National Consumer Day is celebrated on 24th of December every year.
Wishing you All a very Happy National Consumer Day.
National Consumer Day is celebrated to mark enactment of The Consumer Protection Act of 1986, which was subsequently replaced with Consumer Protection Act 2019, with a view to modernize the frame work governing the consumer protection in the new era of globalization, technologies, e-commerce markets and more. Objective of the Act is to promote awareness about customer rights and responsibilities, fair business practices and consumer protection laws. Various campaigns are adopted by The Government and NGOs for this purpose. One such campaign by the Government of India, that has become most popular is, Jago Grahak Jago.
This year’s theme is “Virtual Hearings and Digital Access to Consumer Justice.”
Today’s celebrations at Delhi will be chaired by hon’ble Minister, Shri Pralhad Joshi’. Some of the highlights of the day: –
- 13 major e-commerce companies to sign a safety pledge for ensuring consumer safety
- Launch of Jago Grahak Jago APP, Jagriti APP and Jagriti Dashboard to protect consumers from Dark Patterns
- Launch of e-Mapp portal for all Legal Metrology services
- Launch of AI-enabled National Consumer Helpline 2.0
- BIS to move towards SMART standards from 2025. Design will be machine readable, intelligent and interactive
- Weighing software testing facilities developed at RRSL Ahmedabad to be dedicated to Nation
Acts and Rules enacted by the Government are upgraded to remain relevant with evolving needs and times. Present day laws are mostly penal and deterrent in nature. For the regulations to be enforceable and more effective, it is important to have them based on factual data, market realities and regulatory resources. Only policing by way of extending stringent monetary penalties and awarding imprisonments may not be sufficient to ward off unfair practices and protect consumer rights.
Recently, came across a question raised in Lok Sabha by Hon’ble member of Parliament Shri ESWARASAMY K from Tamil Nadu. Question number 1396 was answered on 04.12.2024, by Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution ,Department of Consumer Affairs. The question had three parts :-
(a) whether the Government is aware of the fact that the sale of underweight items has become order of the day;
(b) if so, whether the Government has launched any campaign to stop this;
(c) if so, the action taken at present against the persons/companies resorting to underweighting; and
(d) whether these actions are adequate to deter them from committing such crime and if so, the details thereof?
The answer from the Hon’ble Minister, rightly covered the aspects of monetary penalties and imprisonments for unfair trade practices, unearthing of violations through surprise inspections and raids, besides acting on such complaints as per prevailing Act and Rules. Also mention was made about countrywide Awareness campaigns through multimedia, social media, Through Jingles and “Jagriti”, mascot of empowering and making consumers aware.
Success of awareness programme is well reflected in the Lok Sabha question itself. Hon’ble member of Parliament, who is an elected representative of his constituency, obviously acted on the feedback received from the public, hence this question. It also proves that general public is gaining awareness and the campaign of empowering them is working.
Can the same thing be said about Regulations being based on factual data, market realities and regulatory resources? Attempt is being made to analyze various responsibilities of Legal Metrology officers visa-viz population of weighing machines, regulation of which is one of the components of their job role.
Job Role of LMOS
- Process and grant licenses to manufacturers, repairers, and dealers of weights and measures and repeat the exercise every time, the renewal falls due
- Verification and stamping of weighing and measuring instruments and collection of verification fees before sale/use and thereafter continue with the process of reverification every year
- Reverification and stamping of weighing and measuring instruments and collection of verification fees if the machines are shifted from one location to another
- Reverification and stamping of weighing and measuring instruments and collection of verification fees once the machines are repaired/ recalibrated
- Calibration and verification/ subsequent reverification periodically, of vertical oil and petroleum storage tanks.
- Calibration and verification/ subsequent reverification periodically, of water meters, clinical thermometers and CNG dispensers
- Calibration and verification/ subsequent reverification periodically, of Petrol Dispensers
- Calibration and verification/ subsequent reverification periodically of folding scales and tape measures
- Protect consumer rights by undertaking inspections of businesses, to ensure correct quantity/quality is delivered in conformance to legal metrology standards
- Detect and book violations, compounding of offences, Contest, pursue and follow up cases in judicial courts
- Enforcement of Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, detecting, booking , compounding of violations and to Contest, pursue and follow up cases in judicial courts
- Enforcement of Legal Metrology (Numeration) Rules, 2011, detecting, booking , compounding of violations and to Contest, pursue and follow up cases in judicial courts
- Apart from multiplicity of roles played by LMOS, their responsibility has been further increased with the introduction of verification and stamping of Gas Meters, Speed radars for vehicles, Breath Analyzers and Moisture Meters- new additions to Legal Metrology (General)Rules 2011
- Draft amendments to Legal Metrology ( General Rules) 2011 for incorporation of Clinical Electrical Thermometer with Maximum Device , Non-invasive automated sphygmomanometers, Automatic Catch Weighing Instruments are already released to further enhance their job responsibilities.
As against estimated three thousand Legal Metrology officers in India, average number of weighing machines alone, sold every year in the country is said to be twenty crores- (Source—RTI data). Replacement age of these machines ranges between 5 to 20 years. Considering faster pace of technological developments, let us take reduced average life expectancy of 5 years only. It translates to existing average population of weighing machines to 100 Crore ( 20Cr*5). Testing, verification and stamping of weighing machines is a physical process and requires human resources. Time taken for this activity varies from machine to machine. Higher capacity machines like Weighbridges take 2 days also, while smaller machines may take less than 2 hours. On a very conservative yard stick if we consider average time taken per machine as 1 hour only, it works out to 100 crore working hours for 100 crore machines every year. LMO works for 8 hours a day for 300 working days in a year, after accounting for holidays and Sundays. For 3000 LMOS, this calculation works out to availability of seventy-two lac working hours with the Department in a year ( 300*8* 3000) as against the actual requirement of 100 crore hours :-
Estimated number of LMOS in India -> 3K
Estimated population of Weighing machines sold yearly -> 20 Cr
Conservative average- life expectancy of Weighing machine -> 5 Yrs.
Conservative estimate of population of weighing machines -> 20*5 = 100 Cr
Taking least average of 1 hr. per M/C for S/V- man hours required -> 100*1 = 100 Cr hr.
Average man hours available with the Department -> 3K*300WD*8hr = 72 Lac hrs.
In view of the above, expecting underweight or over weight transactions may not be much surprising. Under weight gets recorded as a complaint and overweight, which is drain to businesses remains unnoticed till viability is seriously endangered.
- Protection of consumer rights is not merely an annual event. It needs to be ensured every day and every minute. Verifications and subsequent reverifications are not enough to safeguard consumer rights. In absence of proper resources, it is merely reduced to a ritual
- Focus needs to shift from ritual of annual verification to delivering consistent and sustained accuracy continually.
- Diagnosis and treatment of any error / drift in calibration cannot wait for an annual event of verification. It has to be attended to then and there by qualified technicians.
- Sustained Accuracy of weighing equipment depends upon daily upkeep and regular maintenance.
- Preventive maintenance is an ideal way to ward off incorrect weighments/drifts/break downs and disruptions.
Ideal Solution lies in allowing manufacturers, who have resources, better technical and technological know-how and required equipment’s, to self-certify the machines at the time of sale/ before use. Thereafter subsequent reverifications may be carried out through manufacturers/ service providers. It is imperative that sellers/users are made more accountable by sensitizing them that incorrect results mean both less or overweight. Increased importance of maintaining machines 24*7 with sustained accuracy and to shun the practice of maintaining machines only once a year before announced reverification schedule. LMOS should be left free for carrying out unannounced inspections and surprise checks to book intentional irregularities.
It will be incorrect to say that the Government is not in know of the situation. Attempts are being made since 2013 to come up with a permanent resolution and we continue to hope for the best.
Vijay Bhat
