Govt inks pact with CERC to develop Consumer Responsibility Index in state

Until now, he added, consumers are much neglected by the industries and they are treated as mere customers. The agreement brings together the Department of Consumer Affairs – Government of Gujarat, the Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), and CARE Edge to address a long-standing gap in how industries are evaluated regarding their treatment of customers. By placing the Indian consumer at the “centre stage of future development”, the CRI will serve as a critical tool to incentivise ethical business practices and ensure a transparent, responsible marketplace.

“This collaboration marks a definitive shift toward a market environment where consumer trust is strengthened through rigorous research and data-driven accountability,” Dr Parekh added.

CERC also signed an MoU with the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of Gujarat to jointly develop of an ecosystem for creating consumer awareness, sensitising youth and citizens about consumer rights, steering Cyber Surakshit Gujarat as well as setting up conciliation and pre-litigation centres in all districts of Gujarat, thus developing a Gujarat model of making justice accessible and affordable to the consumers.

This pioneering framework was formalised on Sunday in the presence of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi, Minister of State, Ministry of Consumer Affairs Nimuben Bambhaniya, Cabinet Minister, Department of Consumer Affairs Ramanbhai Bhikhabhai Solanki, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs PC Baranda, Mona Khandhar Principal Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs and Gandhinagar Mayor Miraben Patel signalling a high-level commitment to corporate accountability and consumer protection.

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Cutting complaints
While the first draft of the CRI framework will be out in 60 days and be followed by the launch of the index, once launched it is expected to reduce consumer complaints significantly. Several parameters including the product itself (how easy is it to use, how easy is to repair), services (if a fault appears how efficient is the response and repair), customers (how will the consumers protected), information shared with the customers on the green products are some of the areas that will be factored in. The CRI will force companies to look at consumers more seriously and not as merely customers but consumers, experts said.