Consumer Awareness
Consumer Awareness
N
Noottee::CCoonnssuummeerriisstthheeppeerrssoonnwwhhoohhiirreessoorraavvaaiillssooffaannyysseerrvviicceessffoorraaccoonnssiiddeerraattiioonn
w
whihich ch hahas s bebeen en papaiid d or or prpromomiised sed or or paparrttlly y papaiid d anand d paparrttlly y prpromomiised sed or or undunder er anyany
syst
systeemm ooffddeeffeerrrreeddppaayymmeenntt..BBuuttCCoonnssuummeerreexxppllooiittaattiioonniissvveerryyrraammppaanntttthheesseeddaayyss..
C
Consonsumumerers s get exget explploioitted ed iin n mmany any wwayays s tthrhrough ough tthe he mmorore e domdomiinatnatiing ng andand
kno knowwlleeddggeeaabblleessoouurrcceses..OOnntthhe e ootthheerrhhaanndd,,ccononssumumeerrsshhaavve e ttoobbeeaawwaarreennoot t oonnllyyooff t thhe e ccomommmeerrcciiaal l aaspspeectctssoof f ssalaleeaannddppuurrcchahasse e oof f ggooooddssbbuuttaallsso o oof f tthhe e hheeaalltthhaanndd se seccuurriittyyaassppeecctt..BBeessiiddeesstthhiiss,,tthheeyysshhoouullddbbeeaawwaarreeoofftthheeiirrrriigghhttssaanndddduuttiieessbbeeiinnggaass r raattiioonnaallhhuummaannbbeeiinnggssvviizz..,,pprriicceeaannddqquuaalliittyyooffpprroodduuccttssuusseeddbbyytthheemm,,aabboouuttFFaaiirrPPrriiccee S Shhooppss,,ssttaannddaarrddiizzaattiioonnooffpprroodduuccttss,,aabboouuttCCoonnssuummeerrFFoorruummsseettcc..TThheerreeffoorree,,CCoonnssuummeerr exp expllooiittaattiioonnsshhoouullddbbeebboouugghhttddoowwnnwwiitthhpprrooppeerraawwaarreenneessssttootthheeccoonnssuummeerrssoonntthheeiirr r riigghhttssaannddhhoowwtthheeyyccoouullddggooaabboouuttwwiitthhtthhiinnggss,,iifftthheeyyffeeeelltthheeyyhhaavveebbeeeenncchheeaatteedd..
1
1.
.
I
In
nt
tr
ro
od
du
uc
ct
ti
io
on
n
1.1 Rise
1.1 Rise
Of Consumer Awar
Of Consumer Awar
eness
eness
I Inntthheegglloobbaalliizzaattiioonn,,lliibbeerraalliizzaattiioonnaannddpprriivvaattiizzaattiioonneerraa,,mmoossttoofftthheeeeccoonnoommiiccddeecciissiioonnss ar areettaakkeennbbyytthheemmaarrkkeett..TThhoouugghh,,tthhee ggoovveerrnnmmeenntthhaasswwiitthhddrraawwnniittsseellffffrroomm mmaannyy e eccoonnoommiiccaaccttiivviittiieess,,iittiinntteerrffeerreessvveerryyoofftteennwwhheenntthheemmaarrkkeettmmeecchhaanniissmm ffaaiillssdduueettoo st strruuccttuurraallrriiggiiddiittiieessiinntthheeeeccoonnoommyyaannddootthheerrffaaccttoorrss,,ttoopprroovviiddeeggooooddssaannddsseerrvviicceess t too tthhee ppeeooppllee..CCoonnssuummppttiioonn iiss oonnee ooff t thhee iimmppoorrttaanntteeccoonnoommiiccaaccttiivviittiieess,,wwhhiicchh r reeqquuiirreessrreegguullaarr g goovveerrnnmmeennttiinntteerrvveennttiioonn,,aassmmaarrkkeettiissuunnaabblleettoopprroommootteesseeccuurriittyy an anddwweellffaarreeaaspspeectctssoofftthhe e ccononssumumeerrss. . OOnntthhe e ootthheerrhhaanndd,,ccononssumumeerrsshhaavevettoobbe e aawwaarree n noottoonnllyyoofftthheeccoommmmeerrcciiaallaassppeeccttssooffssaalleeaannddppuurrcchhaasseeooffggooooddssbbuuttaallssoooofftthheehheeaalltthh a annddsseeccuurriittyyaassppeeccttaallssoo..BBeessiiddeesstthhiiss,,tthheeyysshhoouullddbbeeaawwaarreeoofftthheeiirrrriigghhttssaanndddduuttiieess b beeiinnggaassrraattiioonnaallhhuummaannbbeeiinnggss.. T
Thohougugh, h, tthe he firfirst st consuconsummer mer movemovemenent t bebegagan n iin n EEngngllanand d afaftter er tthe he SSeconecond d WWororlldd W Waarr,,aammooddeerrnnddeeccllaarraattiioonnaabboouutttthheeccoonnssuummeerr’’ssrriigghhttsswwaassfifirrssttmmaaddeeiinnUUSSAAiinn tthhee ye yeaarr11996622,,wwhheerreeffoouurrbbaassiiccccoonnssuummeerrrriigghhttssii..ee..CChhooiiccee,,iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn,,ssaaffeettyyaannddrriigghhttttoo be be hheeaarrddwweerreerreecocoggnniizzeded..RRalalph ph NNadaradar,,aaccoonnssuummeerraaccttiivviissttiissccoonnssiiddeerreeddaasstthhee
f
fatather her of of ““CConsumonsumererMMovovemementent””..15t15th h MMararcch h iis s now now ccelelebrebratated ed as as ttheheWWoorrlldd C Consumonsumer er RRiightghts s DDayay..TThheeUU..NN..OO..AAllssooaaddoopptteeddiinntthheeyyeeaarr11998855,,cceerrttaaiinngguuiiddeelliinneess t tooaacchhiieevveetthheeoobbjjeeccttiivveessooffmmaaiinnttaaiinniinnggpprrootteeccttiioonnffoorrccoonnssuummeerrssaannddttooeessttaabblliisshhhhiigghh l leevveelleetthhiiccaallccoonndduuccttffoorrtthhoosseeeennggaaggeeddiinnpprroodduuccttiioonnaannddddiissttrriibbuuttiioonnooffggooooddssaanndd se
serrvviicceess..IInnIInnddiiaa,,2244tthhDDeecceemmbbeerriisscceelleebbrraatteeddaass““CCononsumsumerer’’s s DDay”ay” eevveerryyyyeeaarr..
1.2.
1.2.
Objectives
Objectives
of
of
the
the
Study
Study
T ThheeSSttuuddyybbaasseeddoonnffoolllloowwiinnggoobbjjeeccttiivveess:: 1 1..TToossttuuddyytthheelleevveellooffccoonnssuummeerraawwaarreenneessssoofftthheeccoonnssuummeerrssiinntthheessttuuddyyaarreeaa 2. 2.TTo o mmaakeketthhe e ssttuuddeennttsshhaabbiittuuaatteed d aabboouutttthhe e ssururvveyeywwoorrkk.. 3 3..TToommaakkeetthheessttuuddeennttssaaccqquuaaiinntteeddhhoowwddiiffffeerreennttssttaattiissttiiccaallttoooollssccaannbbeeaapppplliieeddiinn d diiffffeerreennttssoocciioo--eeccoonnoommiiccpprroobblleemmss..
1.3 Meanin of
1.3 Meanin of
Consumer Aw
Consumer Aw
areness
areness
C
Consonsumumer awer awarareneseness s mmeans eans awawarareneseness s of cof consonsumumerers s iin n didifferfferent asent aspecpectts s ofof co
connssuummppttiioonnaaccttiivviittiieess..CCoonnssuummeerraawwaarreenneessssiissaabbrrooaaddeerraannddwwiiddeerrccoonncceepptt..IIttccoovveerrss t
thheeffoolllloowwiinnggss:: a)
a) CConsumonsumer er awawarareneeness ss aboaboututMMaxiaximmum um RRetetaiail l PPrriice ce ((MMRRPP))..
b)
b) CConsumonsumer er awawarareneeness ss aboaboututFFaiair r PPrriice ce SShhoopp..
c) c)CCoonnssuummeerraawwaarreenneessssaabboouuttpprriiccee,,qquuaalliittyyaannddeexxppiirryyddaatteeoofftthheepprroodduucctt.. d d))CCoonnssuummeerraawwaarreenneessssaabboouutttthheeiirrrriigghhttssaanndddduuttiieess.. e e))CCoonnssuummeerraawwaarreenneessssaabboouutttthheecceerrttiififieeddpprroodduuccttsslliikkeeIISSII,,AAggmmaarrkk, , IISSOO--22000000
1.!. "orms of Consumer #$%&oitation
Consumerexploitationisatypeofexploitationinwhichtheconsumersareexploitedor cheated bythebusinesscommunityintermsofpoorqualityofproduct,underweight, under-measurement,duplicatearticlesetc
Some of the common ways by which the consumers are exploited by the business communityareasfollows:
1.Underweight and under-measurement
2.Sub-standardquality
3.High prices
4.Duplicatearticles
5.Adulterationandimpurity
6.Lackofsafetydevices 7.Artificialscarcity
8.Falseandincompleteinformation
9.Unsatisfactoryaftersaleservices
10.Rough behavior
1.'. "actors causin e$%&oitation of the Consumers
Thefollowingarethefactorsthatcauseexploitationofconsumers:
1.Limitedinformation 2.Limited supply
4.Low literacy
2.
Rihts
and
(uties
of
)he
Consumers
2.1 Rihts of the Consumers
Thefollowing aretherightsoftheconsumersascodedintheIndianlaws,whichthe business communityhastokeep inmind:
1.Righttosafety
2.Right to choose
3.Righttoseekredressal
4.Righttoconsumer education 5.Right to be heard
6.Righttobeinformed.
2.2 (uties of the Consumers
Inordertosecurerights,theconsumershavetofulfillthefollowingduties:
1.Whilepurchasinggoods,consumersshouldlookatthequalityoftheproductsas wellasonthewarrantyoftheproduct.
2.They should ask forCash Memo fortheitem purchased.
3.They should form consumer awareness organizations. 4.Theymustcomplainfortheirgenuinegrievances.
3. Consumer *rotection Measures
3.1. Introduction
In orderto protectthe interestofthe consumers,governmenthas adopted three strategies:
1.Administrative measures 1.Technical measures
1.Legislative measures
3.2. Administrative Measures
Administrative measures of the governmentinclude the distribution ofessential commodities throughPublic Distribution System (PDS).PDSis a system through whichthegovernmentdistributessome essentialcommoditiesatareasonableprice throughFairPrice Shop.Inafreemarketeconomy,priceofacommodityisdetermined in the marketthrough the free playofdemand and supply.Equilibrium price is that priceatwhichdemandandsupplyofthecommodityareequaltoeachotheri.e.thereis zeroexcessdemandandexcesssupply.But sometimes governmentinterferes inthe marketsystemsbyfixingthepricelowerthantheequilibrium price,toprotecttheinterest ofthe consumers belonging to the lowerstrata ofthe society.This price is known asControlPrice.When governmentfixes price lower than the equilibrium price, demandexceedssupply,whichleadstoblack-marketing andhoarding.To checkthis governmentsalesdifferentcommoditiesatdifferentFPSatcontrolprice.
3.3. )echnica& Measures
Technicalmeasures consistofStandardization ofthe product.One ofthe important measures taken by the government to protect the consumers is the creation of institutionsforsettingupthestandardsformakingandproducingvariousproductsand enforcingthem.InIndia,thishasbeenachievedthroughBureau of Indian Standards
(BIS), and Agmark.While BIS caters to the industrialand consumergoods while Agmarkismeantfortheagriculturalproducts.
TheBureauofIndianStandards,earlierknownastheIndianStandardsInstitution(ISI), whose headquarter is located atDelhi,has the responsibility oflying down the standardsforindustrialand consumergoodson a scientificbasisand certifying the goodsthatmeetthestandardsandtheprescribedquality.
The Agmark is implemented under theAgricultural Produce (Grading and Marketing) Act of 1937, as amended in 1986.This scheme is run by theDirectorate of Marketing andIntelligence (DMI) intheMinistryofAgriculture,GovernmentofIndia. Productssuchhoney,masalaetc,carrysuchmarks.
At international level, an institution calledInternational Organization for Standardization(ISI), establishedin1947locateatGeneva,servestoprovidesucha commonreferencestandard.AlltheinternationalCompanies,goodsproducedbythem, andinstitutionsarecertifiedasISO 6000, ISO 14000 etc.
For setting international food standards, there is a similar body called Codex Alimentaries Commission (CAC). This was formed in 1963 by theFood and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization(WHO), located at Rome,Italy.Itdevelops food standards,guidelines and codes forproduction and internationaltradeinfoodproductslikemilk,fishetc.
3.!. +eis&ative Measures
Legislative measures include enactmentofConsumer Protection Act, 1986.The Governmentenacted aspecific law called the Consumer Protection Act,1986.The Act provides forthe establishmentofconsumerdisputes redressalagencies atDistrict, State and Nationallevelforthe protection ofconsumerinterestsand to redresstheir grievancesinspeedy,simpleandinexpensivemanner.TheActhasledtothesettingup separateDepartment of Consumer Affairsin Central and State Government,which focusexclusivelyontherightsoftheconsumers,asenshrinedintheAct.
NATIONAL CONSUMER COMMISSION (National Level)
STATE CONSUMER COMMISSION (State Level)
DISTRIST CONSUMER FORUM (District Level)
!.
Consumer *rotection Act of 1,-
And Case Studies
!.1. Consumer *rotection Act of 1,-
Theindustrialrevolutionandthedevelopmentintheinternationaltradeandcommerce hasled to the vastexpansion ofbusinessand trade,as a resultofwhich varietyof consumer goodshave appeared inthe markettocater the needsofthe consumersand ahostofserviceshavebeenmadeavailabletotheconsumerslikeinsurance,transport etc. The advertisementof goodsand services in T.V and othermedia influence the demand of same by the consumers, though there may be manufacturing defects or shortcomingsin qualityand purity ofproductsordeficiency in servicesrendered.In spite of various provisions made providing protection to the consumers against adulterated and sub-standard articles in differentenactments like Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, MRTP ACT, 1969, IPC, 1960 etc.,verylittlecouldbeachievedinthe fieldofconsumerprotection.
Inordertoprovideforthebetterprotectionoftheinterestoftheconsumers,Consumer ProtectionBill1986wasintroducedinLokSabhain 5th December1986.TheBillwas passed by both Houses of Parliament and got the assent of the President on 24 December 1986, popularly known as theConsumer Protection Act of 1986.
TheActof1986,seekstoprovidebetterprotectiontotheinterestsoftheconsumersand forthepurposethatthereisConsumerCouncilsandotherauthoritiesforthesettlement ofconsumerdisputesandformatterconnectedtherewith.Toprovidequickredressalof
consumerdisputes,aquasi-judicialinstitution issetup atallthe three levels.These bodieshavebeenempoweredtogivereliefofaspecificnatureandtoaward,wherever appropriate,compensationtotheconsumers.Penaltiesofnon-complianceoftheorders givenbythequasi-judicialbodieshavealsobeenprovided.
!.2 Case Studies
1. S.+.*ati /S. *ostmaster0 A&iarh0 Orissa1,,3
Moneyordernotdelivered intimetotheconcernedperson,isacasefdeficiencyin serviceofworstcategory.Ifthiswouldbe the normalactofthe PostOfficeandthe office,which belong to the Union Government,no one would have faith in services rendered by them.Asaresult,an amount of Rs250/-plus the money orderamount of Rs.1000/-alongwithinterest@ 18% was the compensation awardedtothe deprived person.
2. .C.
*anda
/S
S(O0)e&ecom
(e%artment0
4erham%ur0
Orissa1,,!
Telephone line was disconnected even ifbillwas paid.Proceeding before District Forum,Telecom Departmentmadean apologyfor the mistakeoccurred inadvertently. But,inspiteofapology,anamountofRs.2000/-wasthecompensationawardedtothe person concerned by the Telecom Department.
'.
(ata 4ase and Methodo&oy
'.1 Co&&ection of (ata
Theprojectreportisbasedonprimarydatacollectedbythe studentsofClass11th Commerce, KV No. 2, CRPF, BBSR. Data collected by the investigator for his own purpose,forthe firsttime,from beginning to end is called primary data.According toWessel,“Data originallycollected forthe purpose ofthe investigatorare known as primarydata”.Whendatacollectedbytheothersareusedbyothersfortheiruse or investigationthenitisknownassecondarydata.
'.2 Sam%&in )echni5ue 6sed
Totalnumberofhouseholdsselectedfortheprojectis80.Thesehouseholdhasbeen selectedbysamplingmethod.Therearetwostatisticalenquirymethods:
1.Census Method 2.Sampling Method
Censusmethodisthatmethodisthatmethodinwhichdataarecollectedcoveringevery item ofthe universe orpopulation relating to problem underinvestigation. Sampling methodisthatmethodinwhichdataarecollectedaboutsamplesoragroup ofitems takenfrom thepopulation.Thereare differenttypesofsamplingtechniquessuch as: random sampling,quotasampling,stratifiedsampling,deliberatesamplingetc.Butfor theprojectconcerneddeliberatesamplingmethodisused.Thisisalsocalledjudgment sampling.According to thismethod,forselecting a sample no specific procedure is used,ratherthe investigator,according to his own desire selects those households whichrepresenttheuniversefully.
'.3. Statistica& )oo&s 6sed
Foranalysisofdatasimplepercentagemethodandarithmeticaverageisused.
*ercentae7
Gt-Gt-1
Percentage increase/decrease= _________ X 100 Gt-1
Gt=ValueoftheVariableintimeperiodt
Arithmetic Averae Mean7
Sum ofallthevaluesofdifferentitemsintheseries
Arithmetic Mean= ____________________________________________ Totalnumberofitems X1+ X2+………+Xn = _____________________________ N N = å Xi i = 1, 2, 3………….n i=1 Besides mean and percentage, differenttypes of diagrams like bardiagram,pie -diagram etc.hasbeenusedtorepresentdatainasimpleandsystematicmanner.
*ie (iaram7
Piediagram isacircledividedintovarioussegmentsshowingthevaluesofaseries.
Degree measure of an item= % value of an item X 3.60
'. !
+imitations of the Study
The study is based on primary data, collected by the Students 11th Commerce, K.V.No.2, CRPF, Campus ,BBSR. Each Student of the Class interviewed two consumers,one representing his/herfather/mother and the other representing his neighbor.ThestudyareaoftheprojectislimitedtoBhubaneswarcityonly.Thesample sizeoftheprojectis80only.So,thesampleoftheprojectisverysmall.
Since the studyislimitedto Bhubaneswarcityonly,alltherespondentsare ofurban background.
.
Ana&ysis and Inter%retation Of
(ata
Socio8economic conditions of the 9ouseho&ds
a )abu&ar %resentation of (ata
Total numberofhouseholds surveyed for the purpose is 80.Each studentof 11th Commerceconductedsurveywork.Eachstudentinterviewedtotheheadofthefamily relatingtodifferentaspectsofconsumerawarenessmentionedinthequestionnaire.
TableNo.1representstotalfamilymembersofthesurveyed households.TableNo.2 representstheoccupationalstatusoftheheadofthehousehold.TableNo.3represents educational qualifications of the head of the household. Table No.4 represents educationalstatusoftotalhouseholdssurveyed.TableNo.5representsincomelevelof surveyed households.
Totalfamilymembersofthesurveyedhouseholdsare420,outofwhich220arefemale and200are male. The average familysize of the household 5.35. Total numberof personsinterviewed is80,outofwhich 68 belong to service class.Outofthese 68 families, 3 female members are interviewed for the purpose as male members are stayingoutside thestation.Two familiesarefrom big businessclasswhereas10are from smallbusinessfamilyoutof12businessfamilyinterviewed.
Outoftotal80ofthefamiliesinterviewed55arehighlyqualified.TheyareGraduate, PostGraduateandevensomepossesProfessionalandTechnicalqualifications.Outof total,23 areatPrimaryandSecondarylevel,whereas2are illiterate.Outtotalfamily members 190 are Graduate, Post Graduate, and Professionally and Technically qualified. Again, 170 members are at Primary and Secondary or Higher Secondary level,whereas10are illiterates.Rest20belongto below 5yearsandhence arenot mentionedintheeducationalstatus.TableNo.5representsthedistributionofincome levelsofsurveyedhouseholds.Outoftotal80families10,60,10belongtolow income, medium incomeandhigh incomegrouprespectively.
Table No. 1
Sex-wise Family Members of the Households
Sex(M/F) Family Members Average family Size
Male 200 2.5
Female 220 2.75
Total 420 5.25
Table No.2
Occupational Status of the Head of Households
!!"#atio$ %o. of &o"se'ols er!e$tage (*)
Servi!es +, ,5
-ig -"si$ess 02 2.5
Small-"si$ess 0 2.5
Total ,0 00
Table No. 3
Educational LevelofHeadoffamilies
"alifi!atio$ %o. of &o"se'ols er!e$tage (*)
lliterate 02 2.5 rimary 1 +.25 Se!o$ary 0 2.5 Tertiary 55 +,.75 Total ,0 00 Table No.4
Educational Status of Family Members
"alifi!atio$s %o. of erso$s er!e$tage (*)
lliterate 0 2.5
Se!o$ary 70 42.5
Tertiary 0 47.5
Total 400 00
Table No.5
Income Level of the Households
$!ome level %o. of &o"se'ols er!e$tage(*)
-elo35000(o3) 0 2.5
500020000(Mei"m) +0 75
20000a$ above(&ig') 0 2.5
Total ,0 00
b) Diagrammatic Presentation of Data
Different type of diagrams are used to represent the data. Diagram No. 1, a Bar Diagram representssex-wisefamilymembersofthehouseholds.Diagram No.2, aPie Chartrepresentsoccupationalstructureoftheheadofthehouseholds.Diagram No.3 and 4 are the Pie Charts represents income level of head of households and educationalstatusofheadofhouseholdsrespectively.Diagram No.5and6aretheBar diagramsrepresentseducationalstatus ofwhole familyand income levelofhead of households.
Diagram No.1 Diagram
No.2
Sex-wise Family Members Occupation
Diagram No.3 Diagram No. 4
Income Level of Head of Households Educational Status of Head of Households
Educational status whole family Income of head of Households
.2. Consumer Awareness of the 9ouseho&ds
1. )abu&ar *resentation of (ata
Table No.6 represents the preferred use oftoothpaste,Table No.7 representsthe influence of different agencies on families while purchasing different brand of toothpastes used by the surveyed households and Table No.8 represents different aspectsofconsumerawarenessindaytodaylifeofthesurveyedhouseholds.
Table No.6
Preferred use of Toothpaste
-ra$ %o. of &o"se'ols er!e$tage(*)
6lose"# 10 17.5 6olgate 22 27.5 e#soe$t 2 5 A$!'or 0+ 7.5 t'ers 0, 0 Total ,0 00 Table No.7
So"r!es %o. of &o"se'ols er!e$tage(*) T 5+ 70 %e3s#a#er 0+ 7.5 Magazi$e 0 2.5 t'ers 0, 0 Total ,0 00 Table No. 8
Different aspects of Consumer Awareness
6o$s"mer A3are$ess 8es %o
9$o3lege abo"t 6ertifie ro"!ts
+5(,.25*) 5
6'e!: M;< =x#iry a$ Ma$"fa!t"ri$g ate
+,(,5*) 0,
9$o3lege abo"t Fair ri!e S'o# +0(75*) 20
6'e!: i$greie$ts "se 15(41.75*) 45
9$o3lege abo"t 6o$s"mer 6o"rts
77(+.25*) 01
=ver go$e to 6o$s"mer 6o"rt 0(2.5*) 70
$sist !as' Memo for 6o$s"mable goos #"r!'ase
57(7.25*) 21
From table No.6,itisevidentthathighestpercentage offamiliesi.e.37.5% prefer Close-up followed by Colgate with 27.5%. Income and occupation factor did not influencethepurchaseorconsumptionoftoothpasteofClose-uporColgate.However, incaseoflowerincomegroup,outof10,6familiesuseeitherAnchororPromiseand theypreferto itasitcostless than otherbrand oftoothpastes.On the otherhand, qualityofproductisimportantforhighandmedium incomegroup,usingClose-upand Colgate.Besides,qualityofproductandprice,choiceofchildrenalsotakenintoaccount whileusingtheColgateorClose-upforabout20% ofthehouseholds.Majoritypeople
cometoknow aboutthe productthrough advertisementon TV, followed by magazine, newspaperandotheragenciesasevidentfrom TableNo.7.
TableNo.8depictsdifferentaspectsofconsumerawarenessi.e.aboutstandardization, MRP,dateofmanufacturingandexpiry,knowledgeaboutConsumerCourts,rightsand dutiesoftheconsumersetc.Outoftotalfamilies,81.25% offamiliescheckMRP,dateof manufacturing and expiry. However, 56.25% of people interviewed, check the ingredientsusedintheproduct.AsfarasConsumerCourtisconcerned,majorityof them (96.25%)haveknowledgeaboutitbutonly10outoftotalrespondentshavegone to the ConsumerCourtto redresstheirproblemson differentoccasions..Lastly,itis clearfrom TableNo.8thatmajorityofhouseholds(71.25%)surveyed,insistforCash Memoatthetimeofpurchase.However,itislimitedtonon-consumabledurableitems andsomeconsumableitemswhenlarge quantityispurchased.
2. (iarammatic *resentation of (ata
Use of differentbrand of toothpaste used by the surveyed households depicted in Diagram No.7and sourceofinfluenceonthepurchaseofdifferentbrandoftoothpaste isdepictedinDiagram No.8.intheform ofaPie-Chart.
Diagram No. 7 Diagram No.8
Use of different Brand of toothpaste Source of influence on different brand of Toothpaste
:.
Summary and Conc&usion
Theobjectiveofthisproject isto assess the peopleofdifferentclassinthesociety aboutdifferentaspectsofconsumerawarenessviz.,priceandqualityofproductsused by them,aboutFairPriceShop,standardizationofproducts,aboutConsumer Forum, abouttheirRights andDuties etc.Consumerswillleadahappy,healthyandprosperlife iftheyfullyawareabouttheabovementionedaspects.
Forthe projectreport,total number head of householdsinterviewed is80 and all belongtourbanarea.Outoftotalheadoffamilyinterviewed,78areliterate whereas only2 are illiterate.Allbelong to differentincome group i.e.high,medium and low income group. However, majority of them belong to medium income group(75%).
Again,on the basis of occupation,85% ofrespondentsaregovernmentservants whereasotherarebusinessmen.
Close-up is the most preferred brand(37.5%) of toothpaste followed by Colgate(27.5%) among the surveyed households. Households from medium and high incomegrouppreferrespectivebrandoftoothpastetakingintoaccountthe quality of theproductandwishesoftheirchildrenalso.Ontheotherhand,forthelow income group,themostimportantfactorthatdeterminestheuseoftoothpasteisthepriceofthe product.Again,majority ofrespondent(70%)are influencedbytheadvertisementabout theproductandtheimportantmediaisTelevision.
As far as consumer awareness is concerned, majority of respondents have knowledge aboutcertifiedproducts,checkMRP,date ofmanufacturing and expiryat thetimeofpurchase.Howevermajorityofthem donotcheckabouttheingredientsused intheproduct.Ontheotherhand,majorityofthem havetheknowledgeofConsumer Courts, but out of total respondents only10 have evergone to the Consumer Courts forcomplaining aboutdifferentcommoditiesthey purchased and consumed. Lastly,itisevidentfrom the study that,majority ofthem insistforCashMemoat thetimeofpurchase,but,itislimitedtoconsumerdurablegoods andforconsumer non-durable goodswhenlargequantitiesofgoodsispurchased.
To conclude, people are concerned about different aspects of consumer awareness i.e. their rights and duties, certified products,MRP, date of manufacturing and expiry ofthe productstheyused,ConsumerCourtsetcasfaras urbanareaisconcerned.
Educationalimplicationsofthestudyisthateverystudentsaswellasparentsshould beawareaboutdifferentaspectsofdifferentcommodities theyconsumeinday-to-day life. They should have knowledge about certified products, Check MRP, date of manufacturing,and expiryat the time of purchase of a commodity.Theymusthave awarenessabouttheirrightsandduties.Thisprojectreportwillgiveapreliminary idea aboutsurvey work to the students. Lastly,students willgetan idea about how statisticaltechniques canbeusedindifferentsocio-economicproblems.
4ibi&iora%hy
1.Prof.S.P.Gupta,“StatisticalMethods”,S.ChandandCompanyLtd,1994,New Delhi.
2.S.MishraandV.K.Puri,“IndianEconomy”,HimalayaPublishingHouse, Mumbai,2000
4.Ruddar Dutt and K.P.M. Sundharam, “Indian Economy”, S. Chand and Company Ltd.,1994.
5.StatisticsforEconomics,TextbookforClassXI,NCERT,New Delhi,2005.
6.Indian Economic Development, Textbook for Class XI, NCERT, New Delhi,2005.
7.The Consumer Protection Act 1986, the Law House, New Delhi.
8.Contemporary India, A Social Science Textbook for Class X, NCERT, New Delhi,2003.
9.EconomicSurvey,DirectorateofEconomicsandStatistics,PlanningandCo -ordinationDepartment,GovernmentofOrissa,2006-07.
A**#;(I<
=uestionnaire
1.Name of the head of family:__________________________
Education:________ Occupation:_______ Age:_________ Sex(M/F):_______
2.Residential Address:_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
3.Age (In years) No. of Persons
________________________ Male Female Total ________________________________________________________ • Below 5 • 5-14
• 15-64
• 65 and above
_________________________________________________________
Total:
4.Level of Education
No. Of Persons
________________________________________________________ Illiterate Primary Secondary Graduation Others __________________________________________________________ Total 5.Monthly Income (InRs/-) _________________________________________________________ Up to 1000
1000-5000
5000-20000
20000-50000
50000 and above
__________________________________________________________ 6.What do you use to clean your teeth ?
Toothpaste_____ Tooth Powder_____ Any Other______
7.Which brand of toothpaste do you use regularly ?
Aquafresh___ Cibaka____ Anchor_______
Close-up____Promise_____Pepsodent_____
Oral B_____ Furhans_____Any Other____
8.The price for 100 gram pack of the toothpaste (used by them).
Price_______(actual)
Price________(approx.) Do not know______.
______________________________________________________________________ ___
1.Do you find the product costly? Yes/No
2.Do you check MRP, date of manufacturing and date of expiry? Yes/No 3.Do you check standardization of product like ISI, Agmark, ISO 2000 ?
Yes/No
4.Do you check ingredients used in the product ? Yes/No 5.Are you satisfied with the quality of the product ? Yes/No
6.Are you aware about the Fair Price Shop ? Yes/No
7.Do you find the availability of product at FPS ? Yes/No
8.Do you complain the shopkeeper in case of dissatisfaction ? Yes/No
9.Has your complain been timely attended ? Yes/No
10.Was your complain attended to your satisfaction ? Yes/No
11.Are you aware about Consumer Courts ? Yes/No
12.Have you ever gone to a Consumer Court in case of any dissatisfaction ? Yes/No
13.Do you insist Cash Memo at the time of purchase to ensure genuine purchase and tax revenue to government ? Yes/No
14.Do you insist Cash Memo for other commodities at the time of purchase ? Yes/No
15.How do you come to know about the product ? Yes/No
Advertisement Family influenced
_______________________________________________
TV _______
Newspaper _______
Magazine _______
Cinema _______
Sales Representatives _______
ExhibitsStall _______
Radio ________
Any other ________
_____________________________________________________
16. Areyouattracted bypromotional offerslike rebates,free toothbrush,buyone get one free ?Yes/No
17. Do the Children influence purchase of particular toothpaste ? Yes/No
18. Ifanew toothpastebrandislaunched inthemarketwillyoubuyit?
Ifyes,thenwhat
Price oftheProduct________ Qualityofthe product______
Promotional offer_______ Any Other______
