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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.