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Consumer protection regulator CCPA on Tuesday said it is ready with draft guidelines specifying “dos and don’ts” to prevent coaching institutes from making “false claims” in advertisements regarding success rates of candidates. The draft guidelines will be approved and issued soon, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) Chief Commissioner and Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told PTI. Singh, who headed the committee that prepared the draft guidelines, said several meetings were held for drafting the guidelines and the recent one was on January 8. Asserting that protection of consumer’s interest is a paramount concern for CCPA, Singh highlighted the need for clarity, specifically in addressing certain aspects related to advertisements with respect to coaching centres. “The committee observed that there is an urgent need to issue the guidelines and the draft as discussed in the (January 8) meeting should be issued at the earliest,” the CCPA said in a statement. According to the CCPA, the proposed guidelines will be applicable to all the coaching institutes, whether online or physical, and will cover all forms of advertisement regardless of form, format or medium. The draft guidelines prescribe conditions when an advertisement by a coaching institute will be construed to be a misleading advertisement under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 which inter-alia include concealing information related to the course opted by the successful candidates (whether free or paid) and duration of course, among others. As per the proposed guidelines, coaching institutes should not make false claims regarding success rates or number of selections and any other practices that may lead to consumer misunderstanding or subvert consumer autonomy and choice. Before coming up with advertisements, coaching institutes are required to follow “dos and don’ts”. For instance, coaching institute should mention requisite information along with the photo of a successful candidate. Details such as rank, type and duration of course and whether free or paid course need to be mentioned along with the photo of a successful candidate, according to the statement. Further, coaching institutes should not make claims such as ‘100 per cent selection’ or ‘100 per cent job guaranteed’ or ‘guaranteed preliminary or mains’. The font of disclaimer/disclosure/important information in the advertisement should be the same as that used in the claim/advertisement. The placement of such information should be at a prominent and visible place in the advertisement. The CCPA also clarified that the penalty for misleading advertisement by coaching sector will be governed as per Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the guidelines are just in the nature of clarification to the stakeholders. Further, the CCPA said it had taken sou moto action against misleading advertisements by coaching institutes. In this regard, CCPA has issued notices to 31 coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and imposed fines on nine of them. The CCPA has observed that some of the coaching institutes mislead consumers by deliberately concealing important information with respect to course opted by successful candidates, duration of the course so attended and the fees paid by the candidates. Jan 09,2024 Source: Economic Times

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was ordered by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) to pay Rs 1,60,812 after an 8-year-long battle with a ‘Jeevan Arogya’ insurance policy holder. LIC Jeevan Arogya is a health insurance policy that covers certain specified health risks and provides support in times of medical emergencies. The primary reason for such an extended battle between the insurance behemoth and the policyholder was because LIC officials considered the surgery the policyholder was making a claim for was a non-major one and hence paid a smaller amount. They contended that despite the policyholder incurring Rs 2,16,827 for her father’s hernia operation, she was eligible for only Rs 17,100 insurance claim. While LIC did not outrightly reject the Jeevan Arogya insurance claim, but the amount (Rs 17,100) offered to the policyholder for reimbursement of hospitalisation expenses of her father was too low since the policyholder already spent Rs 2,16,827 on various hospital bills. Disappointed with the lower claim amount, the policyholder decided to fight against LIC. The complainant after completion of treatment of her father in Chennai returned to Agartala, Tripura and submitted her claim of Rs 2,16,827 along with medical prescriptions, bills and vouchers and other proofs with a forwarding letter addressed to the Chief Manager, LIC, Agartala Branch on August 8, 2016. After receiving the documents and the forwarding letter, the manager (HI) of LIC’s Silchar divisional office asked the complainant for some information. The complainant replied to the queries on September 14, 2016. After receiving the replies, the Chief Manager of Agartala branch of LIC visited the house of the complainant on January 12, 2017. On March 27, 2017 the complainant received a letter from the manager (HI) of LIC’s Silchar Divisional Office. The letter informed her (the complainant) that that claim raised by her was reduced to Rs 17,100 as of ‘Other Surgical Benefit’ under the policy. According to the complainant, she fulfilled the terms and conditions of the policy, but in spite of that, LIC had reduced her claim on the ground that ‘ventral hernia’ surgery was not a major surgery. LIC reduced the surgery claim amount because laproscopic ‘ventral hernia’ surgery was not covered in the list of ‘Major Surgical Benefit (MSB)’. Further, LIC said that the insured ought to disclose the fact that her father was suffering from hypertension for ten years and coronary artery disease for the last six years which was within knowledge at the time of filling the proposal form. Feb 02,2024 Source: Economic Times

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) alerted the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) a few months ago about possible money laundering and know-your-customer (KYC) violations at Paytm, and the fintech services provider may lose its payments bank licence, given infringements flagged by the banking regulator over the past few years, people familiar with the matter told ET. Additionally, the home ministry had alerted the Prime Minister’s Office about security concerns related to fund flows into and out of the entity with links to China, they said. “Concerns have been flagged to ED… There was gross violation of anti-money laundering provisions and KYC norms,” said one of the persons aware of the details. “Several crores were being transferred in between multiple accounts without any KYC; lakhs of prepaid cards were issued sans any KYC, transferring large funds.” RBI had also uncovered data breaches, with information flowing between the payments bank and One 97 Communications. In an order issued on January 31, RBI asked Paytm Payments Bank to stop all basic payment services through various platforms and technology railroads, including the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Aadhaar-Enabled Payment System (AEPS) as well as bill payment transactions, with effect from February 29. The person said flouting of norms is very serious and the entity’s banking licence could be cancelled. Unlike in the case of cooperatives, RBI cannot directly supersede a payments bank, as that would require the government’s nod. Appointing an administrator would also not solve the problem, people in the know said. “Senior Paytm officials held a meeting with the regulator in January, in which they were told what to do. The action earlier this week was taken as a warning to the company to mend its ways. If things don’t change, then harsher action could be an option,” said another person, who did not wish to be identified. RBI could not have delayed the action as it could have serious implications, the first person said. Paytm did not reply to a late evening email seeking comment. RBI also found KYC checks for hundreds of thousands of customers were missing, and some of the accounts were either owned by individuals with past issues with enforcement agencies or had abnormal balances, amounting to crores of rupees in some cases. The central bank has flagged multiple instances of a single permanent account number being used to open more than 1,000 accounts. Feb 03,2024 Source: Economic Times

India’s consumer industry is witnessing a massive transformation and is set to become the world’s third largest by 2027, only behind the US and China. The industry is currently undergoing a revolutionary change driven by several key factors such as growing young population and a burgeoning middle class, predominantly concentrated in urban hubs, who are the key stimulants of consumer demand and growing expenditure. The preferences of a tech-savvy and aspirational demographic are compelling companies to adapt, innovate and align their offerings to suit evolving demands. The expanding middle class, with higher disposable incomes, is contributing to increased spending on a wide array of goods and services that offer convenience, memorable experience, and quality. This has spurred the growth of tech-integrated retail formats and a rising demand for experiential services. Additionally, a growing awareness of health and sustainability concerns is driving a demand for healthier products, sustainable practices, and ethical sourcing. This confluence of demographic shifts, rising middle class, urbanization, digital transformation, experience economy, and health-consciousness is moulding India’s consumer industry into a dynamic and adaptive landscape. Companies that successfully navigate these trends are poised to thrive. From an investment standpoint, it is essential for the government to a) revamp FDI policies making them more attractive; b) eliminate regulatory obstacles that hinder foreign investment. FDI relaxations across products and for countries that propose to manufacture in India, would invigorate the sector, making it even more appealing to foreign investors and thereby generate more investments in the entire value chain. Furthermore, governments can be encouraged to raise awareness among small businesses and artisans, fostering public-private collaborations that take up focused research efforts. For domestic manufacturing companies, while the government has successfully implemented various PLI schemes, there is the constant need to add new sectors under the PLI purview. Focus could be on sectors having limited domestic infrastructure and excessive import dependence. Also, the businesses would appreciate an extension of the sunset date (31 March, 2024) to avail concessional rate of taxation @ 15% for new domestic manufacturing companies. Such a measure would boost domestic manufacturing and positively impact the economy. Providing relief from the inverted duty structure could further accelerate growth in the manufacturing environment. This is of utmost importance specifically for the electric vehicle (EV) industry, which has gained relevance in almost all other sectors such as automobile, transport, logistics, etc. Further, while slashing of tax rates on EVs has been a welcome step, revamping the current taxation mechanism is imminent. OEMs end up paying more tax on inputs in comparison to the output side, blocking not only initial stage costs of the OEMs, but also rigorously increasing refund compliance burden on them. Revising the tax rates on the input side can serve as an immediate relief for the stakeholders. In terms of individual taxation, measures to modify the current perquisite rules to include Kilowatts (kW) value vehicles (i.e. EVs) in addition to cubic capacity (Cc) vehicles (i.e. petrol/diesel cars), would further encourage consumers to shift to EV. Similarly in the context of easing compliance, from a transfer pricing regulation standpoint, existing safe harbors applicable to core and non-core auto component manufacturers can be expanded to cover core and non-core components for vehicles / technologies of the future such as EV, hydrogen as well. In addition, the APA program needs attention from the perspective of timing and amount of pendency. Jan 22,2024 Source: Economic Times

A dark pattern, also known as deceptive design pattern, is where “a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things, such as buying overpriced insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills”. Harry Brignull, a user experience designer came up with this term in 2010 and created a website where Brignull addresses the growing issue of deceptive design practices that happen on various digital platforms. As defined by Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), dark patterns are “any practices or deceptive design patterns using UI/UX (user interface/user experience) interactions on any platform; designed to mislead or trick users to do something they originally did not intend or want to do; by subverting or impairing the consumer autonomy, decision making or choice; amounting to misleading advertisement or unfair trade practice or violation of consumer rights.” Now, the CCPA has notified Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, issued under section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, in the Official Gazette on November 30. Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) along with the Advertising Standards Counsil of India (ASCI) conducted an interactive consultation with stakeholders on “dark patterns.” The report has draft Guidelines on Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns. Falsely stating or implying the sense of urgency or scarcity so as to mislead a user into making an immediate purchase or take an immediate action, which may lead to purchase. Inclusion of additional items such as products, services, payments to charity/donation at the time of checkout from a platform, without the consent of the user, such that the total amount payable by the user is more than the amount payable for the product or the service chosen by the user. Using a phrase, video, audio, or any other means to create a sense of fear or shame or ridicule or guilt in users’ mind, so as to nudge the user to act in a certain way that results in the user purchasing a product or service from the platform or continuing a subscription of a service. Forcing a user into taking an action that would require the user to buy any additional good or subscribe or sign up for an unrelated service, in order to buy or subscribe to the product originally intended by the use. A design element that manipulates the user interface in ways that highlights certain specific information and obscures other relevant information relative to the other information, to misdirect a user from taking an action desired by her. The practice of advertising a particular outcome based on the users’ action but deceptively serving an alternate outcome. A dark pattern due to which users face an overload of requests, information, options or interruptions unrelated to the intended purchase of good or services which disrupts the intended transaction. Dec 02,2023 Source: Deccanherald

As 2023 draws to a close, the finance ministry informed Parliament of a surprising 28% increase in unclaimed deposits to Rs42,270 crore on 31 March 2023 (against Rs32,934 crore during FY21-22). Get ready for an even more staggering truth: this figure of unclaimed deposits represents a mere quarter of the money that is locked away in ‘inoperative’ bank accounts. A stupendous sum of nearly Rs1 lakh crore, by conservative estimates, representing the earnings of ordinary people is lying with banks under the head ‘inoperative accounts’; while some of these may become operative, it represents money that is on the way to being classified as ‘unclaimed funds’. Allow me to explain.  Information provided to Parliament shows that of the unclaimed deposits of Rs42,270 crore, only Rs6,087 crore were with private banks; public sector banks (PSBs) accounted for the bulk, at Rs36,185 crore. Moreover, only PSBs are subject to the Right to Information (RTI) Act.  Bank accounts are classified as ‘unclaimed’ when they have remained inoperative for at least 10 years; these are then transferred to the depositor education and awareness fund (DEAF) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). On the other hand, a bank account that is not operated for two years is termed ‘inoperative’ and there is a rather cumbersome process to get it activated again. Also, data about inoperative accounts is not publicly available.  So Aakash Goel, an engineer, management graduate and chartered financial analyst, filed an RTI application with department of financial services (DFS) of the Union finance ministry in August 2023, hoping to obtain comprehensive information on such accounts. DFS promptly transferred the application to RBI, which, in turn, forwarded it to 11 PSBs. All of them ignored the RTI query until Mr Goel filed a first appeal at the end of September 2023.  Then, too, the results were partial. Only 10 out of 12 banks responded. Indian Overseas Bank has yet to respond. State Bank of India (SBI), shockingly, claimed that it does not even collate this basic information – an answer that ought to receive special attention from the banking regulator.  Dec 29,2023 Source: Moneylife

Bournvita, a popular chocolate malt drink mix manufactured by Cadbury, has now reduced the quantity of added sugar by 14.4 percent. Earlier, the popular health drink consisted of 37.4gm sugar per 100gm. Now, the new packaging reveals that it has 32.2 gm of added sugar. In April this year, Revant Himatsingka aka Food Pharmer, a Health Influencer with more than 1.5 million followers across social media, uploaded a video on Bournvita on Instagram highlighting its high sugar content. Soon, the video went viral getting over 12 million views. Himatsingka told Financial Express.com that Bournvita still has 32g of added sugar per 100g (so approximately 1/3rd of Bournvita is sugar) so he still does not recommend it as a “health drink”. “Bournvita has taken a crucial step so it is a positive step in the right direction. These things take time…and the bigger thing is I made a video and this happened. What if everyone starts doing this? There will be so much more change,” he told Financial Express.com. The Health influencer also maintained that this will also set an example for other brands and companies. “A few months ago Maggi Ketchup had made a change by reducing the quantity of their added sugar by 22 percent…I got a lot of criticism from people around me for making the video on Bournvita. They used to say a video won’t do anything. But that video led to this…this is big. This is going to be a chain reaction. One company has done it and others will also do this,” Himatsingka said. Dec 22,2023 Source: Financialexpress

Retailers Association of India has recommended the central government that the Union Budget for FY 23–24 should focus on generating demand and spurring consumption by offering benefits or concessions in the form of lower taxes. The association said that it will boost the overall consumer sentiment and benefit the retail sector. Tax benefits and relief to individual tax payers will increase the monthly disposable income and support consumption. “The budget must prioritize growth-oriented measures to stimulate demand and consumption. The budget should outline supportive policies, simplified regulations, skill development and simple goods and services tax (GST) norms to aid in the development of the retail industry,” said RAI. Retailing in India is one of the pillars of its economy and accounts for about 10 percent of its GDP. The Indian retail market is estimated to be worth $1 trillion and is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2032. India is one of the fastest growing retail markets in the world. “There is a need to provide lower interest rate to the retailers through the special announcement in the budget to assure easier financing for the Retail businesses. The government should allocate a special fund and formulate a special trader finance scheme with SIDBI to help millions of independent retailers across the nation by declaring low-cost loans and relaxing some industry guidelines,” RAI has said. RAI has also requested to consider retail as an essential service and F&B retail sector needs to be considered as a priority and an essential service. Jan 10,2024 Source: Economic Times

Broadcasters Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Sony Pictures Networks India, and Viacom18 have raised TV channel bouquet prices to offset rising content expenses that will affect monthly TV bills for consumers. Network18 and Viacom18’s distribution arm IndiaCast has raised the price of their bouquets by 20-25% after adding big-ticket sports properties to their portfolio. Zee hiked the price of its bouquets by over 9–10%, while Sony’s bouquet prices have gone up by 10–11%. Disney Star is yet to unveil its new bouquet pricing. While the broadcasters said the new pricing will come into effect on February 1, regulation states that they can implement the new pricing 30 days after the publication of the reference interconnect offer (RIO). However, with 2024 being an election year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is carefully monitoring broadcaster rate cards to avert customer outrage. TRAI sources indicate the regulator will scrutinize broadcaster bouquets to ensure compliance with the new tariff order (NTO) 3.0. Broadcasters have increased their prices for the second time following the implementation of NTO 3.0 by the TRAI in November 2022. The TV channel prices were frozen for nearly three years before February 2023 due to an impasse over the implementation of NTO 2.0. The price hike in February 2023 followed a dispute between broadcasters and cable TV companies, resulting in broadcasters switching off TV signals to cable TV operators. Broadcasters are required to declare both a la carte and bouquet prices for their channels, but most consumers prefer bouquets for cost efficiency. Industry executives point out that Viacom18’s aggressive price hike stems from its investment of upwards of Rs 34,000 crore in sports rights, which include Indian Premier League (IPL) digital rights, BCCI media rights, Cricket South Africa media rights, and the Olympics 2024. “Viacom18 is targeting strong double-digit growth in subscription revenue due to the addition of BCCI. Sony and Zee have settled for an inflation-linked hike,” said a top-level executive with a leading broadcasting firm. According to a source aware of the development, Disney Star is contemplating its pricing strategy after it lost the BCCI media rights and the uncertainty over the fate of the International Cricket Council (ICC) TV rights deal. Disney Star acquired ICC media rights for $3 billion and sublicensed the TV rights to Zee while retaining the digital rights. Zee is yet to fulfill its part of the commitments to Disney Star, which is holding up the sub-licensing deal. “Zee’s bouquet pricing doesn’t seem to factor in the ICC TV rights. It will be interesting to see Disney Star’s new pricing since they have lost BCCI rights and ICC TV rights is now their responsibility,” said a veteran TV distribution executive. Jan 06,2024 Source: Economic Times

It is indeed a matter of pride that India is today a beacon of growth in a world faced with multi-dimensional challenges. The Prime Minister’s vision to build a Viksit Bharat through a far-reaching paradigm of sustainable and inclusive growth, the government’s multidimensional interventions including policies to accelerate physical and digital infrastructure hold the promise to transform India into a global manufacturing hub even as it strengthens its leadership in climate action, services growth and prowess in technology. An aspirational society and young demographics are contributing to a growing consumer market. FMCG therefore represents an area of immense potential. The market size of the FMCG segment by 2030 is estimated at over Rs 21 trillion. Experts indicate that consumption rises at a much faster pace when per capita incomes cross $4,000, as is expected in India by 2030. There is today an increasing consumer preference for trusted brands, convenience, offerings in health and wellness as well as premium products. In 2024, a rising Bharat with unbounded aspirations, the massification of digital access and democratisation of premiumisation will further broaden opportunities for the FMCG sector. The key driver to unleashing FMCG growth through a virtuous cycle of consumption, investment and income lies in creating gainful livelihood opportunities. It is here that the transformation of the agri sector gains critical importance given its predominant role in livelihood creation. This sector also bears the challenge of providing food security to India’s projected population of 1.5 billion by 2030 even as extreme weather events continue to multiply and make farmers vulnerable. It is mission critical to focus on adaptation measures to build climate resilience to secure livelihoods. ITC has therefore launched an extensive Climate Smart Agriculture programme that is demonstrating encouraging results. ITC’s Mission Millets is also promoting this planet friendly crop through nutritious and innovative products, sustainable agriculture and consumer awareness. Adoption of digital technology by farmers to enhance productivity and access to gainful markets will create newer opportunities, an area that ITCMAARS is spearheading with an aspiration to reach 10 million farmers. Unleashing India’s tourism potential will also add to supporting largescale livelihoods. These concerted efforts to secure and raise incomes will not only fuel growth in FMCG but contribute to our shared aspiration of a developed India. Jan 01,2024 Source: Economic Times