Why is the day so important? The National Consumer Day in India is celebrated on 24th December. The aim of the day is to make every consumer aware of their rights and responsibilities. This was the day in 1986 when the Consumer Protection Act was enacted. In the current time when we are taking so many services from different companies like Telecommunication, Internet, Hotel, etc. Hence as a consumer, we have to a vigilant and aware of our rights to get better services and not get conned by the service provider.
So first we must first understand who is a consumer?
In a very layman’s term: A consumer is any person who buys any goods, hires or avails any service for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised.
How the day is celebrated? A theme is selected for every year, a basis on which the consumers are sensitized about consumer rights and responsibilities. The theme of National Consumer Day 2020’ is “The Sustainable Consumer’.
In the first paragraph, we talked about the Consumer’s rights. So, what are our rights as a consumer?
The act provides six (6) rights to the consumer
- Right to Safety
- Right to be Informed
- Right to Choose
- Right to be Heard
- Right to be Heard
Let us try to understand these rights one by one.
- Right to safety: This right protects the consumer against the marketing of any good or service which could be harmful to the life or property of the consumer. Before making the purchase, the consumer has the full right to ask about the quality of the services being offered by the company. For example, you can ask for ISI, ISO, FACCI, AGMARK, etc
- Right to be informed: As a consumer, we have all the rights to get the details about the service or good to make an informed decision.
- Right to choose: We have full rights to choose the best available service and goods from the market where options are available. In case there is a monopoly or a single service provider it can not deny the consumer’s other rights.
- Right to be Heard: This right gives strength to the voice of the consumers in different platforms and forums. Consumers are free to form non-political and non-commercial consumer organizations that should be given representation in the committees formed by the Government.
- Right to Seek redressal: This means the consumers can make a complaint about their problems in different forums and consumer organizations. The consumer has the full right in seeking the redressal of their grievances.
- Right to Consumer Education: This means the right to acquire the knowledge and skill to be an informed and vigilant consumer. Ignorance of consumers is one of the main causes of being exploited. We as a consumer should know our rights and must exercise them whenever we are buying the good or availing any service. This not only helps us but also society.
So, last, we can say ‘जानकार बनिए-सतर्क रहिए’|
Click here to visit the Department of Consumer Affairs website. | Read more ‘General Knowledge‘ news on dailyschoolsnews.com.
