One day Inter-College Competition on Consumer Protection and Consumer Welfare- Consumidor 12 at Kamala Nehru College, New Delhi

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1 One day Inter-College Competition on Consumer Protection and Consumer Welfare- Consumidor 12 at Kamala Nehru College, New Delhi February 24, 2012 The Centre for Consumer Studies, the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi organized one day Inter-College Competition Activities on Consumer Protection and Consumer Welfare- Consumidor 12 in collaboration with the Consumer Club of Kamala Nehru College, New Delhi on February 24, The objective was to educate the young minds regarding their consumer rights and spread consumer awareness among them. Around 200 students from various colleges of University of Delhi participated in the activities. Dignitaries Lighting the Lamp The Programme began with lighting of Lamp by the dignitaries. Dr. Sadhana Maheshwari, Vice Principal welcomed all the dignitaries and participants to the programme. She said that consumer protection is an issue of contemporary relevance which affects all of us. The students are the future of the Nation. If they are trained and educated on these issues in schools and colleges, it will definitely empower them to fight for their rights. Further children are compulsive buyers; they want to purchase 1

2 everything which fascinates them. In such a scenario it becomes important to spread awareness among them. Shri Rajiv Agarwal, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, GoI delivering the Inaugural Address The programme was inaugurated by Shri Rajiv Agarwal, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi he said that the consumer satisfaction is the biggest purpose of the business. The objective of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is to ensure that the consumer gets value for his money. The CP Act was enacted in pursuance of UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection adopted in 1985 which mandated member countries to enact laws for better protection of consumers and take initiatives to generate awareness among consumers. Inspite of the enactment of the Act the consumers are still victims of many unscrupulous practices like adulteration, short weights and measures, dubious hire purchase agreements, etc. Technological advancements no doubt have made available larger variety of goods and services to the consumers which are now a click away. But at the same time have posed further challenges for the consumers. Misleading ads, cyber crimes, plastic money frauds, are some of the challenges which consumers face in the 21 st century. The government has taken many initiatives to generate awareness among consumers which include the Jago Grahak Jago campaign through media and consumer clubs in schools and colleges. Consumer protection and welfare has also been introduced in the curriculum of schools and colleges. The consumer club scheme was started in 2002 with the objectives to create awareness among students about their rights and duties as consumer; to introduce students to consumer rights; to educate the consumers to take judicious decisions regarding their purchases; to educate consumers about the legal provisions in order to 2

3 protect them from being cheated by the manufacturers. The aim was to equip the students with knowledge and skills to empower them as knowledge is power and ignorance is the root cause of all exploitation. Under the scheme more than 7000 clubs are being run successfully in 23 states. Children are the hope and future of our country and it is most important to equip them with the knowledge and skills to enable them make intelligible decisions in the market place. Nowadays children have large money to spend and are also influencing the marketing decision of the family. The internet is becoming a chosen media for the children to make all sorts of transactions without knowing the full consequences of the same. In such a scenario teaching them to become empowered consumers should be our goal. Teachers should be philosopher, guide and friend for the children to develop them into good and empowered citizen who not only know their rights but are also aware about their responsibilities. Prof. K.V. Bhanu Murthy, Head Department of Commerce addressing the participants Prof. K.V. Bhanu Murthy, Dean, Faculty of Commerce and Business & Head, Department of Commerce in his address said that though the consumer movement is very old in the country but it has not taken up in the way it should have been. The problem has further aggravated with liberalization and globalisation when the consumers are bombarded with all sort of goods and services, about the quality of which the consumer has no surety. The consumer exploitation is more in rural areas where more than 70% of the population lives. Recently, the rural scenario in the country has emerged as a lucrative option for the mainstream economy. The MNCs observe them as potential markets for their products and accordingly design their goods. Due to lack of awareness and education among the rural masses look-alikes and spurious, harmful products are being sold in rural markets. He said that the success of consumer movement depends on the involvement of all the stakeholders in the movement. The consumers need to get organized to take the movement forward and the whole 3

4 responsibility cannot be left on the government and NGOs. For the success of the movement the students and teachers are required to be roped in. Therefore, the education on consumer protection should start from the school level. The students can also play important role in taking the awareness to the grass root levels. Dr. Sheetal Kapoor providing an overview of the activities of Consumer Club at KNC Dr. Sheetal Kapoor, Associate Professor, Department of Commerce, KNC and Convener of the Consumer Club provided an overview of the activities being undertaken by the Consumer Club of her college. She said that the Kamala Nehru College has been the pioneer in Delhi University in starting consumer club. It was established on 29 th November The club is regularly bringing out its Annual Bulletin Awaken which has articles and information relating to consumer issues. Since then the consumer club is regularly organizing annually a number of activities in the areas like special lectures on various consumer related issues, nukkad natak, debate competition, slogan competition etc. The purpose is to create awareness among the students about their rights and duties as consumers. The occasion was marked by the release of the new issue of Awaken- a magazine of Consumer Club by Shri Rajiv Rajiv Agarwal, Secretary, DCA, GoI. Release of the new issue of Awaken magazine by Shri Rajiv Rajiv Agarwal, Secretary, DCA, GoI 4

5 Students participating in various activities during the Consumidor 12 In the Annual Consumer Festival four activities were organized which included Brand-o-Mania (Quiz Competition), Poster-making Competition, Slogan Writing Competition and Nukkad Natak. The theme of all programmes was Consumer Rights. The poster making competition was on the theme Green Consumerism with the idea of generating awareness among the students on ill-effects of our consumption on the environment and need for sustainable consumption. Posters made by the students in the Poster Making Competition 5

6 Slogans created by the Students in the Slogan Making Competition 1. grahak mera naam hai, sartak rehna mera kaam hai...koi mujhe thag na pae..yahi ek grahak ka abhiman hai. Jo shiksha paega,vahi raja kehlaega. Priyanka Gussain, KNC 2. Advertisements are deceiving, don t fall into their prey. Free goodies and discount receiving are among the popular ways Saumya, Motilal Nehru College 3. Consumer is the king, wind beneath sellers wing, now consumer is aware of his rights, beware or else seller might face sleepless nights. Deeksha Rastogi, KNC 4. Sellers fulfil your social responsibility; we ll take care of your profitability. Ishita Nagpaul, KNC 5. grahak ka yeh zamana hai, ab sara jahan humara hai Maitrayi Patak, KNC 6. Sharing trust, sharing satisfaction -doing it with a smile --Shubham, Zakir Hussian College 7. My money your quality-priyanka Goyal, KNC 8. Myriad are the choices echoing different voices for you are our god and consumer you are called Aatina Malik, KNC 9. Consumer is king, can fight against the sins that are continuously prevailing-- Aditi Singh, Motilal Nehru College 10. Pachtana na padhe baram-bar, is liye le aao abhi sara gyan,1986 protection act ke 6 rights ke doran, ab toh khula hai consumer forum bhi yaha Neha Tyagi KNC 11. It s your money, not just a thing, spend with your brains because consumer you are the king Vani, KNC 12. See the things, be the king, you are the power, you have the power, take the things that is our Payal Lamba, KNC 13. Consumer is king as he gives the producer the wings of the product acceptance Jasmine Kaur Maini, KNC 6

7 14. Beware there could be fraud inside, he could cheat you by telling that wrong is right Sugandha Kumar, KNC 15. Enlightened consumer is a powerful consumer, know your rights, be the king, enjoy the power Sonal Thakur, KNC 16. More choice more pleasure because king deserve it all. We are cool, beware the marketing fools Akankshita Dey, KNC 17. Shahrukhan ban ke baniyan, ban gaya don, utara toh pehchan nai paya tha vo kaun--- Nancy, KNC 18. You are the king, you are the hero without you even the biggest MNCs are zero Samridhi Ohri, KNC Teams performing Nukkad Natak (Sapna Chadah) Programme Coordinator 7