Governments have
been actively associated in expanding the area of consumer awareness. The Department has
participated through State of Nagaland in Nagaland Hornbill Festival, 2023

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