New Delhi: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles Piyush Goyal has emphasized that the consumer empowerment is going to be a paramount feature of a developed India and called for keeping consumers at the centre of all the initiatives. He was addressing the event held to celebrate the National Consumers Day here recently.
The Union Minister applauded the Consumer Affairs Department for launching various initiatives and for their outstanding achievements. He also appreciated the Consumer Commissions across the country for their focussed effort on speedy disposal of cases.
He noted that those approaching helplines for complaints are largely from small companies, are devoid of technical knowledge and can't afford assistance and reaffirmed the need for speedy disposal of cases. He stressed that it is therefore incumbent on all of us to put in an extra effort with a very sensitive approach to help them navigate through various processes and deliver justice in a time bound manner.
On convergence, the Minister spoke about the efforts being made to make compliance burden easier, for businesses and for the common citizen. He added that in the last few years, over 1500 redundant laws have been removed from the statute, about 39,000 compliances have been simplified and a number of minor offences have been decriminalized.
On capacity building, Goyal spoke of Mission Karma Yogi as a unique initiative to retrain ourselves in order to be equipped to serve the people better. He noted that over 3000 persons engaged with the consumer redressal mechanism are also being trained under this programme to upgrade their knowledge to be able to deliver justice by effective and timely redressal of grievances.
He emphasized that 3 Ts - Technology, Training and Transparency – will take us towards greater consumer awareness and greater service to our consumers.
The Minister quoted John F Kennedy, “if consumers are offered inferior products, if the consumer is unable to choose on an informed basis, then his money is wasted and the national interest suffers.”
