New Delhi : State heads should ensure that BIS certification is applicable to products essential for consumer safety, said Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, on Monday.
He discussed the time diffusion project by ISRO in collaboration with NPL to reduce India’s dependence on western countries for time accuracy.
The Secretary encouraged consumers to use the NCH 1915 and noted that one-third of pending cases involved insurance companies and real estate.
The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), Government of India in collaboration with the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Union Territory of Chandigarh organized a one day workshop on “Consumer Protection in Northern States” at Chandigarh.
The program aims to address important issues faced by consumers in the market place, such as misleading advertisements, product liability and the role of consumer commissions in fair redressal.
In his inaugural address, Singh highlighted the collective efforts of the Department of Consumer Affairs, National Commission, State Commissions, District Commissions and other organizations such as BIS, NTH, Legal Metrology and National Consumer Helpline in protecting consumer interests.
He stressed on the role of technology in strengthening the consumer protection ecosystem and the importance of infrastructure and human resources in consumer commissions.
The Secretary also underlined the role of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as the national standards body of India in developing Indian Standards and enforcing voluntary and mandatory standards such as Quality Control Orders.
The Department of Legal Metrology and Weights and Measures ensure that consumers receive the exact amount of products claimed by manufacturers.
The Department of Consumer Affairs through its Price Monitoring Division plays an important role in controlling inflation in food items, maintaining a balance between affordability and availability.
Singh urged all states to set up price collection centers in all districts and announced the department’s intention to achieve the target of 750 price collection centers by March 31, 2023, with the financial assistance provided by the department.
Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary, DOCA stressed the importance of use of digital technology to protect consumer rights, reduce pendency in consumer commissions and move towards mandatory e-filing.
He highlighted DoCA’s work on misleading advertisements, advertisement guidelines, e-commerce platforms and direct selling guidelines and urged consumers to beware of misleading advertisements on all platforms.
He made the consumers aware about gambling games, products without BIS certification and influencers promoting the products.
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