Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Consumer Affairs Piyush Goyal on Saturday emphasised that consumer empowerment was going to be a paramount feature of a developed India and called for keeping consumers at the centre of all the initiatives.
He was addressing at the event held to celebrate National Consumer Rights Day in New Delhi.
Goyal applauded the Consumer Affairs Department for launching various initiatives and for their outstanding achievements. He also appreciated the Consumer Commissions across the country for their focused effort on the speedy disposal of cases.
He noted that those approaching Helplines for complaints were largely from small companies, devoid of technical knowledge and could not afford assistance and reaffirmed the need for speedy disposal of cases.
It was, therefore, incumbent on everyone to put in the extra effort with a very sensitive approach to help them navigate through various processes and deliver justice in a time-bound manner, the minister said.
Referring to the theme of today, i.e. “Effective disposal of cases in consumer commissions” he said that it resonated with the approach of the government, which was based on ensuring speedy justice not only to consumers who have complained but to the nation at large.
Goyal highlighted that the initiatives undertaken by the Consumer Affairs Department resonate with the three significant themes that have been articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi— “Convergence, Capacity Building and Climate Change”.
On convergence, he spoke about the efforts being made to make the compliance burden easier, for businesses and for the common citizen. He added that in the last few years, over 1500 redundant laws have been removed from the statute, about 39,000 compliances simplified and a number of minor offences decriminalised.