New Delhi, December 24 (IANS). National Consumer Helpline has now become a strong and effective medium to resolve consumer complaints. With the help of this helpline, an amount of Rs 42.6 crore has been returned to consumers in 30 different areas between April and December 2025. Due to this, many cases did not need to go to court.
Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, while addressing the National Consumer Day 2025 celebrations held on Wednesday, said that during this period, more than 63,800 refund related complaints were resolved through the helpline. This has made this helpline a major grievance redressal mechanism for consumers. The event was organized by the Department of Consumer Affairs with the theme “Fast and Effective Disposal through Digital Justice.”
The Union Minister said that the government wants to make consumer justice easy, fast and transparent by using technology. In the year 2025, more than 1.4 lakh consumer cases were resolved and more than 90,000 hearings were conducted through video conferencing. This saved both time and effort.
He also informed that strict steps have been taken against unfair business practices. The Central Consumer Protection Authority issued over 450 notices and imposed a fine of over Rs 2.13 crore. This action was taken against misleading advertisements and wrong digital practices.
Minister of State for Consumer Affairs BL Verma said that in today’s time consumers are a strong base of India’s economy. Consumers have become more aware due to schemes like Digital India, Startup India and Make in India. Also, through campaigns like ‘Jaago Grahak Jaago’, people have got information about their rights.
Several new digital initiatives were launched during the event to further strengthen consumer protection. These include the AI-based National Consumer Helpline dashboard built with the help of IIT Kanpur, consumer awareness quiz on the MyGov platform, repairability index logo and the new digital lab system at the National Test House in Guwahati.
All these steps have been taken to provide correct information to consumers, protect their rights and provide them speedy justice.
–IANS
DBP/DSC
