Page 2 - Consumer

What soft landing?

The Fed must peer through the murk and assess which direction the economy is heading

57% Indian consumers prefer AI tools over human interaction, shows data

Human interaction remains a top choice when considering aspects of decision-making, customer support, and returns or cancellations, said the survey

Alibaba considers sale of consumer assets including Freshippo, RT-Mart

Alibaba announced a plan in March to split into six units and explore fundraisings or listings for most of them. It has since filed a Hong Kong listing application for the logistics arm Cainiao in Sep

Restaurant Brands Asia Q3 results: Net loss narrows to Rs 36.18 crore

The company, which runs quick service chains owned by Restaurant Brands International, said prices of ingredients including chicken, cheese, tomatoes and onions rose 12.6%

Marico Q3 results: Profit rises 17% to Rs 383 crore, beats estimate

The consumer goods manufacturer reported a net profit of Rs 383 crore ($46.1 million), up nearly 17% from last year, and surpassing analysts' estimate of Rs 374 crore as per LSEG data

Consumers installing solar panels at home to get zero power bills: Delhi CM

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that under the Delhi Solar Policy 2024, people installing rooftop solar panels at home will get generation-based incentives. He said such consumers will be paid for solar power generation. Under the policy, all government buildings having an area of 500 square metres will have to mandatorily install rooftop solar panels in the next three years, Kejriwal further said. Delhi Power Minister Atishi said the solar policy was approved by the Cabinet two days back and it would be notified within 10 days. The 2016 policy of the Delhi government enabled the deployment of over 250 MW of rooftop solar plants within the city and around 1,250 MW of utility-scale solar plants, totalling 1,500 MW. This meets 7.2 per cent of Delhi's annual electricity demand.

Tata Consumer Products to raise $782 mn through issue of commercial papers

Tata Consumer Products said on Friday it will raise up to 65 billion rupees (about $782 mn) through issue of commercial papers and rights issue of shares

Govt to bring more products under mandatory quality norm: Piyush Goyal

Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said the government will bring more products under the mandatory quality norm as India moves towards becoming a developed nation by 2047. Addressing virtually the 77th foundation day of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Goyal said complying with high quality standards in products and services will help India achieve high goals and become a developed nation. Towards this direction, the BIS should become an ambassador of quality standards. "It should not just become an adopter of standards, but should be a pioneer of standards," he said. That apart, the BIS should frame quality standards comparable to international standards wherever possible. "For example in products like lift, air filters and medical devices, I think India can be a front-runner and set international standards." He also urged for much greater stakeholder engagement for making quality standards and asked the industry to be more demanding to set labs for testing t

Printing 'date of mfg', 'sale price' on packaged items mandatory from Jan 1

Printing the 'date of manufacturing' and 'unit sale price' has become mandatory on all packaged commodities effective from Monday, according to Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh. Earlier, companies were given the option to either print the 'date of manufacturing' or 'date of import' or date of packaging on the packaged commodities. Now, companies have been mandated to print only the 'date of manufacturing', along with the 'unit sale price', as per the latest notification issued by the Consumer Affairs Ministry. "Since packaged items are sold in different quantities, it is important that consumers are aware about the 'unit sale price' of what is packed and make an informed purchase decision," the consumer affairs secretary told PTI. Printing the date of manufacturing will help consumers know how old the packaged item is and help them make conscious purchase decisions. Similarly, the printing of unit sale price will make it easy for consumers to ascertain the cost in unit

Dark patterns: Govt sets guidelines of the game for digital business

These are tactics used by online platforms to manipulate or heavily influence customers to make certain choices

Around 74 million tonnes of food are lost every year in India: Scientists

Food wastage is not only a direct loss to consumers but also has bearings on the environment and supporting economies, she added

NCDRC resolves 854 consumer cases in Aug, with disposal rate of 188%

The National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and the Department of Consumer Affairs have successfully resolved 854 consumer cases in August, the government said on Tuesday. "The filing of cases during this period is 455 making it the highest disposal rate of 188 per cent in the year of 2023," an official statement said. This significant disposal of cases reflects NCDRC's dedication to providing consumers with a fair and efficient mechanism for addressing their concerns, it added. The NCDRC has significantly improved the disposal of consumer cases in the commission this year. This achievement underscores their unwavering commitment to safeguarding consumer rights and ensuring prompt redressal of grievances. "With proactive steps from the President of NCDRC, streamlined processes and advanced technology like E-daakhil, cases are being resolved faster than ever before," the statement said. To monitor consumer cases, the Department has organized various oneday regional .

Working on using AI to reduce pendency of consumer cases: Ministry

The Consumer Affairs Ministry on Tuesday said it is working on using artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce the pendency of cases in various consumer courts in the country. The ministry also said the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has successfully resolved 854 cases during August, the highest disposal rate in the current year. This was possible due to proactive steps taken by the NCDRC, streamlined processes and advanced technology like E-daakhil, which helped resolve cases faster than ever before, it added. "In furtherance of keeping the same momentum of disposal of cases, the Department has made filing of cases through E-daakhil in consumer commissions compulsory and soon going to launch the feature of VC (video conference) on E-daakhil," the ministry said in a statement. As the scope of artificial intelligence is increasing rapidly, the ministry is "also working on using the AI facilities in reducing the pendency of cases in the National, State and Distri

Protect Your Dream Home: Know Your Rights

After consumers, Paytm is now offering cashback to woo merchants

The idea is to use attractive cashback offers to build a relationship with merchants and eventually offer them business loans, said a top executive

Consumers as political bellwether: What duality in sentiment may mean

If inflation cools, employment improves, and growth is above average, it is possible the current consumer confidence level will cross 100 again, for the first time since 2019, writes T N Ninan

Quality gets better market, need to change mindset about quality: Goyal

Asserting that quality gets better market, Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday stressed the need to change the country's mindset about the quality of products and services. Addressing the 44th plenary meeting of International Standard Organisation (ISO) Technical Committee on Consumer Policy, Goyal said, "Quality is not an abstract term. Quality is not for goods alone but how you provide service. Quality is omnipresent." "Quality is what consumers are demanding today. Good quality can have an influence on our economy, ability to attract investments, international trade...," he said. Consumer right, consumer safety and consumer satisfaction are extremely important in this highly globalised world, he said and noted consumers can play a crucial role in shaping markets and driving economic growth. Stating that India has a great opportunity to become the world's third-largest economy in the next 4-5 years, the Minister said young population, huge talent and skill deploym

Delhi to host 44th Int'l Organization for Standardisation's plenary

India will host the 44th edition of the annual International Organization for Standardisation's Committee on Consumer Policy (COPOLCO) plenary from Tuesday in the national capital. Union Minister of Food and Consumer Affairs Piyush Goyal will inaugurate the four-day event (May 23-26). COPOLCO Chair Sadie Dainton, International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) General Secretary Sergio Mujica and other senior officials will participate in the event, an official statement said. ISO, comprising 168 countries as members, develops standards for the world impacting a diverse range of business and social sectors. Through COPOLCO, ISO involves the wider public in the process of standardisation. "Therefore, ISO COPOLCO is reckoned as the major international event that brings together representatives from ISO member countries to discuss and develop strategies for accelerating the development of standards for the world," the statement said. The event, being organised by the Bureau of Ind

Consumer Protection Act meant to encourage consumerism, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday said the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, is meant to encourage consumerism in the country and any technical approach in construing its provisions against consumers would defeat the objective behind its enactment. A bench of justices J K Maheshwari and M M Sundresh said a "pedantic and hyper-technical approach" would cause damage to the very concept of consumerism. The apex court's observations came while dealing with appeals against a National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) order passed in a matter relating to completion of a housing project. The bench said the Consumer Protection Act has got a "laudable objective" and the 2019 law facilitates consumers to approach forums by providing a very flexible procedure. "It is meant to encourage consumerism in the country. Any technical approach in construing the provisions against the consumer would go against the very objective behind the enactment," it said. The bench noted that the appellant .

Don't use interim order to mislead consumers on service charge: Delhi HC

It had further apprised the court that certain restaurants were currently relying on the interim order to create the image that they are permitted to impose service charges