question_answer

Explain three strategies adopted by the government to protect the interest of consumers with reference to Consumer Protection Act of 1986.                                                                                                   [Delhi 2005]

Answer:

(i) Legislative   measure   includes enactment of the Consumer Protection Act. The government also amended certain provisions in other Acts. It has enacted a specific law called the Consumer Protection Act in 1986.

(ii) Administrative measure includes distributing essential commodities through Public Distribution System (PDS). PDS ensures availability of essential commodities like wheat, rice, sugar, kerosene, etc. to the consumers through a network of outlets or Fair Price Shops (FPS). There is at present a network of 4.61 lakhs PDS outlets in the country.

(iii) Technical measure consists of standardisation of products. Standardisation of products refers to the process of setting certain standards for a product on the basis of its desired qualities like utility, safety, durability, weight, colour, etc. in the product. The product with ISI mark are very popular because they carry the guarantee regarding the quality of the products. In India, Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) caters the industrial and consumer goods, while Ag mark is meant for agricultural product.