NATIONAL SEMINAR ON RURAL CONSUMERS AND THE MARKET: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Transcription

1 NATIONAL SEMINAR ON RURAL CONSUMERS AND THE MARKET: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES AUGUST 16-17, 2013 ORGANIZED BY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF STUDY AND RESEARCH IN LAW, RANCHI IN ASSOCIATION WITH CENTRE FOR CONSUMER STUDIES INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION NEW DELHI SPONSORED BY DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

2 A. Concept note The idea of consumer protection is no new idea in India. In ancient scriptures- Manusmriti and Arthashastra in particular- there were diverse rules to contain many clandestine activities against the consumer. In a sense, the idea of consumer protection seems as old as the civilization. In fact, organized movement for consumer protection by and large gained its momentum in the Occident during twentieth century and modern law of consumer protection in India took off its journey out of its occidental legacy rather than the great legacy of its antiquity. Consumer protection in India, therefore, lacks indignity to resolve crises of the people. From the perspective drawn above, it seems apparent that the given juridical discourse or its momentum vis-à-vis consumer protection stands limited to the metropolis India alone and not spread over the gramin Bharat that covers lion s share of its territory and population. The trajectory of consumer protection is thereby meant for citizensthe city people in technical sense of the term- rather than the rural and indigenous people in the nooks and corners of India. the given discourse facilitates those to avail justice who are educated, conscious and litigant rather than those who by default lack formal education, rights education and access to legal justice. Consequently, majority of THE PEOPLE OF INDIA being residents of gramin Bharat, the jurisprudence of consumer protection remains limited in its reach to umpteen rural consumers which stands as a challenge before the given legal regime. On one side, a top-down approach in the postcolonial legal system of India remains as it was during the (British) Raj. And, on the other, consumer protection movement lacks its momentum except sporadic occurrences here and there. Together, consumers in gramin Bharat remain where they were ever before. Piecemeal legislative efforts 1

3 strive to offer justice to rural consumers as well. However, in the absence of efficient executive and judicial intervention, the law remains restrained in these statute books. A bottom-up approach, which is likely to reverse the given trend is yet to be initiatedfrom caveat emptor to caveat venditor- for upside down. While there are relevant legislations, there is clear lack of executive initiative toward their proper implementation. For instance, the Standards of Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act provides for legal powers of supervision to designated officers and there is hardly any application of these provisions- partly due to inefficiency and partly due to corruption. Together these lacunae leave rural consumers at the mercy of market players and rest of the story is known to all. Introspection, therefore, seems imperative for better coverage of all rural consumers by jurisprudent provisions for more efficient consumer protection in gramin Bharat. The forthcoming academic event is meant for brainstorming sessions by academicians, researchers, practitioners, activists working with rural consumers. NUSRL, Ranchi, and Centre for Consumer Studies, IIPA, New Delhi together provide for this forum toward academic contemplation on the issues involved therein and thereby grappling with challenges. This programme is sponsored by Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India. B. Call for papers Papers are invited from the event organizing committee on relevant areas of study. People with diverse academic backgrounds are welcome to submit their papers and, subject to selection by peer review process, communication of acceptance will be sent to selected authors for presentation of their papers before the august congregation 2

4 during event dates. Participants are requested to send their filled in registration form to the Coordinator of the event organizing committee. C. Guidelines for submission of papers Text of paper should be written in MS Word 2007, Times New Roman, 12 Font, with 1.5 line spacing. Footnotes should be in Times New Roman, 10 Font, with single line spacing. Citation style should conform to the Harvard Blue Book, 19 th ed., so far as possible. Joint authorship, if any, should not exceed two (2) in number. Abstract should be limited to words. Complete paper (including keywords, abstract and footnotes) should be limited to words. Any submission or communication should be sent to For clarification, dial the Coordinator or Treasurer. D. Broad subthemes 1. Globalization, market and the rural consumer 2. Protection of rural consumer: law and policy 3. Problems of indigenous (tribal) consumers 4. Consumer protection and vulnerable sections of the society 5. Rural consumers and the service sector 6. Consumer protection and public awareness in rural market 7. Consumer protection and the role of media 8. Role of civil society in protection of rural consumers 9. Consumer protection movement and the rural market 10. Strategic analysis for protection of rural consumers 11. Allied issues relevant to the theme 3

5 E. Registration procedure After notification of acceptance for selected papers on our website, those willing to present their papers should submit their registration form along with demand drafts in favour of the Registrar, NUSRL, Ranchi payable at Ranchi. Registration fees, once received, are not refundable. The amount of spot payment (of registration fees) by cash may be allowed provided that this information is communicated by on or before deadline for receiving filled in registration form. F. Registration fees I. Within deadline: One author Two authors Students Rs. 500/- Rs 900/- Others Rs. 750/- Rs. 1350/- In case of one student and another non-student, Rs. 1125/- II. Beyond deadline: One author Two authors Students Rs. 750/- Rs. 1350/- Others Rs. 1000/- Rs. 1800/- In case of one student and another non-student, Rs. 1575/- Also there is a provision for spot payment (by cash). Amount of registration fees are double of what is fixed for registration fees within deadline. Only participants present in the seminar premises will be issued their certificates of participation. If paper is presented by co-author, subject to discretion of the organizing committee, written statement may be issued in favour of the absentee. 4

6 Limited seats of modest accommodation are available and those who will apply for accommodation may be offered until all of them are occupied by early birds. There is option for accommodation in the registration form. There is no provision for reimbursement of travelling expense for the participants. G. Important dates to be noted July 25, 2013 (Thursday). Deadline for receiving abstracts through July 29, 2013 (Monday). Notification of accepted abstracts on official website of our institution <nusrlranchi.com> August 3, 2013 (Saturday). Deadline for receiving filled in registration form (along with demand draft for registration fees) by post August 5, 2013 (Monday). Deadline for receiving complete seminar papers through August 16-17, 2013 (Friday-Saturday). National Seminar. August 31, 2013 (Saturday). Deadline for submission of the presented papers after revision in the light of comment or suggestion by Chair of the session. All these deadlines should be strictly followed to avoid procedural inconvenience. Event organizers will not entertain request for extension. N.B. Acceptance of abstracts communicates no assurance for publication of paper. After the event, participants will be given time to fine-tune their papers. All finetuned papers are subject to peer review and only selected papers by this process may be published in book form by NUSRL Ranchi with ISBN. 5

7 H. Event organizing committee Patron: Prof. A. K. Koul, Vice-Chancellor, NUSRL, Ranchi. Prof. Suresh Mishra, Chair Professor (Consumer Affairs) and Coordinator, Centre for Consumer Studies, IIPA, New Delhi. Core Committee Convenor: Dr. Debasis Poddar (contact no ) Coordinator: Mr. Mrityunjay Mayank (contact no )* Treasurer: Mr. Alik Banerjee (contact no )* Member: Ms. Arpita Ghosh (contact no )* Member: Mr. Subir Kumar (contact no ) * Contact persons for participants purpose. # For further details, contact Mr. A. K. Sengupta, Registrar, NUSRL, Ranchi (contact no ). 6

8 Circulated by: THE REGISTRAR NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF STUDY AND RESEARCH IN LAW, RANCHI Polytechnic campus, BIT Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. PIN