New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS) The digital consumer grievance redressal systems can greatly improve access to consumer justice in rural and geographically dispersed districts of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, said on Tuesday.
In her keynote address at the ‘Regional Workshop on Consumer Protection for Eastern States’ in Patna, Khare highlighted the major reforms undertaken by the Department of Consumer Affairs to modernise the consumer grievance redressal system across the country.
Khare underlined the growing role of the National Consumer Helpline (NCH 2.0) as a pre-litigation platform that provides multi-lingual access, online complaint filing and faster resolution through technology.
The Secretary also detailed the nationwide rollout of E-Jagriti (CONFONET 2.0) a single integrated digital platform for Consumer Commissions’-Jagriti brings together e-Daakhil, online case management, video conferencing, data dashboards and AI-based tools, creating an end-to-end digital workflow for consumer cases.
“E-Jagriti marks a shift from fragmented systems to a transparent, efficient and real-time digital ecosystem, enabling better monitoring and quicker disposal of cases,” she mentioned, urging state and district consumer commissions to make full use of video hearings, automated case tools and performance dashboards to reduce delays and ensure timely execution of orders.
She also spoke about the need to strengthen domestic production and procurement of pulses, noting a shift in household consumption from cereals towards pulses.
Pratyaya Amrit, Chief Secretary, Bihar Government, emphasised that citizens must be seen not just as beneficiaries, but as consumers with the right to clear information, fair treatment and timely redressal. He praised initiatives like E-Jagriti and expressed confidence that discussions on emerging issues such as dark patterns would lead to meaningful outcomes.
The workshop focused on reducing case pendency, improving compliance of consumer commission orders, using digital tools for faster justice, and addressing emerging challenges such as dark patterns and unfair trade practices in digital market.
–IANS
na/
