Safety
According to the Consumer Protection Act 1986, the consumer right is referred to as ‘right to be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property’.It is applicable to specific areas like healthcare, pharmaceuticals.
Information
The right to information is defined as ‘the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices’ in the Consumer Protection Act of 1986.
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social as well as economic order which encourages the buying of goods and services in ever-greater amounts. This term is sometimes associated with critics of consumption beginning with Thorstein Veblen. Veblen's topic of examination.
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Right to Choose
The definition of Right to Choose as per the Consumer Protection Act 1986 is ‘the right to be assured, wherever possible, to have access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices’. For regulating the market place, there is just one factor required and that is competition.The existence of cartels, oligopolies and monopolies prove to be counterproductive to consumerism. The natural resources, liquor industry, telecommunications, airlines etc all are being controlled by a mafia to some or the other extent.Since the Indian consumers come from a socialistic background, the tolerating of monopolistic market is found in their blood. It is seldom seen that people want to switch the power company, in the times when they have a blackout at home.It is interesting to know that even micro markets like fish vendors in some cities are known to collude and discourage the consumers’ bargaining power.No matter what size or form, or span, but collusion of various companies which sell a similar kind of product is unethical or say less legal. It can be estimated that India has to stride for about 20 more years for empowering its citizens fully in this regard.
