In developing countries such as India, consumers are largely denied their due rights. The consumers are spread widely all over the country and some of them are poor, illiterate and are generally not aware of their rights, though their awareness has recently increased. The manufacturers and suppliers of goods and services often exploit consumers by adopting a number of unfair and restrictive trade practices such as by using misleading advertisements or by raising prices for maximizing their profits at the expense of the consumers. The consumers therefore need protection from these unfair and restrictive practices of producers and suppliers of goods and services.

Realizing the importance of consumer protection in India, an 'International Workshop on Consumer Protection' was organized jointly by Indian Institute of Management, Kashipur & Shaping Tomorrow (India's 1st Governance Startup) under the aegis of Department of Consumer Affair, Government of India. It was a two day event held on 22nd and 23rd August, 2017.The workshop was attended by eminent speakers/panelists from India and abroad and brought together distinguished delegates from the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) and its associated offices (Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), National Test House (NTH), and Legal Metrology), International Experts from United States of America & Australia, representatives from industry, members of Voluntary Consumer Organizations, NGOs and other organizations and councils that are working closely with DoCA to a common platform for exchanging viewpoints as well as giving an overview of the best international practices.

The Workshop was a 2-days affair from 22nd August 2017 to 23rd August 2017.

The detailed agenda and the structure of the workshop is as follows :

- Discuss how different segment of consumers in India may be able to exercise their choice as per their priorities.

- Discuss the ways by which consumers could be fully aware of and are able to access the advocacy and redress mechanisms. For that, not only we need to ensure effective Consumer Grievance Redressal Systems at multiple levels, but establishment of a complete "Ecosystem" for Consumer Empowerment is an utmost necessity. Discuss about the dimensions and key focus areas for a Consumer Empowerment Ecosystem.

- Discuss European Consumer Empowerment Index- The index describes consumer empowerment along three main dimensions: Consumer skills, Awareness of consumer legislation and Consumer engagement.

- Discuss the use of consumer complaint data to help develop priorities and guide activities

• Discuss the need to address a number of consumer challenges on an E-Commerce Marketplace related to information disclosure, misleading or unfair commercial practices, confirmation and payment, fraud and identity theft, and dispute resolution and redress.


• Discuss the scope and applicability of Consumer Protection Bill and related laws in ensuring strong consumer protection in the online space, just as they apply to physical space transactions, keeping in view the increasing privacy and security risks. The panel will recognize the important policy interventions that can be future oriented, technological neutral and easily communicable to the consumers.


• Emphasize a need for appropriate consumer protection responsibility mapping of different players involved in a transaction on Marketplace. It may be a good time to discuss the relevance of creating a platform protection index that would rate the prominent e-commerce platforms on their consumer protection friendliness.
• Discuss the role of industry self-regulation to encourage compliance with standards of conduct.

• Participants :

  The Workshop was attended by 75 delegates. These participants were highly recognized and eminent people and were from some of the most prestigious institutions of India namely Department of Consumer Affairs (DOCA), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), National Consumer Helpline (NCH), National Test House (NTH), Regional Reference Standard Laboratory (RRSL), IIM Kashipur, Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, Local Circles, various sector regulators, members of Voluntary Consumer Organizations (VCOs), etc.