A Presentation by Consumers Association of India (Chennai)

1. 10 Years of Service to Consumers A Presentation by Consumers Association of India (Chennai)

2. The Beginning … • CAI was started as a successor to SMN Consumer Protection Council on 15th March 2001 - World Consumer Rights Day • The founder trustees of CAI are Mr. R. Desikan, Mr. K. Krishna Kumar and (late) Mr. V. Y. Yegnaraman • CAI is a voluntary charitable trust established to spread consumer awareness, educate consumers about their responsibilities and rights and for empowering consumers

3. CAI is now a full member of Consumers International • CAI is a full member of Consumers International – which is a world federation of consumer groups with over 220 member organisations in 115 countries. • Consumers International has spent 50 years helping member countries stand up for the rights of consumers; and to give those rights due prominence on the international agenda.

4. Board of trustees of CAI Mr. R. Desikan, Founder Trustee - Consumer Activist & Journalist Mr. K. Krishna Kumar, Founder Trustee - Director, Avon Solutions & Logistics Pvt. Ltd. Mr. N.Gopalaswami, I.A.S (Retd.) Former Chief Election Commissioner of India Dr. Mr. K.V. Raman, Former Chairman, Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board Mr. P.K.Ranganathan, Dy. Director General (Retd.) Geological Survey of India Mr. R.V. Rajan, Chairman Emeritus, Anugraha Madison Advertising Pvt Ltd Mr. S. Ramani, Director (Retd.), Hewlett Packard, USA Mr. S. Radhakrishnan, Industrialist and Consultant Dr. Mr. S. Rajagopalan, Scientist (Retd.), Ministry of Food and Agriculture, New Delhi Mr. K. Ramachandran, CA, Formerly GM, International Services, L&T Mr. S. Sainath, Joint Managing Director (Retd.) Metropolitan Transport Corporation Mr. Srinivasan K Swamy, Chairman and MD, R.K. Swamy BBDO Pvt. Ltd. Mrs. Nirmala Desikan, Consumer Activist and Journalist

5. Service to consumers • The average consumer in India has little or absolutely no access to information on the safety of the products he/she uses. He is totally reliant on the manufacturer’s claims. • CAI provides this information to consumers through its publications, seminars, training programmes and website • On an average, CAI receives three to five complaints per day, by phone, email and in person. CAI has handled over 9,000 consumer complaints. Over 95% of these complaints have been settled by mere intervention by CAI • Only two percent of complainants decided to take legal action after receiving advice from CAI, and that two percent were represented by lawyers at the Consumer Forum

6. Successfully handled complaints- few examples • Complaint against a car manufacturer for non replacement of a defective part • Complaint against an airline for being offloaded at a foreign destination • Complaint against a Club for not providing services promised for life members • Complaint against builder for accepting advance payment on proposed building without providing proper documents

7. Seminars organized by CAI Soon after the Consumer Protection Act was passed in India, the first seminar organized was “Consumer and the Law”. There were participants from Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan and representatives from Consumers International CAI has conducted 32 seminars on a variety of topics for consumers under the Responsibilities and Rights series. These include: Banking Services Patients rights in Hospitals Insurance Pension Funds Safety of Children’s Toys Road Safety Legal Metrology Reverse Mortgage Mobile Phones Electricity Housing Safety in Cinema Theaters

8. Impact of our Seminars ... a glimpse • Recommendations to RBI after our Banking seminar resulted in revision of guidelines by RBI - payment of interest on daily basis for savings accounts – a big boon to consumers! • Recommendations to the Metrology Department regarding mandatory labelling, certification for medical instruments like glucometers and accountability of inspectors for certification • A Counselling Centre was started at CAI after the seminar on Reverse Mortgage • Recommendation for mandatory standards to be introduced for paints and other materials used in children’s toys. It was only after our seminar that this topic got wide media coverage.

9. CAI - Always a Trendsetter • CAI is a voluntary organisation with a difference • CAI believes in bridging the gap between the manufacturer/service provider and consumers • CAI also looks at global issues that affect consumers

10. Our Publications • Responsibilities and Rights of Patients in Hospitals A comprehensive guide forpatients • Consumer’s Guide to Diagnostic Medical Tests A logical, easy to understand ready reckoner for common diagnostic tests • Consumer’s Guide to Gold Jewellery Purchase (in Tamil and English) A valuable book to prevent consumers from being cheated when buying gold  • Consumer’s Guide to Life Insurance A true eye-opener for a lay person interested in purchasing insurance • Consumer’s Guide to Safe Driving (in Tamil and English) A complete guide to safe driving – a driver’s companion  • Consumer's Guide to Child Health A quick and convenient reference handbook for parents • A set of ten guides for the Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Government of Tamil Nadu. • CAI also publishes a bi monthly publication called Consumer’s Digest

11. Representation on Govt. Bodies CAI served on the committee which drafted the policy & legislation for the Consumer Product Safety Authority of India • CAI is represented on various committees at National & State level - • BIS Sub committees for petroleum, plastics, oilseeds, FAD 14 • Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) • Central Advisory Committee forFSSA • State Consumer Protection Council • CAI has been recently nominated to serve on the Economic Advisory Committee for the Ministry of Civil Aviation

12. CONCERT A Centre for Consumer Education, Research, Teaching, Training and Testingis a sister organisation of Consumers Association of India • CONCERT has established a Fuel Testing lab – the only one of its kind in the NGO sector • CONCERT has a mini Drug lab for identification of spurious drugs • CONCERT conducts training programmes regularly for colleges, and educational institutions • CONCERT has trained over 2,000 rural women in 19 districts of Tamil Nadu in identification of adulteration in food products • CONCERT has put together an adulteration testing kit called Annam Spot Test kit for identification of adulteration in food products.

13. CONCERT – Comparative TestingProject • CONCERT has received a grant from Government of India to conduct comparative testing of products and services. This will be done for the first time in southern India. • CONCERT will also do comparative testing of services for the first time in India. • The products that will be tested and rated include Milk, Edible Oil, Pain Relief Products (creams), Mosquito Repellants (mats and coils), Water Purifiers, Toothpaste and Wet Grinders. • The services that will be tested and rated include Banking, Insurance and Mobile services.

14. CAI enters the next decade On this occasion, we wish to share with you our future plans. Regular Activities • A seminar on “Consumers for Fair Financial Services” in line with CI’s theme for 2011-12 • CAI will spread the comparative test results of CONCERT to consumers in rural and urban areas through our website and in 5 regional languages. • An informative portal for providing comparative information to consumers on medical and diagnostic services – for the first time in India • Training for middle and senior management staff of banks, insurance companies and other service providers for better customer service Special Activities • School level elocution contests on the theme, Is consumer really the king? • National Awards for consumer activists in recognition of their work • An international conference for 2 days as a grand finale in March 2012

15. Over 650 million consumers can now CONNECT with CAI • Today we are launching CAI CONSUMER CONNECT - a mobile application for immediate registration of consumer complaints. • Our special thanks to Mr. Rony Zachariah of Avon Mobility Solutions for having made this possible without any charge • This FREE application can be downloaded onto your mobile phones via GPRS or will be available to consumers in our website – another boon to consumers! We will now show a live demo of this application

16. THANK YOU