The Aware Consumer

Prof Bejon Kumar Misra International Consumer Policy Expert and Consumer Rights Advocate Health insurance in India is marketed as vital protection against unexpected medical expenses, promising "cashless" hospitalization and "peace of mind." However, when emergencies occur, consumers find themselves battling insurance companies and hospitals, both deploying tactics that prioritize profit over patient welfare. Q. Is health insurance a necessary evil? In many ways, yes. Most people purchase health insurance not from trust but from necessity. An NSSO study revealed that 55 million Indians were pushed into poverty due to healthcare costs in a single year. The trust deficit is genuine because insurance companies aggressively market promises but deliver disputes during claims. Policies contain hidden clauses, exclusions, and fine print designed to benefit the insurer. Hospitals exploit insured patients through inflated costs, cashless claims are denied, and families scramble during crises. Q. How do insurance companies behave differently before and after selling a policy? Not all companies behave this way, but differentiation is difficult for consumers. At the point of sale, companies promise the world – easy claims, cashless coverage, and total peace of mind. But once the premium is paid, the reality is very different. Patients face questioning about insurance limits before treatment begins, shifting focus from recovery to fighting for basic rights. Q. Why do hospitals ask about insurance coverage before admission? Once hospitals know coverage limits, they inflate treatment costs to match those amounts. Instead of charging as per standards based on actual medical need, investigation costs are raised arbitrarily. Patients don't object, believing expenses are insurer-covered, enabling hospitals and doctors to charge more while patients pay indirectly. Q. Does health insurance protect corporate profits over patient care? Absolutely. Insurance companies are raking in record profits, while patients are left battling paperwork, hidden clauses, unjustified delays. Policies contain co-payments, sub-limits, and exclusions ensuring insurers can deny claims legally. Patients are no longer treated as individuals in distress – they are "revenue streams" to be billed heavily. Q. Are premium increases justified? Healthcare costs are rising, but insurers use "medical inflation" as blanket excuses without transparent sharing of actual hospital payments. If hospitals are overcharging, insurers should negotiate better, not simply pass the burden onto helpless consumers. Q. Why is there no effective grievance redressal despite regulatory discussions? Regulatory reform remains largely on paper, designed to pacify public anger without truly shaking up the system. Grievance redressal is slow and frustrating; patients fight giant corporations alone. Insurance companies know there are no serious consequences for harassing or denying claims. Regulators rarely come down hard. Without an independent, patient-first ombudsman with power to impose massive penalties, the system remains broken by design. Q. What reforms would you recommend? No advance payments at admission for insured patients. Regulate hospital billing transparently via State Hospital Regulator under Clinical Establishment Act 2010. Mandate simple one-page policy disclosures. Hold insurers and TPAs jointly accountable with IRDAI penalties. Create time-bound, independent grievance systems with punitive consequences.

Bejon Misra International Consumer Policy Expert Despite high-decibel campaigns like Jago Grahak Jago, the consumer rights movement in India remains more symbolic than substantial. In this eye-opening conversation, we explore how banks, insurers, and financial inclusion schemes often fail the very citizens they claim to serve. Q. The consumer awareness movement in India looks good on paper but feels hollow on the ground. Why is that? You're absolutely right – it's a movement that has been stifled by tokenism. While we have progressive laws and catchy campaigns like Jago Grahak Jago, the ground reality is that consumers still face exploitation every day. The real issue is effective enforcement and lack of efficient redressal. Rights exist on paper, but access to justice is long drawn, cumbersome, expensive, fragmented, and out of reach for most. Q. Do slogans like "Jago Grahak Jago" carry any real weight today? They serve a purpose in spreading awareness, but they have become more symbolic than impactful. If the consumer wakes up but the system remains asleep, what have we achieved? We need to move from slogans to solutions – timely grievance redressal, ethical business practices, and strong regulatory mechanisms. Q. Banks often change terms like interest rates or service fees unilaterally. Isn't that a breach of trust? It absolutely is. When consumers sign up for a product, they expect those terms to hold. Changing them without proper notice or consent is not just unethical, it's borderline exploitative. Regulatory bodies must intervene more proactively to prevent such one-sided practices. Q. Many loans are advertised with "attractive rates" but hide several charges. Why are banks not held accountable? Transparency in lending is a fundamental right of the consumer. Many banks indulge in marketing gimmicks while burying actual charges in fine print. Prepayment penalties, insurance add-ons, legal fees – these are not disclosed clearly. The RBI needs to enforce stricter disclosure norms. RBI does impose fines on banks but the money recovered is never passed on to the respective bank customers. Q. PMJDY boasts massive numbers. But if crores of accounts lie dormant, what's the point? Financial inclusion must go beyond numbers. A bank account is not a symbol of empowerment unless it is used and found useful. The 2.34 crore inoperative accounts in UP alone point to a failure of follow-through. There's no literacy, no usage incentives, and often no trust in the system. Q. Is there enough consumer awareness in rural and semi-urban India? No, and this is where the real crisis lies. Most people don't understand what they are signing when they take a loan or buy insurance. We need a national consumer literacy mission – just like the literacy movement of the 1990s. Unless we empower citizens with knowledge, every system we build will be rigged against them. Q. If you could make one immediate policy change, what would it be? Mandate that all financial products must have a clear, standardized disclosure sheet in the consumer's regional language, read aloud and explained before signature before credible witnesses. And record that consent via video. It's simple, it's transparent, and it protects the most vulnerable.

Bejon Misra International Consumer Policy Expert The story of Indian aviation is less about isolated mismanagement and more about a systemic cycle where ambition collides with structural fragility, leaving passengers stranded and trust eroded. Since liberalization in the 1990s, carriers from East-West and Damania to Kingfisher, Jet Airways, and Go First have risen with ambition only to collapse. Q. Why is it that private airlines rarely survive in India? It is very difficult to start and operate a private airline in India. We have witnessed the failure of many private airlines – East-West, Kingfisher, Jet Airways, Air Costa, Go First. The key reasons are unsustainable business models, aggressive expansion without matching revenues, and financial mismanagement. Aviation is capital-intensive: all expenses are paid in dollars while revenues come in rupees. Fuel accounts for 40% of operating expenses and is taxed heavily. Q. What are the common early warning signs that an airline is heading toward collapse? Chronic cancellations and sudden route withdrawals become visible before the final shutdown. When pilots strike over pay, it's usually the final stage. Extremely low-priced tickets from a struggling airline are often just a way to generate quick cash. Delays in refund indicate cash crunch. Frequent technical cancellations, crew shortages, and delayed salaries are clear indicators. Q. What is the impact on consumers when airlines shut down? The immediate impact is chaos and confusion. Passengers are left stranded – unable to reach doctor's appointments, business meetings, job interviews, or weddings. Loss of prepaid ticket money. Those who can afford buy last-minute tickets at 5x the price, while those who can't face unresponsive helplines. In the longer term, competition shrinks, fares rise, and consumer trust erodes. Q. Are there adequate safeguards for consumers when airlines cancel flights? Technically there are many safeguards – but mostly on paper. The DGCA's passenger charter mandates meals, accommodation, rebooking, and compensation. Yet enforcement is patchy. Airlines often delay or deny entitlements. The problem is not the absence of rules but the weakness of enforcement. Without automatic penalties, airlines treat these obligations as optional. Q. What measures can DGCA take to prevent abrupt airline shutdowns? DGCA should act on early warning signs instead of waiting till collapse. There is an urgent need to create a Passenger Protection Escrow Account. The foremost requirement is to prevent airlines from misusing consumer funds. DGCA should conduct quarterly solvency audits and ask airlines to keep a percentage of advance ticket sales in a separate account. Q. How can consumers claim refunds for disrupted travel? The process begins with the airline's refund channels, but documentation is essential – PNR, receipts, and disruption notices. If the airline fails, escalation to DGCA grievance portals or the National Consumer Helpline should be made. Under DGCA rules, airlines must refund within 7 days for credit card or 21 days for portal bookings. But these processes are long drawn and cumbersome. Q. Why does the system allow airlines to use passenger ticket money as interest-free loans? This is a major policy loophole. No legal requirements exist to ring-fence ticket revenue. Airlines use advance booking revenue to fund operations. When they fail, that money has been spent. The law treats passengers as unsecured creditors – last in queue after banks, employees, and government. This is not just a financial loophole – it is a systemic abuse of consumer trust.

Prof. Bejon Kumar Misra Consumer Policy Expert India's imported goods market operates through layers of duties, taxes, and commissions that inflate consumer prices. While discounts create an illusion of accessibility, they frequently mask artificially inflated MRPs that mislead buyers. Q. How can India reduce overdependence on imports while ensuring fair regulatory treatment? India requires a multi-pronged strategy combining import substitution through joint ventures and technology transfer with regulatory parity. A transparent framework for Maximum Retail Price (MRP) applicable to both imported and locally manufactured goods would ensure fairness. Counterfeit goods pose dual threats of tax evasion and consumer harm. Q. Why are imported goods more expensive? Many Indian manufacturers produce world-class export products yet compromise on domestic quality. Imported goods carry inflated MRPs – sometimes marked up 500% above landing prices. Medical devices illustrate this problem clearly: India imports nearly 80% of them, and prices vary wildly. Unlike essential medicines regulated by NPPA, most products lack price controls. Q. How do import duties affect discounts? When governments reduce duties or GST, MRPs often remain unchanged. Consumers see no relief. A transparent oversight mechanism ensuring cost-structure transparency would prevent exploitation. Q. Do discounts on imports threaten local manufacturers? Yes. Imported goods' inflated margins enable heavy discounting while maintaining profits and funding intermediary commissions. Local manufacturers operate with tighter margins and limited resources. They cannot afford the same aggressive marketing, deep discounts, or widespread distribution networks. Q. How does consumer perception play a role? Many assume imported products are superior despite hidden challenges – poor after-sales service, expensive spare parts, limited local support. Government awareness campaigns and consumer guides highlighting domestic product value would correct this imbalance. Q. What is your advice to Indian manufacturers? Quality, quality, quality. There can be no compromise. Manufacturers must adopt global best practices, benchmark against international standards, and ensure consistent quality across domestic and export markets. Q. What is your message to consumers? Prefer Indian-made products and verify country-of-origin labels avoiding counterfeits. Report defective products or misleading practices to regulators like CCPA. Consumers must demand transparency and accountability while manufacturers must raise standards.

Bejon Misra Internationally Recognised Consumer Policy Expert Telecom services are an essential lifeline for India's 1.1 billion mobile subscribers, yet consumers continue to face persistent challenges – from call drops and poor internet speeds to opaque billing and harassment by spam calls. Q. Despite years of oversight, Indian telecom consumers face unreliable networks, billing fraud, and spam. Why do these problems persist? These problems persist because regulatory oversight on Quality of Service has been piecemeal and reactive. Operators comply with directives on paper but fail in practice, and enforcement mechanisms lack teeth. We need a shift from compliance-based to consumer-centric regulation – where service quality, transparency, and grievance resolution are measured and published regularly. Q. Nearly 90% of mobile subscribers face call drops. What structural reasons drive this? The call drop crisis stems from overloaded networks, inadequate tower density, and spectrum congestion. Operators have expanded subscriber bases aggressively without matching infrastructure investment, simply to enrich themselves. The solution lies in stricter monitoring, mandatory infrastructure sharing, and faster 5G rollout. Consumers must be empowered with transparent data on call drop rates by operator and region. Q. India lags behind in internet speeds, especially in rural areas. Why? India's internet speeds lag because of structural neglect. Fibre penetration is uneven, backhaul capacity limited, and rural areas chronically underserved. Operators prioritize urban markets. The gap between advertised speeds and actual speeds is a clear case of consumer deception. Every consumer pays 10% of their bill toward the USO Fund, yet we never learn how that money is used. Q. Billing disputes remain a huge pain point. What safeguards can protect consumers? Billing disputes are the single biggest consumer grievance in telecom. Hidden fees, tariff misapplications, and charges for unused services erode trust. Regulators must enforce real-time billing alerts, independent audits, and strict penalties for misbilling. Transparency is the foundation of consumer trust. Q. Spam calls remain a menace despite regulations. What concrete steps are needed? Spam calls are daily harassment for subscribers. The Do Not Disturb registry was a step forward, but enforcement against unregistered telemarketers remains weak. Regulators must adopt zero-tolerance – leveraging AI-based spam detection, imposing stricter penalties, and collaborating with law enforcement. Lasting relief will only come when spam is treated as a violation of consumer rights. Q. Customer service has long wait times and unresolved complaints. What systemic reforms are needed? Customer service is the weakest link in India's telecom ecosystem. This is not just an inconvenience – it is a denial of consumer rights. Operators must move beyond call centers to multi-channel grievance systems: apps, online dashboards, and independent ombudsman services. Regulators should enforce strict timelines and publish operator-wise performance scorecards.