Union Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has said that National Consumer Day reaffirms India’s commitment to protect, empower, and give voice to every consumer.
Addressing an event in New Delhi today to mark National Consumer Day, Mr Joshi said, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, has reformed the consumer framework by strengthening enforcement, covering e-commerce, introducing product liability and enabling e-filing and virtual hearings. He emphasised that the e-Jagriti platform allows consumers to file complaints, make payments and participate in virtual hearings.
The Minister said the Government has unified Consumer Commissions into a paperless system, improving case filing and disposal. Mr Joshi also informed that as of December 2025, more than 1.4 lakh consumer cases were filed and over 1.4 lakh cases were successfully disposed of during the year with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
Mr Joshi further said that the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has become a vital pillar of the consumer protection ecosystem of the nation, serving as a key pre-litigation mechanism with multilingual, AI-enabled access. He said that between April this year and the 15th of this month, NCH facilitated refunds of 42.6 crore rupees across the 30 sectors by resolving 63 thousand 800 refund-related grievances.
During the event, Mr Joshi and Minister of State for Consumer Affairs B.L Verma also launched several key initiatives, including new BIS standards, the Upbhokta Jagrukta Bharat Yatra van and National Quiz on Consumer Awareness to strengthen consumer awareness, rights, and outreach across the country.
The theme of this year’s National Consumer Day is Efficient and Speedy Disposal through Digital Justice.
