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Despite high-decibel campaigns like Jago Grahak Jago, the consumer rights movement in India remains more symbolic than substantial. In this eye-opening conversation with international consumer policy expert Bejon Misra, we explore how banks, insurers, and financial inclusion schemes often fail the very citizens they claim to serve. From hidden charges and misleading loan offers to the staggering number of inoperative Jan Dhan accounts, Misra pulls no punches in exposing the systemic neglect of consumer welfare in India—and lays out a powerful roadmap for reform. A must-read for anyone concerned about the real state of consumer protection in the world’s largest democracy. 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. What we need is not just awareness but accountability and transparency in the system. Heads must roll in case of delayed redressal at the cutting edge. 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 that protect the consumer at every step in a prompt and honest manner. Banks often change terms like interest rates or service fees unilaterally. Isn’t that a breach of trust? It absolutely is but as you know it is governed by certain globally accepted standards, which is not known to the common bank customer. When consumers sign up for a product—whether it’s a savings account or a fixed deposit—they expect those terms to hold. Changing them without proper notice or consent is not just unethical, its borderline exploitative. Regulatory bodies must intervene more proactively to prevent such one-sided practices and encourage consumer engagement. Many loans are advertised with “attractive rates” but hide several charges. Why banks are not held accountable? Transparency in lending is a fundamental right of the consumer. Unfortunately, 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 Reserve Bank of India needs to enforce stricter disclosure norms and impose penalties for misleading promotions. RBI does impose fines and penalties on banks for several violations, but the money recovered by RBI is never passed on to the respective bank customers. What are your views on the health insurance sector and how it treats consumers? The health insurance sector is riddled with discriminatory clauses and confusing exclusions. The common consumer doesn’t know how to read policy documents—nor should they be expected to decode legal jargon. Denial of claims on technical grounds, poor awareness of network hospitals, and aggressive premium hikes have made health insurance a cause of distress rather than relief. We need a patient-centric model where insurers are held accountable for every rejected claim. What’s the biggest loophole in consumer protection laws today? The biggest problem is delayed justice. Even with the new Consumer Protection Act 2019 and establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), most consumers don’t file complaints because they know it will take years or go nowhere. The process is long, intimidating, and often biased toward corporates with legal muscle. We need local, fast-track consumer redressal systems that work in real time—especially for vulnerable groups. 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 in terms of customer care and relationship building with the bank account holders. There’s no literacy, no usage incentives, and often no trust in the system. The money in dormant accounts is a national shame—its wealth lying idle when it could be transforming lives. What needs to change to make Jan Dhan accounts more active and relevant? First, we must provide financial literacy in regional languages. Second, we need doorstep services for rural users. And third, we must link usage to real benefits—such as easy credit, micro-insurance, or pension access. Banks must be incentivized not just to open accounts but to nurture them and keep them in active mode. 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. Consent becomes meaningless in the absence of comprehension. 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. What role should civil society and the media play in consumer protection? An active civil society and free media are the backbone of consumer empowerment. NGOs can offer local guidance, legal help, and awareness, while media can amplify injustices and expose systemic flaws. But more importantly, they must move from episodic outrage to continuous engagement. Consumer rights deserve a permanent place in the national discourse—not just when a scam breaks. We are still struggling to finalise the National Consumer Policy for the last 3 decades. If you could make one immediate policy change, what would it be? Mandate that all financial products—bank accounts, loans, and insurance—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. Let’s bring

Feb 6, 2025 Union Minister of State for Ayush Prataprao Jadhav on Thursday launched ‘Shatavari –For Better Health’, in a bid to raise awareness about the health benefits of medicinal plants. Speaking on the occasion, Jadhav highlighted the significant progress made by the Ministry of Ayush over the last decade and lauded the efforts of National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) for launching this new initiative to promote awareness about Shatavari. Recalling the successful campaigns led by NMPB, including those for amla, moringa, giloe, and ashwagandha, he said these initiatives have contributed to spreading knowledge of the health benefits of medicinal plants across the country. Jadhav also emphasised the relevance of Shatavari in achieving the ‘Panch Pran’ goal outlined by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2022. “The Prime Minister envisioned making India a developed nation by its 100th Independence Day in 2047. As part of this mission, the Shatavari plant has been identified as a key resource for enhancing women’s health in India. This aligns with the broader goal of holistic well-being of citizens,” he said. In his address, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, elaborated on the activities and achievements of NMPB in promoting medicinal plants. He also shared insights into the central sector scheme for the conservation, development, and sustainable management of medicinal plants, an initiative to ensure the long-term preservation and cultivation of important medicinal species, including Shatavari. Shatavari, known for its numerous health benefits, particularly in supporting women’s health and enhancing immunity, will now receive focused attention through this campaign, ensuring it reaches wider audiences across the nation. Source: The Statesman

FRAMING OF A NEW LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR REGULATION OF MEDICAL PRODUCTS AND COSMETICS TO REPLACE “THE DRUGS AND COSMETICS ACT, 1940”. Read Letter

Govt. restrained from interfering with online gaming business and allied activities of petitioners In a relief to online gaming operators and players, the High Court of Karnataka on Monday declared as unconstitutional certain provisions of the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act, 2021, which prohibited and criminalised the activities of offering and playing online games, by risking money or otherwise. “The provisions of Sections 2, 3, 6, 8 & 9 of the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act 2021 are declared to be ultra vires of the Constitution of India in their entirety and accordingly are struck down,” the court said A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Krishna S. Dixit, delivered the verdict while allowing the petitions filed by associations of gaming operators, such as Online Gaming Federation, Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports, and a few individuals who are online gaming enthusiasts. Source : The Hindu

NEW DELHI: The government’s action against Chinese apps over data breach of Indian citizens and threat to national security continues with a fresh set of 54 apps being ordered blocked as they were suspected to be engaged in illegal espionage and surveillance activities on Indian citizens.The action follows similar steps taken since June 2020 that has seen as many as 267 apps being blocked through various orders that included removing some of the top ones such as TikTok, PUBG, UC Browser, WeChat, CamScanner, Baidu Search and Weibo.With the latest action, the number of Chinese apps blocked in India now stands at 321. The news ones blocked included apps related to beauty, music, dating and gaming.Some of the apps that will be blocked are either the cloned versions of those banned previously, or have similar functionality, privacy issues and security threats, as per the government which took the action on the recommendations of the home ministry.“These 54 apps allegedly obtain various critical permissions and collect sensitive user data. These collected real-time data are being misused and transmitted to servers located in hostile country,” the IT ministry said. “This will enable them to compile huge personal data to mine, collate, analyse and profile by the elements who are hostile to the sovereignty and integrity of India and for activities detrimental to national security,” it added.TOI had reported on August 30, 2021, that several Chinese apps were back in the Indian online eco-system – despite the ban – by hiding their origins, changing their names, or with scarce information about their ownership. The fresh action also comes when ties between India and China continue to be cold over the border disputes. Source : TOI

HYDERABAD: New cybercrime methods are leaving the police perplexed with fraudsters specifically targetting software and banking professionals who want to give their houses on rent.Top police officers said several employees of multi-national companies are failing to see through the dirty tricks of fraudsters, who are siphoning off lakhs of rupees by either asking house owners to scan QR codes or receive rental advance through what is described as ‘reverse payment’ method that doesn’t exist. Swaminathan, an IT architect of a Pharma MNC from Kondapur is one such victim who lost Rs 11.99 lakh. On February 5, he uploaded details of a vacant portion of his house on a real estate website seeking Rs 20,000 monthly rent and one month’s advance. The following day, Swaminathan received a call from a person who identified himself as Randip Singh, a CISF officer transferred from Pune to Hyderabad. Showing interest, Singh wanted to pay the advance amount and explained to Swaminathan about a “reverse payment method used in CISF accounts department.” “The person posing as CISF officer convinced Swaminathan that he would have to transfer one month’s rent to the ‘officer’s’ bank account and double the amount would be transferred back from the CISF accounts section into the house owner’s account. To test the method, Swaminathan sent Rs 1 and received Rs 2 from the fraudster’s bank account. Subsequently, the fraudster convinced Swaminathan to transfer Rs 11.99 lakh from his bank account and debit card through 12 transactions, while staying on the call for about two hours,” Cybercrime inspector M Ravinder Reddy said. “All along, the fraudster convinced him that he would get double the amount he sends and Swaminathan ignored warning calls from his bank also,” the inspector said. A manager of a private bank, Shiva Shankar of Chandanagar, lodged a similar complaint on February 2 saying that one B Pratap Yadav, posing as an Army personnel recently transferred from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad, made him transfer Rs 2.2 lakh from his mobile banking app to Yadav’s bank account through nine transactions in the guise of paying advance plus one month’s rent through the same `reverse payment method’. On February 7, Srinath Kumar of Kukatpally, an associate team leader in a software MNC, approached police saying that he had placed an advertisement in house rental portals to rent out a vacant flat for Rs 20,000 a month and two months advance payment. Kumar received a call from two persons, who identified themselves as armymen Randheer Singh and Bamu Gorai, transferred from Noida to Hyderabad. “They wanted to make payment through QR code. Kumar lost Rs 2.74 lakh when he scanned the QR codes sent by the fraudsters and the amount got debited from his bank account, instead of getting credited,” the investigation officer said. Source : TOI