Govt proposes to formulate a national consumer policy

The government today proposed to formulate a national consumer policy to ensure that goods, services and technology are made available to consumers at affordable prices.

"The Draft National Consumer policy (NCP) proposes to lay down a national policy that will ensure that goods, services and technology are available to consumers at reasonable prices and at acceptable standards of quality," Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Arun Yadav said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

The Draft NCP was uploaded on the website of the department and comments were invited from all stakeholders, Yadav added.

He said "The general public have supported the proposed policy."

To achieve the objectives, NCP proposes internal dispute resolution mechanism for all manufacturers and service providers, use legislations such as Consumer Protection Act and Competition Act for enforcement of rights of consumers.

The policy also proposes the use of Essential Commodities Act for non-market intervention among other initiatives.