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If you wish to be a consumer activist
Does your blood boil at the sight of injustice? Do you wish to raise your voice against it? Do you enjoy helping others? If the answer is ‘yes’, you are made for consumer rights. This document outlines simple, easy to follow strategies for large number of people who wish to follow the path of consumer-activism but do not know how to begin.
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Right to Information: An Every Day Guide for Consumers
A common citizen in India is most affected by the indifference and apathy of the people in power. Right to Information Act gives him access to information within the realm of the government. Whether it is a case of passport being unduly delayed or a ration card not being issued, citizens of India can empower themselves by seeking information under RTI Act.
This user-friendly guidebook was released can be viewed on following link :-
Access to Affordable Drugs: We Want Action, not Lip-Service (By Dr Jayashree Gupta, President, Consumers India)
It is a universal truth that we cannot have access to affordable health care without access to affordable drugs. Statistically, despite a huge network of hospitals, dispensaries and sub-centres set up by the Government in each and every State, 80% patients still prefer to go to private sector and 71% of the cost of treatment is on purchase of medicines alone.
The importance of drugs in overall health care was recognised way back in the year 2000, when leaders of the world sat together and set milestones, in the name of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015.
We had to wait for 12 long years to be told by MDG Gap Task Force Report on MDG 8, released in 2012 that essential medicines continue being unaffordable and insufficiently accessible to the poor, that prices of available essential medicines tend to be the multiple of international reference prices, that obtaining essential medicines, especially for treatment of chronic diseases, remains prohibitive for low-income families in developing countries etc etc. ……..
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Genesis of Consumer Movement’
‘Consumer-protection’ policy has an ancient genesis, dating back at least to Roman times with the adoption in Roman law of various implied warranties against latent defects in the sale of goods, and evolving in the latter part of the last century to encompass weights and measures legislation, regulation dealing with adulterated food, dangerous drugs, and various forms of “quackery” on the part of Purveyors of goods and services, says Shri B.K. Taimni, Former Member, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
Early part of the middle of last century witnessed ceaseless campaign in consumer’s interest by Ralph Nader, the great consumer Activist of USA. It was perhaps in this background, that on 15th March 1962, the then President John. F. Kennnedy of USA made a historic Declaration at the US Congress regarding basic consumer rights. Even now, 15th March is observed as ‘Consumer Rights Day’ globally.
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The Future We Want for the Health of the Nations of the World
With the ‘Millennium Development Goals’ (MDGs) completing their full circle in 2015, leaders of the world are considering new generation of development goals, which would be our driving force beyond 2015. Consumers India added its voice to the thought process initiated by the United Nations with the document titled ‘The Future We Want For the Health of the Nations of the World- Towards a New Generation of Development Goals Beyond Millennium Development Goals With India Focus’, prepared by Dr Jayashree Gupta, President, Consumers India. It has been proposed that Post-MDG Agenda for health care should have following major goals:
- Sustain the Momentum for Health-care Built by MDGs
- Ensure Access to Affordable Drugs
- Reduce the Incidence of Non Communicable Diseases
- Stop Unethical Medical Practices
- Provide Geriatric and Palliative Care.
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(Secretary-General of the United Nations has accepted the written statement submitted for ECOSOC High Level Segment -2014 based on this document. It was circulated amongst all members after being translated in all the UN languages ie English, French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese.)
Ensure Access to Affordable Drugs- Policy Options to Translate Rhetoric into Action
“I am shocked to note that as many as 4 crore people of our country plunge into poverty each year due to expenses on medical treatment.” Said Mr Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India, while addressing 40th convocation function of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, in October 2012.
Despite this acknowledgement of ground realities by the high and the mighty, how is it that essential medicines continue being unaffordable to masses?
Acting on the directions of the Supreme Court of India in 2003 to formulate appropriate criteria to identify essential and life saving drugs and ensure that they come under price control, Govt of India came out with Draft NATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PRICING POLICY, 2011 (NPPP-2011), which was finally translated into Drug Price Control Order, 2013 (DPCO 2013).
It took over a decade to formulate this policy, which has several inadequacies!
For the full text of article, ‘Ensure Access to Affordable Drugs- Policy Options to Translate Rhetoric into Action’, written by Dr Jayashree Gupta, President, Consumers India please see the following link:
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Consumers India has been actively campaigning for access to affordable drugs at national and international fora. Details in this regard can be seen on:
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Unregulated Stem Cell Therapy - A Frankenstein Monster in the absence of effective laws
The claims pertaining to stem cell therapy that it is very effective and affordable without any high costs, risks, side effects, hassles are very prominent and have regularly started appearing not only on various sites of the Internet but also being published in newspapers. One of the Internet sites has even claimed anti-ageing, health and beauty benefits from stem cell therapy.
Wish to know how true are such claims? See the write up titled ‘Unregulated Stem Cell Therapy A Frankenstein Monster in the absence of effective laws’ by Satish K Gupta, Partner, Rautray and Co Law Firm and Dr BM Gandhi (Life Member, Consumers India), Chief Executive Officer, Neo BioMed Services, Former Advisor, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India on the following link:
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We can achieve Millennium Development Goals for Health: Strategies for Accelerated Growth
The UN Millennium Declaration was signed by 189 countries, including India in the year 2000 and was translated into eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for making it a better world for all by 2015, which was 15 years ahead at that time. Now, with limited time left, we need to adopt strategies for accelerated progress. The document titled ‘We Can Achieve Millennium Development Goals for Health - Strategies for Accelerated Growth’ stresses need to involve various stake-holders like the Government, the Corporate World, the Pharmaceutical Companies, school teachers, college students, and, above all, active participation of masses by setting up of ‘Catalyst Groups’ in each and every locality.
Full text of this write up by Dr Jayashree Gupta, President, Consumers India may be seen on the following link :-
Access to Safe Drinking Water is a basic Human Right
‘Access to Safe Drinking Water is a basic Human Right’ is the title of the beautiful book of 96 prize winning paintings published by WHO Regional Office for South East Asia. An all India painting contest on this subject was organized by Consumers India, in collaboration with the Society for Upliftment of Masses, an NGO in Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of United Nations, during 2010-11. The quality of paintings was so good and the theme so relevant that WHO transformed them into an exclusive book, with a brief narrative on each.
Some of these paintings can be viewed on the following link:
Links to some more documents are :
- Do Girls have a rigt to be born? a atudy of female foeticide in india
- A Study of Icecreams and Frozen Desserts
- A Study of State Medical Councils with reference to unethical medical practices
- Has Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) been able to fulfil its mandate ?
- Plastic Bags bigger threat than Atom Bomb
- Truth about Energy Drinks
- Many More Internship Studies can be seen on
- Consumers India Bulletins
- A Study of implementation of Supreme Court Judgement regarding treatment of poor patients in private hospitals