Consumer Awareness

Project on Consumer Awareness

1. NARAYANA SCHOOL, HALDIA
Consumer Awareness
SOCIAL SCIENCE PROJECT
NAME- Purbesh Mondal
CLASS- X
ADMISSION NO.- 5313076
SESSION- 2020-2021

2. Acknowledgement
Iamoverwhelmedinallhumblenessandgratefulnesstoacknowledgemydepth
toallthosewhohavehelpedmetoputtheseideas,wellabovethelevelof
simplicity and into something concrete.
IwouldliketoexpressmyspecialthanksgivinggratitudetoourSSTteacher
Mrs.DebolinaMandal,whohelpedmeoutinvariouswaysinmakingthisproject
aswellasourPrincipaloftheschoolwhogavemethegoldenopportunitytodo
thiswonderfulproject,whichalsohelpedmeindoingalotofresearchandI
came to know about so many new things.
Anyattemptatanylevelcan’tbesatisfactorilycompletedwithoutthesupport
andguidanceofmyparentsandfriends.Iwouldliketothankthemforhelping
mealotingatheringdifferentinformation,collectingdata,andguidingmefrom
time to time in making this project, despite their busy schedules.

3. Content
Sl. no. Topic Page no.
1 Introduction 1
2 Consumer 2
3 Rights of a consumer 2
4 Responsibilities of a consumer 4
5 Measures of exploiting a consumer 5
6 Factors causing exploitation of consumer5
7 Consumer protection 5
8 Competition law 6
9 Need for Customer Protection 7
10 Consumer Protection act 1986 7
11 State taken by Government 8
12 Conclusion 10
13 Bibliography 11

4. 1
1. Introduction
InthecurrenttrendofMarketing,theconsumerisalifebloodofallits
functioning.Themarketgetsshrewdandsometimestheconsumerhasto
sufferthebruntofit.Therefore,consumerprotectionisanactofproviding
consumerswithcompleteinformationaboutthegoods,servicesandtheir
rights.Consumerawarenessisveryimportantastheyinvesttheirtimeand
moneyinmarketingactivitiesandtheyhavearighttotransparent
information.
Misleadingadvertisement,unsafeproducts,overchargingandunweighing
andothermalpracticesareperformedbyunscrupulousbusinessmen.
Consumerawarenessisanactofsavingconsumersfromsuch
delinquencies.

5. 2
2. Consumer
Apersonwhohasindicatedhisorherwillingnesstoobtaingoodsand/or
servicesfromasupplierwiththeintentionofpayingforthem.Inotherwords,
someonewhohaspurchasedgoodsandservicesforpersonalconsumption.They
arethepersonorthegroupofpeoplewhoarethefinaluserofproductsand
serviceswithinasocialsystem.Itisexpectedthattheconsumerdoesnotsellit
and use it only for personal use.
3. Rights of a consumer
●Therighttosatisfactionofbasicneeds:Tohaveaccesstobasicessential
goodsandservices;adequatefood,clothing,shelter,healthcare,education
and sanitation.
●Therighttobeinformed:Tobegiventhefactsneededtomakean
informedchoice,andtobeprotectedagainstdishonestormisleading
advertising and labeling.

6. 3
●Therighttogettruthfulandhonestinformationaboutthegoodsand
services which are purchased.
●Therighttochoosebetweenproductsofdifferentqualitiesandprices,
whicharerequiredtosatisfyourneeds:Personaldemands,tasteand
otherfactors,ofcourse,affectprices.Itistheconsumer'srighttochoosea
levelofqualityandperformanceequaltothepricewhichhe/sheis
prepared to pay.
●Therighttosafetyingoodsandservicesbought.Therighttoexpectthat
householdproductsandchildren'stoys,whichareusedaccordingto
manufacturer'sinstructions,willnotexplode,sethousesonfire,orcause
personal harm or injury in any way.
●Therighttobeheard:Tocomplaintoaretailerifoneisdissatisfiedabout
aproductorservice.Tohaveconsumerinterestsrepresentedinthe
makingandexecutionofgovernmentpolicy,andinthedevelopmentof
products and services.
●Therightofredress:meanstherighttoalairsettlementofJustclaims.It
includestherighttorecalvocompensationformisrepresentation,shoddy
goods or unsatisfactory services.

7. 4
●TherighttoConsumerEducation:meanstherighttoacquirethe
knowledge and skills to be an informed and assortative consumer.
●TherighttoaHealthyEnvironment:meanstherighttoaphysical
environmentthatwillenhancethequalityoflifeincludesprotectionagainst
environmental dangers which the individual has no control over.
4. Responsibilities of a consumer
The Consumer has the RESPONSIBILITY to protect himself/herself by:
●Shopping carefully and wisely
●Understanding the terms of the sale
●Reading and following instructions
●Getting guarantees in writing
●Saving receipts
●Asking questions at point of sale
●Keeping informed about new products
●Theresponsibilityofcarryingouttransactions
inabusinesslikeway,suchasreporting
unsatisfactoryproductstoretailersand
manufacturersinorderthattheymaybe
removed from shelves and future production.
●Theresponsibilitytotellotherconsumersaboutanyunfairtreatmentbya
retailerormanufacturersoconsumerscanprotectthemselvesinfuture
dealings
●TheresponsibilitytoreportapparentlyunsatemerchandisetoConsumer
Protectionbodiessothattheycanbetestedand,ifnecessary,removed
from the market or be more specifically labelled

8. 5
●Theresponsibilitytomaintainandpreserveahealthyenvironmentfor
future generations.
●The responsibility of demanding the best value for money.
5. Measure of exploiting a consumer
●Underweight and Under measurements
●Sub-standard Quality
●High Prices
●Duplicate Articles
●Artificial Scarcity
●False or Incomplete Information
6. Factors causing exploitation of consumer
●Limited information
●Limited supplies
●Limited competition
●Low literacy
7. Consumer protection
TheConsumermovementisasocio-economicmovementwhichseeksto
protecttherightsoftheconsumersinrelationtothegoodspurchasedand
servicesavailed.Governmenthasaccordedhighprioritytotheprogrammeof
consumerprotection.TheDepartmentofConsumerAffairsbeinganodal

9. 6
Departmentinthefieldofconsumerprotectionhasinitiatedanumberof
stepstopromotearesponsibleandresponsiveconsumermovementin
thecounty.SuchmeasurestuludetheUSCCAMUNDImodiaforprotecting
containerawareness.andencouragingconsumers'involvementthrough
efforts of Government and non-governmental organisations and others.
8. Competition law
Competitionlaw,knownintheUnitedStatesasantitrustlaw,hasthree
main elements:
●Prohibitingagreementsorpractisesthatrestrictfreetradingand
competitionbetweenbusinessentities.Thisincludesinparticularthe
repression of cartels.
●Banningabusivebehaviourbyafirmdominatingamarket,or
anti-competitivepractisesthattendtoleadtosuchadominantposition.
Practisescontrolledinthiswaymayincludepredatorypricing,tyingprice
gouging, refusal to deal, and many others.

10. 7
●Supervisingthemergersandacquisitionsoflargecorporations,
includingsomejointventures.Transactionsthatareconsideredto
threatenthecompetitiveprocesscanbeprohibitedaltogether,orapproved
subjectto"remedies"suchasanobligationtodivestpartofthemerged
businessortoofferlicencesoraccesstofacilitiestoenableother
businesses to continue competing.
9. Need for Customer Protection
1.The consumer is the most important factor in business. No business can
survive without consumers as their satisfaction is the main purpose of any
business operations.
2.Business is not just about monetary benefits but also to upgrade the
society to a better version by keeping its welfare as an objective.
3.The Constitution has provided us with the Consumer Protection act 1986,
to protect the consumers from any marketing malpractices.
4.Consumerprotectionrightspromoteahealthycompetitivemarketwhich
supportseconomicgrowth.Itkeepsawaymalicioustradepractisesand
unscrupulous business owners from damaging the fair trade.
5.Consumers are an integral part of a market structure. It is very important to
protect their rights in order to have a fair market structure.
10. Consumer Protection act 1986
TheConsumerProtectionAct,1986isauniquepieceoflegislationasit
providesaseparatethree-tierquasi-judicialconsumerdisputeredressal
machineryatthenational,stateanddistrictlevel.TheActisintendedto

11. 8
providesimple,speedyandinexpensiveredressaloftheconsumers'
grievances.IntermsoftheAct,theCentralGovernmentfirstconstituted
theCentralConsumerProtectionCouncil(CCPC)on1.6.1987andithasbeen
reconstitutedfromtimetotime.TheCCPCwaslastconstitutedinMay,2003
forthreeyears.Sofar,theCouncilhasheld23meetings.Thelastmeeting
washeldon16.7.2003.TheStateGovts./UTAdministrationsarerequiredto
establishtheConsumerProtectionCouncilsattheStatelevelaswellasat
District levels to strengthen consumer movement a the grass root level.
11. Steps taken by Government
●DepartmentofConsumerAffairsisperiodicallytakingupwiththe
StateGovts.andUTAdministrations,atthelevelofChiefMinisters,
Minister in-charge of Consumer Affairs/Chief
Secretaries/SecretariesdealingwithConsumerAffairs,thequestion
ofstrengtheningthefunctioningoftheconsumercourtsbyproviding
adequateinfrastructureandtofillupthevacanciesof
Presidents/Membersontime.ReviewmeetingswithStates/UTS

12. 9
alongwiththeRegistrarsoftheNational&StateCommissions
were taken in batches during August-September, 2003.
●FivemeetingswereheldwiththePresident/Membersofthe
NationalCommissionandthePresidentsoftheStateCommissions
alongwiththeSecretaries,StateGovts.todiscusstheirproblems,
reviewtheworkingoftheconsumerforumsandtheutilisationofthe
onetimefinancialassistancereleasedforstrengtheningthe
infrastructureofconsumercourtsintheirrespectiveStates/UTs.The
last meeting took place in Delhi on 15-16 March, 2003.
●TheDepartmentofConsumerAffairshasbeenarrangingtrainingfor
non-judicialMembersoftheconsumercourtsattheIndianInstitute
ofPublicAdministration,NewDelhi.939membershavebeentrained
sofarin39trainingprogrammes.Inaddition,thefirstcourseforthe
PresidentsoftheDistrictForumswasalsoconductedduringthe
year in which 28 participated.
●TheCentralGovernment,withtheapprovalofPlanningCommission,
providedasaonetimefinancialassistanceofRs.61.80croresin
fourinstalmentsintheyear1995to1999totheStates/UTsto
supplementtheireffortsforstrengtheningtheinfrastructureand
other facilities of consumer forums.
●Periodicalreportsonthefunctioningofconsumercourts.Pendency
position,theprogressonfillingofvacanciesandutilisationofone
timeassistanceschemearebeingobtainedtoreviewtheoverall
positionofthefunctioningoftheconsumercourtsandtotakeitup
with the States for appropriate action.
●Theseniorofficersalsoreviewedworkingoftheconsumercourts
duringtheirvisitstoStates/UTS,Similarly,thePresident,National
CommissionalsovisitedanumberofState/UTstomonitorand
discuss functioning of consumer forums in States/UTS.

13. 10
●6posts,includingapostofJointRegistrar,werecreatedin
January,2003intheNationalCommissionformeetingthe
requirementsofsection24BoftheConsumerProtectionAct,1986
toenablethemtoeffectivelymonitortheworkingoftheconsumer
forums.Besidesthis,basedontheSIUstudyreportoftheMinistryof
Finance18postswerecreatedinOctober,2003fortheNational
Commission including 6 posts for its additional bench.
●ForthepurposeofgivingeffecttotheprovisionsoftheAct,Rules
and Regulations are being finalised by the Central Government.
●UnionTerritoryofChandigarhsubmittedaproposalforcreationof
35postsinStateCommissionandDistrictForumsin2001.The
DepartmentofConsumerAffairsrequestedtheMinistryofFinance
toconductaWorkStudyinNov.2001.Onthebasisoftheirreportin
April, 2003, 13 posts were sanctioned in October, 2003.
12. Conclusion
Consumerawarenessisthenecessityofthehourwhether
itisaboutyourrights,theinformationabouttheproductor
anythingelsethatcanchangethemind-setoftheother
buyers.Peopleareconcernedaboutdifferentaspectsof
consumerawarenessi.e.theirrightsandduties,certified
products,dateofmanufacturingandexpiryoftheproducts
theyused,ConsumerCourtsetcasfarasurbanareasare
concerned.
Thereisnodoubtthatconsumerawarenessisquitemore
inthepresenttimeandhashelpedalotinbringingthe
transformation.

14. 11
Bibliography
Links used:-
➔Consumer awareness (slideshare.net)
➔Consumer awareness (slideshare.net)
➔Project on consumer awareness for class 10 in about 25 pages - Brainly.in
➔ConsumerAwareness-ConsumerProtection,ConsumerRightsand
Responsibilities (vedantu.com)
Books used:-
➔UnderstandingEconomicDevelopment-Socialsciencetextbookfor
class-10
➔Narayana Social science study-material
IwouldalsoliketothankDebankaSabudforhishelpandsupportthroughout
the project, which the project would be so difficult to complete.
—THANK YOU—