NCERT Notes Class 10 Social Science Economics Chapter 5 Consumer Rights
Chapter 05: Consumer Rights - Study Notes, Questions and Answers / NCERT CBSE TextBooks Solutions Class 10 Economics Chapter 05 Consumer Rights
* Introduction:
We all come across different markets in everyday life, they cannot exist without the producer and consumer. The producer has a good, which can be a product or service which the consumer avails when they take part in the market. However, not always the buyers are treated fairly by the producers, some examples show how consumers are disadvantaged. India has seen movements where citizens came together to protect consumers from being exploited. These groups led to an Act being passed by the Government, collectively known as Consumer Rights.
* Who Are Consumers?
● Consumers are at the receiving end of a market transaction. They are the ones who buy or obtain a good. There are many kinds of interactions in a
marketplace between producers and consumers, some examples of services include sending a money order at the Post Office or borrowing money from a
money lender.
● Production and consumption are the two ways through which people participate in markets.
● As producers, we buy goods and services required as inputs to manufacture or produce something which is sold later.
● We become consumers when we buy final goods and services. We use these goods for consumption and deriving satisfaction.
● Consumers are large in numbers compared to the producers, but they are not as powerful as producers. In order to prevent consumers from being forced and
exploited by more powerful producers, we have rules and regulations for protecting individual consumers.
* Market, Fairness and Exploitation
● The market is not a fair place always, consumers even if in large numbers, they are scattered. This allows the producers who are small in number, but large and powerful to exploit consumers.
● Informal moneylenders are a typical example. In an example, Farmer Swapna had borrowed a sum of money agreeing to sell the product to them at much
lower prices. Further, she was forced to sell her land when she could not return the money on time. This shows how consumers can be treated in the market.
● Consumers also can be exploited or cheated in a marketplace.
- A single consumer is generally positioned weak when compared to a large producer or seller. This makes it easy for the producer to shift the onus
on the consumer when a good is faulty or not of the expected quality.
- Adulteration and malpractices like incorrect measurements of weights are other ways in which sellers can exploit consumers.
● Markets are generally unfair as there are few large producers with a lot of power and many small consumers who may not even know each other. It
becomes easier for large companies to indulge in unfair practices, and spread false information through advertising and spending money.
● With large resources of money and power which can make the story in favour of their products irrespective of reality. For example, companies advertised milk
powder as the best supplement for infants even over mother’s milk and advertisements campaigned for tobacco, which is harmful to people's lives.
* Consumers as a Social Force
● People were disappointed with the widespread malpractices of producers. The common people did not have any existing laws or regulations which punished such acts.
● The onus to make a careful purchase was on the consumer, and they avoided buying from sellers/goods if they had a bad experience.
● Consumer movements arose out of a collective frustration at such malpractices. As a good social force, consumers organised to protest against
practices like adulteration and other forms of exploitation.
● They wrote articles and formed groups to study different consumer issues.
● Over years, they exerted pressure on firms and governments to prevent unfair practices.
● In 1986 COPRA or the Consumer Protection Act was implemented.
* What are Consumer rights?
i. Safety
● Many products and services can threaten our lives, causing serious damage if they are not done properly. A surgery if not performed with care can be life taking. Similarly, products like pressure cookers or cars need to have safety.
● Given the seriousness of this, the right to safety is of utmost importance. Rules and regulations on keeping safety standards have to be followed carefully by producers.
● Despite the law, there is a weak implementation of it, which still makes bad products prevail in the market. The consumer force also is not strong enough to campaign against these.
ii. Information
● We find some details on the products often printed without fail, the ingredients on food items, safety precautions and dosage on medicines and laundry instruction on clothes are some examples.
● All these are detailed in the products or services due to the right to information of the consumers for the goods they procure. If any product does not comply
with the information provided, the consumers can demand a refund or replacement.
● Recently, the Right to Information has been enacted as a much greater law known as RTI Act, which makes all public offices in India accountable to any citizen.
iii. Choice
● Some goods may not be as worth as we think they are and we would like to choose among alternatives or even withdraw from a service that we do not like. For example, a college course that is not as interesting as we think can be discontinued after completing the first year.
● Consumers have the right to choose, which allows us to make our decision without any external force. We have the right to identify and select what we want.
● This means that we can buy different goods from different suppliers and there need not be any mandate to buy a fixed combination. A shopkeeper cannot force us to buy toothpaste only if we buy toothbrush as we have the right to choose only toothpaste.
iv. Redressal
● When the above rights are denied, consumers need to get justice for being victims of the ill-treatment of producers. They have the right to seek redressal against any kinds of exploitation in the market.
● There are consumer courts at various levels, district, state and national level which take up a petition by the consumer and order the producer to pay compensation after hearing both sides.
v. Represent
● In order to access consumer courts, the consumers need to have the resources to file a case and follow them, which can be a very tiresome process.
● The consumer movement has enabled the formation of various bodies known as the consumer protection council and consumer forum, whose role is to provide access to awareness and support to citizens.
● The COPRA has enabled the right to represent consumers who can avail a claim in the consumer courts by filing a case.
vi. Justice for Consumers
● Consumer courts have been established under the COPRA to provide justice to consumers whose rights were violated.
● Consumer courts are quasi-judicial bodies with three levels.
Level Amount claimed
District Up to 20 Lakhs
State 20 lakhs to 1 Crore
National Above 1 Crore
● Parties can also appeal at the next higher level if the judgements were unsatisfactory to them.
* Being Educated on Consumer Rights
● As conscious consumers, it is important that we are aware of our rights. This helps us in making informed purchasing decisions.
● COPRA also set up separate departments at central and state governments for consumer affairs. This department undertook the initiative to educate
consumers about their rights and legal processes.
* What’s Now and Ahead
● While consumer movements have been a success in many aspects, there are still major challenges to ensuring consumer rights
- There are more than 700 consumer groups in India, but only a small number of these are well organised and active.
- Consumer redressal through the courts has become increasingly expensive. There is a need to hire lawyers and expenses in appearing for hearings.
- The process is also getting longer due to delay in court processes.
- In many cases, consumers cannot approach courts if they face malpractices as sellers may not give a receipt/cash memo.
● These are areas where consumer movements of the future can intervene to strengthen consumer rights.
* Textbook Exercises
1. Why are rules and regulations required in the marketplace? Illustrate with a few examples.
Answer: Rules and regulations are required in the marketplace to protect consumers. Sellers often abdicate responsibility for a low-quality product, cheat in weighing out goods, add extra charges over the retail price, and sell adulterated/ defective goods. Hence, rules and regulations are needed to protect the scattered buyers from powerful and fewer producers who monopolise markets. For example, a grocery shop owner might sell expired products and then blame them.
2. What factors gave birth to the consumer movement in India? Trace its evolution.
Answer: The factors that gave birth to the consumer movement in India are manifold. It started as a “social force” with the need to protect and promote consumer interests against unfair and unethical trade practices. Extreme food shortages, hoarding, black marketing and adulteration of food led to the consumer movement becoming an organised arena in the 1960s. Till the 1970s, consumer organisations were mostly busy writing articles and holding exhibitions. More recently, there has been an upsurge in the number of consumer groups who have shown concern towards ration shop malpractices and overcrowding of public transport vehicles. In 1986, the Indian government enacted the Consumer Protection Act, also known as COPRA. This was a major step in the consumer movement in India.
3. Explain the need for consumer consciousness by giving two examples.
Answer: Consumer consciousness is being aware of your right as a consumer while buying any goods or services. Example :
• It is common to see consumers bargaining with sellers for additional discounts below the MRP.
• Because of conscious consumers, most of the sweet shops do not include the weight of the container when they weigh sweets.
4. Mention a few factors which cause exploitation of consumers.
Answer: Factors that cause exploitation of consumers are :
• Lack of awareness of consumer rights among buyers.
• Improper and inadequate monitoring of rules and regulations.
• Individual purchase quantity is quite small.
• Consumers are scattered over large areas.
5. What is the rationale behind the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act 1986?
Answer: The rationale behind the enactment of COPRA 1986 was to set up a separate department of consumer affairs in Central and State governments and it has enabled us as consumers to have the right to represent in a consumer court.
6. Describe some of your duties as consumers if you visit a shopping complex in your locality.
Answer: Some of my duties as a consumer if I visit a shopping complex include checking expiry dates of the products I wish to purchase, paying only the maximum retail price printed on the goods, preventing shopkeepers from duping me with defective products and registering a complaint with a consumer forum or court in case a seller refuses to take responsibility for an adulterated or flawed product.
7. Suppose you buy a bottle of honey and a biscuit packet. Which logo or mark you will have to look for and why?
Answer: We should look for the Agmark symbol before buying the food items because this mark is certified by the government and assures the quality of the product.
8. What legal measures were taken by the government to empower the consumers in India?
Answer: Legal measures taken by the government to empower consumers in India are plenty. First and foremost being the COPRA in 1986. Then, in October 2005, the Right to Information Act was passed, ensuring citizens all information about the functioning of government departments. Also, under COPRA, a consumer can appeal in state and national courts, even if his case has been dismissed at the district level. Thus, consumers even have the right to represent themselves in consumer courts now.
9. Mention some of the rights of consumers and write a few sentences on each.
Answer: Some of the rights of consumers are as follows:
• Right to choice — Any consumer who receives a service in whatever capacity,
regardless of age, gender and nature of service, has the right to choose whether to continue to receive that service. Under this right, a consumer may also choose any one of the various brands of a product (say, a refrigerator) available in the market.
• Right to redressal — Consumers have the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices and exploitation.
• Right to represent — The act has enabled us as consumers to have the right to
represent in the consumer courts.
10. By what means can the consumers express their solidarity?
Answer: Consumers can express their solidarity by forming consumer groups that write articles or hold exhibitions against traders’ exploitation. These groups guide individuals on how to approach a consumer court, and they even fight cases for consumers. Such groups receive financial aid from the government to create public awareness. Participation of one and all will further strengthen consumer solidarity.
11. Critically examine the progress of the consumer movement in India.
Answer: The consumer movement in India has evolved vastly since it began. There has been a significant change in consumer awareness in the country. Till the enactment of COPRA in 1986, the consumer movement did not bear much force, but ever since its inception, the movement has been empowered substantially. The setting up of consumer courts and consumer groups has been a progressive move. However, in contemporary India, the consumer redressal process is quite complicated, expensive and time-consuming. Filing cases, attending court proceedings, hiring lawyers, and other procedures make it cumbersome. In India, there are over 700 consumer groups of which, unfortunately, only about 20-25 are well-organised and functioning smoothly.
12. Match the following.
13. Say True or False.
(i) COPRA applies only to goods.
(ii) India is one of the many countries in the world which has exclusive courts for consumer redressal.
(iii) When a consumer feels that he has been exploited, he must file a case in the District Consumer Court.
(iv) It is worthwhile to move to consumer courts only if the damages incurred are of high value.
(v) Hallmark is the certification maintained for the standardisation of jewellery.
(vi) The consumer redressal process is very simple and quick.
(vii) A consumer has the right to get compensation depending on the degree of the damage.
Answer:
(i) False
(ii) True
(iii) True
(iv) True
(v) True
(vi) False
(vii) True
* Important Question and Answers
1. Why do consumers need rights and systems to protect themselves in the market?
Answer: The consumers need rights and systems because:
i. In the marketplace, there are both consumers who buy goods and producers who make and sell the goods. The consumers are large in number but scattered, while producers are powerful even if they are less in number and exist mostly in clustered format.
ii. Producers have money and power which allow them to exploit consumers. There have been instances where producers resort to unfair means to gain an
advantage over the buyers.
iii. Consumers need regulations and enforcement authorities to protect them from ill-treatment byproducers. Consumer rights allow all the freedom for
consumers and prevent them from being exploited by the sellers.
2. Provide a few examples where consumers can be exploited and mention which rights protect them.
Answers:
● In a hospital, when we get admitted for a simple surgery like tonsilitis, small negligence by the doctors in giving anaesthesia will cause a long term disease.
In one example, a student suffers from long term brain disorder due to failure in anaesthesia.
● Here, the right to safety is denied and by claiming the right to redressal, the student can file a representation in consumer court for seeking compensation.
● Filing for a job application can be very tedious when we submit all our certificates and give an entrance exam, we anxiously wait for the results.
● However, some government bodies take forever to release the results. In such cases of negligence by authority, it is the right of the applicant to know information on the status of the job. They can file an application under the RTI Act to the concerned Government department.
3. Outline the evolution of consumer movements in India.
Answer: For a long time, post-Independence India did not have any consumer protection mechanisms. Widespread exploitation by sellers and firms threatened the safety and life of consumers.
Consumers started forming groups to rally against these malpractices. In 1960 -
● People were disappointed with the widespread malpractices of producers. The common people did not have any existing laws or regulations which punished such acts.
● The onus to make a careful purchase was on the consumer, and they avoided buying from sellers/goods if they had a bad experience.
● Consumer movements arose out of a collective frustration at such malpractices. As a good social force, consumers organised to protest against
practices like adulteration and other forms of exploitation.
● They wrote articles and formed groups to study different consumer issues.
● Over years, they exerted pressure on firms and governments to prevent unfair practices.
● In 1986 COPRA or the Consumer Protection Act was implemented.
4. What are International movements for the protection of consumer rights? Explain
Answer:
1. The United Nations has a regulations framework called the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection adopted in 1985.
2. This became an important measure for countries to sign the charter along with others in adopting the common consumer protection framework.
3. Many consumer movements globally saw this as a beginning and have started Consumers International, a larger body of consumer protection groups across countries. It has representatives from 115 countries and 220 organisations.
5. Explain Agmark and its importance for goods
Answer:
● Some consumer products need a special certification to assure their safety according to the established standards by the regulatory body.
● The Agmark is one such tamper-proof label found on major food products, especially Ghee or Honey where the products are prone to adulteration and other fraudulent practices.
● The logo of Agmark is a verification that the product is safe to consume and has passed the strict quality standards of the regulatory body.
● Food products when consumed can be harmful to health and lives, so this is a very essential tag for products. Consumers must be informed in their choice to look for the Agmark certification logo.
6. Is there a future scope for consumer movements?
Answer:
● The consumer movement in India has been a success in allowing for the Consumer Protection Act and consumer rights to be enabled, but there are some more challenges in recent times.
● Consumer groups are not well organised and active despite a large number of them existing on paper.
● The redressal process by approaching court has become tedious, involving a lot of money and resources to access lawyers and attend the hearings.
● There are several delays in the hearing of the case and even further delay for the judgement.
● However, there are many small scale frauds where consumers cannot seek a redressal when they do not get a receipt/memo for their product.
● These are some areas that need to be changed to provide a better environment for protecting consumers in India
7. A consumer purchased a branded product worth Rs. 30,000. Upon using it for a few days, it exploded and burned the hand of the consumer. Explain what this consumer should do according to the COPRA?
Answer:
● The consumer has to have all evidence related to the purchase of the product and the harm caused here is life-threatening.
● They can approach a Consumer Protection Council nearest to them to seek assistance in filing a case against the company which made their product.
● Then they have to file a case in the district court with a compensation claim from the producer for causing harm by means of the product.
● With help of the lawyers and Consumer forum, they can assess the amount of compensation they can claim, also depending on the extent to which the hand injury is, the compensation claim needs to be represented in the court, which finally decides the case.
8. How is consumer awareness spread in India?
Answer: Consumer awareness is the process of making consumers aware of their rights as consumers. It empowers them to ask for details about the products, and approach the courts if they are exploited. There are three ways in which consumer awareness is spread.
● By the Consumer Affairs department in the state and central government: This department spreads information on the rights of consumers and legal remedies available over mass media including television and newspapers.
● By Consumer Groups: They are groups of consumers who come together to monitor and fight against exploitation. They write articles, hold exhibitions etc to spread consumer awareness.
● Individual consumers: Individuals can educate their friends and family on consumer rights and increase consumer awareness.
9. What is the role of ISI? Where do you look for ISI in the market?
Answer: In India, there are some standard regulatory bodies which certify the products as compatible with established quality standards.
● Any product that requires a quality to be established must have the ISI and especially in case of safety and health-related products.
● LPG Cylinders, Pressure Cookers and other harmful products can be life-threatening if they are not properly manufactured, hence it is essential that they
pass the ISI standards and have the logo.
10. Explain the hierarchy of the consumer courts and the allowed compensation that can be claimed.
Answer: In India, we have the Consumer Protection Act of 1986 or COPRA which has established an elaborate judicial system for resolving grievances of consumers on the products they purchase.
● We have a three-layered quasi-judicial structure.
● It has district level, state level and national level representation.
● Cases in the first level can be claimed up to Rs 20 lakhs, in the next level between Rs 20 lakhs and Rs 1 crore and finally at the National level for Rs 1 crore or greater claims.
● Consumers can approach the higher level court if they want to appeal against a lower court order as well.
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