Team JGJ

Aug 29, 2024 NEW DELHI: Govt will launch a ‘repairability index’ for mobile phones and electronic products by Dec, a move that will help consumers make informed decisions before purchasing them. The initiative aims to address the growing e-waste problem and encourage manufacturers to produce more easily repairable items. Speaking at a workshop on ‘Right to Repair Framework’ organised by the govt, Union consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare said after the roll out of the index, the department will come up with a regulatory framework as well. “As India emerges as the third largest economy in the world, we should have a vibrant and tech-savvy repair system,” she said. Top industry players attended the meeting and supported the govt’s move. The ‘repairability index’ is a display or information that manufacturers will have to put on electrical and electronic equipment to inform about their repairability. Sources said once the regulatory framework is notified, manufacturers in India will have to mandatorily display them like in France. The proposed index will rate products on criteria including availability of technical documents, ease of disassembly, spare parts availability and pricing of spare parts. It will assess various elements that determine how easily a product can be repaired and thereby ultimately promoting a circular economy and reducing e-waste. Officials said the repairability index would score products on a scale of 1 to 5. The lowest score of I will be given to products that have increased risk of getting damaged and require dismantling of multiple components to access a single part. Products that offer a compromise, making some components easily accessible while others requiring more complex disassembly will get the score of 3 while items that are easy to repair as they allow direct access to parts like battery or display without unnecessary removal of other components will get the maximum score of 5. In an official statement, the consumer affairs department said that the workshop was aimed at establishing a consensus among industry stakeholders on “key parameters for accessing and evaluating repairability index” besides promoting longevity in product design, and democratising repair information to enhance consumer experiences in reusing the mobile and electronics products they own. HCL Technologies founder Ajai Chowdhry called for legislation to drive the change. “Today, most products are not repairable. We need to design products which can be repaired… Unless we create a law, things will not change,” he said. The govt has launched a SRight to Repair’ portal, with 63 companies onboard, including 23 from the mobile and electronics sector. India is the third largest electronic waste producer globally after China and the US. Source: TOI

Sep 10,2024 The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a Rs 5,00,000 fine on Shankar IAS Academy for misleading advertisements related to the 2022 civil service exam, the regulator said on Sunday. The CCPA, led by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare, found that the coaching institute made false claims about its success rate and the nature of courses taken by successful candidates. In its advertisement for the 2022 UPSC Civil Service exam, Shankar IAS Academy claimed “336 selections out of 933 at All India Level”, “40 candidates in Top 100”, and “2 candidates have cleared from Tamil Nadu, of which 37 studied at Shankar IAS Academy”. The institute also advertised itself as the “Best IAS Academy in India”. However, the CCPA discovered that Shankar IAS Academy “deliberately concealed” information about the specific courses taken by the successful candidates it advertised for. “This practice consequently attracts consumers into buying paid courses advertised by the coaching institutes,” the CCPA said in a statement. The regulator’s investigation revealed that out of 336 claimed successful candidates, 221 had only taken a free interview guidance program, while others participated in various short-term or specific exam components rather than full courses, it said. The academy also claimed credit for candidates who purchased preliminary exam courses after the 2022 exam had already taken place, likely in preparation for the following year’s test. The CCPA highlighted that over 1 million candidates apply for the prestigious civil services exam annually, making UPSC aspirants a vulnerable consumer class. This action comes as part of a broader crackdown on misleading advertisements by coaching institutes, with the CCPA issuing notices to numerous organisations for similar practices. The regulator emphasised the importance of transparent information about courses taken by successful candidates, enabling consumers to make informed choices when selecting coaching programs. Source: Business Standard

Sep 10,2024 Here is a simple way to protect the bulk of your money if you fall victim to an online scam. You can do it by setting transaction limits on your cards and online banking transactions by evaluating your financial needs on a one-time basis. It will ensure that the amount of money withdrawn from your bank account or on your credit card is only within the limit set by you Fraudsters usually work at luring people to part with their identification details required for fulfilling know-your-customer (KYC) requirements. They also con you into sharing one-time passwords (OTP) through scam calls, or worse, take control of your screen. Basically, fraudsters aim to get all information required to misuse credit or debit cards by luring people to part with details. They do this by frightening people by masquerading as bank officers and threatening to block accounts or credit or debit cards for want of KYC information and then offer to guide them online to comply with the requirements. This is when they dupe people into parting with information that allows them to log into net banking accounts or even share OTPs. How many of us know that limits set for our debit and credit cards and online transactions play a vital role in deciding how much money can be siphoned out of our accounts by fraudsters? The higher the limit, the higher the loss. Let us now understand various limits that can be set. You can set two types of limits: first, on the number of transactions, and second, the amount or size of a transaction.  The first allows you to set the total number of transactions per day based on your usage – for instance, it can be four transactions per day on your debit card.  The second option allows you to set the maximum amount that can be withdrawn or transferred from your card or account daily. Again, this depends on your personal spending pattern. You can set it up at anywhere between Rs25,000 to Rs1 lakh per day. Ideally, you should cap your overall transaction amount at a little higher than your usual payment requirements to provide for unforeseen contingencies.  These limits are not independent but integrated with one another. So, if you have set your limits at Rs1 lakh and four transactions, you can make four transactions of Rs25,000 each or a single transaction of Rs1 lakh or any such combination on any given day. Online banking software also allows us to set further limits and sub-limits also.  To elaborate, if I want to transfer a certain amount to Mr XYZ online – say in a unified payment interface (UPI) or net banking transaction, I can add him as a beneficiary and go on to define whether I want to make a one-time payment to him or plan on a recurring transaction with a cap on the maximum limit of amount that can be transferred.  This is ideal for making payments directly into the accounts of domestic help or transferring allowances to children, parents or dependents who may live in another city or for subscription payments like newspapers, etc.  The same applies to debit and credit cards also. If you have a good credit score and monthly income, banks will try and lure you with a premium card or a gold or platinum card with significantly higher spending limits. While this is flattering, it also exposes you to a higher risk if you are a victim of fraud. So, it is ideal to set your limits based on your spending patterns and will usually be much lower than the default limits set by your card issuer or bank. Most banks allow you to set default limits online. Some banks even facilitate setting a time slot during which no online banking transaction can take place. For example, if my routine starts at 9 in the morning and ends at 10 at night, I can set the time slot for ‘no online banking’ from 9.30pm to 9.30am, ensuring that your card simply cannot be misused while you are sleeping.  Please check the various limits available to you and make it a point to re-set them as a one-time exercise to protect yourself and limit losses in case you become the victim of fraud.  Please note that this is an overall concept and may differ from bank to bank, so you may like to contact your bank for help with the specific features on offer for you.   Needless to add, this is not a guarantee against fraud because fraudsters are ingenious and always find new tricks to dupe people. The transaction limits circumscribe potential losses and establish you as a prudent customer when fighting for redress if the need should arise. Source: Money Life