GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LAUNCHES ‘CONSUMER APP’ FOR SPEEDY REDRESSAL OF GRIEVANCES

The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, has recently launched a mobile application, namely, ‘Consumer App’ (App) on 01-10-2019, which would act as a one stop solution for speedy redressal of consumer grievances, in addition to consumer courts and consumer helpline.

Further, the App also enables the consumers to avail information across 42 sectors including consumer durables, electronic products, e-commerce, banking, insurance, etc. Besides a registered consumer may also give suggestions to the Government through the App. The App has been made available on both Android and Apple smartphones in English as well as Hindi languages.

A consumer may, upon registration, file a complaint through the App and track the status of the said complaint. The resolution of complaint is said to be a time bound process, whereby, grievances that are simple in nature would be resolved within 20 days, while those that require a feedback from companies or further enquiries, would be resolved within 2 months/60 days. Upon expiry of the said time period, if such complaint remains unresolved, then the consumer would be directed to approach the consumer forum.

This move is meant to be a step closer to the Government’s Digital India Scheme, whereby information about various sectors, consumer complaints, and grievance redressal would be provided in a speedy and efficient manner.

Harini Daliparthy

Senior Legal Associate

The Indian Lawyer