Abstract: Any person who buys goods and services for personal consumption and not for commercial purpose or resale is called a consumer. Consumers form the largest economic group in any country. They are the pivots of all economic activities. Consumer is the real deciding factor for all economic activities. It is now universally accepted that the extent of consumer protection is a true indicator of the level of progress in a nation. The growing size and complexity of production and distribution systems, the high level of sophistication in marketing and selling practices and forms of promotion like advertising, etc. have contributed to the increased need for consumer protection. The contemporary era is marked as the era of consumers. No country can knowingly or unknowingly disregard the interest of the consumers. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is the most important legislation enacted to provide for effective safeguards to consumers against various types of exploitations and unfair dealings. In India, the government has taken many steps to protect consumers and in 2005 the Govt. of India started a national campaign “Jago Grahak Jago (Wake up Consumer)” to create awareness among consumers. An enlightened consumer is an empowered consumer. An aware consumer not only protects himself from exploitation but induces efficiency, transparency and accountability in the entire manufacturing and services sector. Realizing the importance of consumer awareness, Government has accorded top priority to ‘Consumer Education, Consumer Protection and Consumer Awareness. The success of consumer movement mainly depends upon the level of consumer awareness generated in the country by educating the consumers about their rights and responsibilities. Within India itself, the level of consumer awareness varies from State to State depending upon the level of literacy and the social awareness of the people. Jago Grahak Jago is a consumer awareness programme from Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India. The government has used multiple channels to create consumer awareness. Print media advertisements, Audio Campaigns, Video Campaigns are being used for consumer information and education about initiatives like Insurance Ombudsman channel. The main objective of the Consumer Protection Act is to ensure the better protection of consumers. Hence, this paper attempts to study the features and importance of consumer awareness programme jago grahak jago in Indian society.
Keywords: consumer, protection, goods and services, awareness, “Jago Grahak Jago.”
Title: Features and Importance of Consumer Awareness Programme “Jago Grahak Jago” In Indian Society
Author: DR. SULTAN SINGH JASWAL
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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