Govt to amend Consumer Protection Act to give it more teeth

The government said it will bring further amendments to the Consumer Protection Act to make it more responsive.

The government on Wednesday said it will bring further amendments to the Consumer Protection Act to make it more responsive to problems of consumers.

“The proposed amendments would make the Act even more dynamic, responsive and consumer-friendly,” Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Sharad Paw said after inaugurating the Central Consumer Protection Council (CCPC) meeting here.

The Consumer Protection Act has already been amended three times in the past.

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Informing that the Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry have provided adequate budgetary allocation to strengthen the infrastructure of consumer fora, Pawar said computerisation of such fora is being executed on a priority basis by the National Informatics Centre.

Under this project, the National Commission, 34 State Commissions and 593 District fora have been provided with computer hardware and software.

Funds to the tune of Rs 73.82 crore have been released to 21 states, in addition to the Rs 72 crore that had been given to the states under one-time grant, to prop up infrastructure of consumer fora, Pawar said.

The Minister said under the Indo-German ‘strengthening Consumer Protection in India’ project, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have been identified for implementation of the project on a pilot basis.

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He said a comprehensive Legal Metrology Bill is under preparation to replace the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976, and the Standards of Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act, 1985 to simplify the requirements in inter-state trade.

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