Consumer Voice July 2006

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Dr.Roopa Vajpeyi
Hony.Editor

Editorial

Katrina - Rita - Stem - and now Wilma

IN the 21st century, global climate change is emerging as one of the most serious threats to the global environment and consequently to consumer health in particular and human welfare in general. We have tried to have experts from across the globe cover these issues for you. This is significant because protracted international neg otiations resulting in the adoption of the 'Kyoto Protocol' in 1997 have since been subverted by the largest GHG or the greenhouse gases emitter, namely the US. The adverse

effects of climate change on non-renewable natural resources, food safety and security, human health and national as well as world economy, have begun to manifest themselves all over. What concerns the developing countries is the fact that the poor and the economically weak will have to bear much of the brunt of climate change, and it has been repeatedly iterated that poverty breeds environmental degradation, which then leads to creating an unbreakable cycle of suffering on all fronts for the poor. However recent large scale disasters in the developed world have now forced world attention on how affluence and a reckless pace of over-consumption of energy and resources have created similar syndromes of misery for the developed nations as well.

The thing to consider here is that this is absolutely and totally a man-made problem.

Consumer rights have long occupied the forefront of consumer concerns, but now time is ripe for consumers across the globe to assume responsibility for the survival of not only humanity but also that of the planet they inhabit.

However we at VOICE, think it is our chosen task to identify or create new areas of protection and support for the consumers. Your first and foremost supporter still remains the Government of India. The Ministry of Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs has helped set up several support structures. The first among them this year is:

* The National Consumer Helpline: With a toll-free number 1600-11-4000, and 21,987 grievances behind it, the NCH attends to consumer calls from Monday to Saturday between 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM. It is located in the Department of Commerce, University of Delhi.

* Another technology-based site CORE, also supported by the Ministry, is located with the Delhi-based Consumer Co-ordination Council. The Consumer Online Resource Empowerment Centre (CORE) provides online counseling and a complaint redress mechanism to consumers from across India. Consumers can access its website www.core.nic.in for a comprehensive database on consumer issues.

* The redress mechanisms are by now well known to consumers and can be accessed at the District, the State and the National levels.

* The government has launched a massive ad campaign to focus consumer attention on everyday consumer problems. It is also geared to alert consumers to common pitfalls located in market transactions. Its war cry is "Jago Grahak Jago".
* All of the above services are free for consumers.

* The media is increasingly sensitive to consumer needs. Both, radio and television offer information, and helpline-based programmes.

* In the print media almost every daily newspaper as well as journals and magazines run regular columns in support of consumers. To counter massive ad campaigns by the sellers and selectively placed advertorials by companies, columns in support of consumers are proliferating by the day.

* Let me give you our example as NGO support for consumers.

* VOICE as an education-based voluntary organisation has as its strongest point, its comparative testing programme. We are the only organisation in India, which brings you non-partisan, NABL-based laboratory test guides for your purchases. We have tested around 20 products and are all set to bring you two to three tests in each issue of Consumer VOICE. We have added environmental and energy efficiency parameters to our test programmes.

* We present to you through our three publications a range of consumer interest stories on health, role of technology and science, environment, education and legal information in consumer life on a monthly rotation in Hindi and in English. Consumer VOICE Hindi, launched on the Consumer Rights Day of the year 2004, by VOICE, features test results. It is being published as a bimonthly. For our rural, neo-literate consumers we have our free of cost Hindi bi-monthly called Sarthak Vani.

* We have strong links with the government and campaign on behalf of our subscribers in most ministries. Our network with consumer organisations is not only nation-wide, but goes round the world.

* In the new year, our ultimate gift to our subscribers will be the ‘online newsletter’ we propose to launch very soon. We hope to bring cheer and good wishes to our subscribers and promise to take them from strength to strength in the coming year. Let us put gloom and negative thoughts behind us and together build a strong movement.

Reach us at www.consumer-voice.org or at PO Box 3306, New Delhi 110014.

Dr.Roopa Vajpeyi
Hony.Editor