Introduction

THE PROCESS of development along with the expanding globalisation and liberalisation
process has increased the number of consumer related issues. Consumer protection has
earned an important place in the political, economic and social agendas of many nations.
In India, the Government has taken many steps including legislative, to protect
consumers.
Education is a life long process of constantly acquiring relevant information, knowledge
and skills. Consumer education is an important part of this process and is a basic
consumer right that must be introduced at the school level. Consumers by definition
include all citizens who are, by and large the biggest group, who are affected by almost
all government, public or private decisions. The most important step in consumer
education is awareness of consumer rights. However, consumer education is incomplete
without the responsibilities and duties of consumers, and this influences individual
behaviour to a great extent.

Definition
Consumer awareness is making the consumer aware of His/Her rights.
Consumer awareness it a marketing term. It means that consumers note or are aware of
products or services, its characteristics and the other marketing P's (place to buy, price,
and promotion).

Usually commercials and ads increase consumer awareness, as well as "word of mouth"
(a comment from someone you know about a product or service).

Need of Consumer Awareness

1) It has been observed that the people for,whom various schemes have been taken up by
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), in fact, do not get benefit as expected. This is mainly
because they are not fully aware of these schemes and their benefits.

Also, only knowledgeable and alert consumers aware of their rights and responsiblities
can protect themselves effectively. The need of the hour is, therefore, to educate the
common consumers particularly those in rural areas who are more susceptible to
exploitation. Once they are educated and made aware of the schemes that have been
drawn up for their benefit and also the redressal forum that is available, the benefit of
various schemes, in true sense, will reach the common consumers of the country.

It is, therefore, our bounden duty to play our part jointly and effectively in disseminating
various schemes to the common consumers of the country. In this regard, the role of the
voluntary consumer organizations, consumer activists, non-governmental organizations,
educational institutions and media cannot be ignored.

2) Making existing and potential customers knowledgeable about products/services,

consumer awareness programs create more informed buying decisions. Consumers
cannot purchase products and services if they do not know they exist. A lack of consumer
awareness in any industry can harm sales. If specific products and services are better
known, those products and services will remain on the front line in sales. Therefore, it is
important to implement consumer awareness programs that will introduce and make the
target audience aware of the products and services a company offers. Consumer
awareness programs can be initiated through the utilization of flyers, brochures,
television, radio, guides, fact sheets, information posted to a Web site, school programs,
and other sources depending upon the topic and the message delivered.

3) we need it so we will not be misled by producers,it explains if what we buy is worth to

our money..and not harmful to us and to environment .

Many people are ignorant of their rights to get protected against the exploitation by so
many others. So when there is a forum for such redress of grievances there seems to be
no such exploitation by many; and becomes a rare one. So in order to get a clear picture
of the level of exploitation of consumers, the awareness is required.

Various Forms Of Consumer Exploitation

1) Adulteration of foods (use of unpermitted colours)

2) Sales of medicines after expiry date.
3) Spurious drugs (Sub-standard drugs)
4) Supply of blood from a blood bank infected with AIDS or other diseases.
5)Advertisement with false claims
6) Shortage of weight and quality Excessive price.
7) Death of a person due to medical negligence of a doctor.
8) Consumer redressal.
9) Always insist on cash bill.
10) Send a complaint petition to the manufacturer. If they do not respond within a
reasonable time, file your petition before the court.
11) Get help from consumer organisations working in your area.

Role of Producers in Protecting Consumer Rights

1) The role of producers is very significant with far reaching consequences.

The producers are under obligation to produce goods conforming to the prescribed
standards, such as ISI, wherever such standards are prescribed.

Secondly, they must provide written literature giving details to reasonable extent about
the products, their ingredients, their do and don'ts, warranty or guarantee, MRP, date of
manufacture and expiry, operational instructions.............etc. as the case may be, with
each unit of product.

Provision of the address of the manufacturer with other contact details is significant as
the customer may ultimately have to fall back in case of need.

Packing of products to reach them safe at the end user point, quick response and remedial
measures in case of any wrong happening...etc could be very helpful to save consumers
from big hassles and losses.

Not going into very much details here, if the producer take all reasonable care, for which
he has the facilities and abilities, a high volume of troubles gets eliminated by facilitating
the consumer rights this way providing right quality products, each unit tested and
certified.

2)
Role of producers
proper labeling, full information, health warnings, handling information, expiration date,
etc. keep to requirements, norms, standards
labelproducts according requirements, providing true facts
They have to produce and deliver the goods/services of rght quality at right price at right
time at right place at right quantity with right face

If they are providing a service they should carry it out with due skill and care. They must
also make sure that any materials they provide as part of this service are fit for the
purpose.
It is also illegal for a supplier to cut off, or threaten to cut off, supply to a reseller
(wholesale or retail) because they have been discounting goods or advertising discounts
below prices set by the supplier.

The 8 Consumer Rights

Right to Safety
Right to Information
Right to Choice
Right to be Heard
The Right to Redress
The right to consumer education
The Right to Basic Needs and
The right to a healthy and sustained environment.
Right to Basic Needs