New Delhi, 14 June (IANS). Consumer Affairs Department Secretary Nidhi Khare said that the National Consumer Helpline received 5.41 lakh complaints in 2025, out of which 23 percent of the complaints were from southern states, which reflects strong regional engagement.
The Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India organized a regional workshop on ‘Consumer Protection in Southern States/Union Territories’ in Chennai to confirm its commitment to strengthen the Consumer Grievance Redressal Mechanism.
Addressing the workshop, Khare said that out of 28.54 lakh complaint cases registered at the national level, only 5.62 lakh cases are pending, while in southern states this number is only 13.34 percent.
Appreciating the performance of the southern states, he said that Karnataka and Kerala Commissions have settled more cases than the cases registered and several district commissions have achieved more than 100 percent disposable rate in three consecutive years.
In addition, more than 11,900 cases were heard through the virtual court.
In his main speech, Khare emphasized that the digital age requires adaptable legal and digital mechanisms. He underlined the importance of initiatives such as the Right to Repair Portal, e-awakening and strengthening the National Consumer Helpline, which is a quick and hassle-free way of redressal of consumer grievances in the earlier phase of the trial.
He said about the AI-Purd Unified Platform E-Jagriti that it has integragged major systems like e-Dakhil and Confonate, which provides facilities such as chatbot-based registration, multilingual access and assistance for legal professionals and disabled users.
In addition, Khare also highlighted the regulatory steps taken by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to curb dark patterns, fake reviews and misleading advertisements.
During the inaugural session, Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi, Chairman of NCDRC, highlighted the growing changes in litigation from the scope of the Consumer Protection Act and from the traditional courts to the Consumer Commissions.
-IANS
SKT/