**Executive Summary**
This document provides an answer to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1839 regarding consumer complaints, with a response date of December 10, 2025. It details the government's initiatives to address consumer grievances through the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the e-Jagriti portal. It also mentions the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020 and CCPA guidelines regarding prevention of dark patterns.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **National Consumer Helpline (NCH):**
* The NCH has been revamped as a single point of access for pre-litigation grievance redressal.
* Call volume has increased significantly, with WhatsApp registration gaining momentum.
* AI-based Speech Recognition, Translation System, and an AI-enabled Chatbot have been introduced to enhance the grievance redressal process.
* **Consumer Protection Act, 2019:**
* Establishes a three-tier quasi-judicial machinery (Consumer Commissions) for consumer protection.
* Mandates expeditious disposal of complaints, ideally within three months (or five months if commodity analysis is required).
* Limits adjournment grants in consumer commissions.
* **e-Jagriti Portal:**
* Launched January 1, 2025, to enhance consumer grievance redressal through micro-service architecture, AI/ML integration.
* Unifies existing applications, allows seamless complaint filing with multilingual support, and streamlines processes.
* **Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020:**
* Outlines the responsibilities of e-commerce entities and specifies liabilities for marketplace and inventory e-commerce entities.
* Prohibits e-commerce entities from adopting unfair trade practices.
* **CCPA Guidelines:**
* Issued "Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023" on November 30, 2023, listing 13 specified dark patterns in e-commerce.
* Issued an “Advisory for Self-Audit by E-Commerce Platforms for detecting the Dark Patterns on their platforms” on June 5, 2025.
* **Annexures:**
* Annexure-I contains State-wise data of grievances received and disposed of on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH).
* Annexure-II contains State-wise details regarding the number of cases filed and disposed of during the last three years in Consumer Commissions.
**Impact Analysis**
**Consumers**
* **Impact:** Consumers benefit from easier access to grievance redressal mechanisms through the NCH, improved efficiency and transparency, and protection from unfair trade practices in e-commerce.
* **Action Required:** Consumers can utilize the NCH, e-Jagriti portal, and Consumer Commissions to file complaints and seek redressal.
**E-commerce Entities**
* **Impact:** E-commerce entities are subject to regulations and guidelines to prevent unfair trade practices and dark patterns.
* **Action Required:** E-commerce entities must comply with the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020 and CCPA guidelines, and conduct self-audits to detect and eliminate dark patterns.
**State Governments and Consumer Courts**
* **Impact:** State Governments and Consumer Courts are involved in ensuring speedy redressal of consumer cases in collaboration with the Union Government.
* **Action Required:** State Governments and Consumer Courts are to ensure that cases are disposed of expeditiously.
Key Entities Referenced
Consumer Protection Act, 2019: The central legislation that aims to provide effective and timely protection of consumer interests.
National Consumer Helpline (NCH): A single point of access for consumers across the country for grievance redressal at a pre-litigation stage.
Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020: Rules notified under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, outlining the responsibilities of e-commerce entities and consumer grievance redressal.
Department of Consumer Affairs: The primary government department responsible for consumer protection.
"e-Jagriti" portal: Portal launched to enhance consumer grievance redressal through a micro-service architecture, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning integration.
ORIGINAL IN HINDI
Government of India
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Department of Consumer Affairs
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1839 (OIH)
TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.12.2025
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS
1839. SMT. GENIBEN NAGAJI THAKOR:
(OIH)
Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC
DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is aware about the constant increase in consumer complaints related to
online purchases, e-commerce, defective products, delayed deliveries and fraud by service
providers;
(b) if so, the details of the number of consumer complaints received on the National Consumer
Helpline, e-Filing System and other platforms during the last three years, State-wise;
(c) the number of complaints resolved within the stipulated time period;
(d) the steps being taken by the Union Government in collaboration with State Governments and
Consumer Courts to ensure speedy redressal of consumer cases; and
(e) whether the Government proposes to make consumer protection laws more effective, digitally
strengthen the complaint redressal mechanism and make regulations on e-commerce platforms
more stringent and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE
CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(SHRI B.L. VERMA)
(a) to (e) : The Department has revamped the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) which has emerged as
a single point of access to consumers across the country for grievance redressal at a pre-litigation stage.
The number of calls received by NCH has grown from 70,159 in October 2019 to 3,08,130 in
October 2025. The average number of complaints registered per month has surged from 37,062 in 2017
to 1,42,605 in 2025 [as on 31.10.2025]. Further, grievance registration via WhatsApp has gained
momentum, with the percentage of complaints filed through the platform increasing from 11% in October
2023 to 30% in October 2025 demonstrating a growing preference for digital communication channels.
This growth reflects the rising confidence of consumers in the helpline.
The State-wise data of grievances received and disposed on the helpline during the last three years
is placed at the Annexure-I.In a significant move to further enhance grievance redressal, NCH has introduced AI-based
Speech Recognition, a Translation System, and an AI enabled Chatbot as part of the NCH 2.0 initiative.
These technological advancements aim to make the grievance filing process more seamless, efficient, and
inclusive. The AI-powered Speech Recognition and Translation System enables consumers to file
complaints through voice input, reducing manual intervention. The AI enabled Chatbot provides real-
time assistance, streamlining complaint-handling processes, and improving the overall user experience.
These upgrades ensure that consumers from diverse linguistic backgrounds have equal access to the
grievance redressal system.
Department of Consumer Affairs is continuously working for protection and empowerment of
consumers by enactment of progressive legislations. With a view to modernize the framework governing
the consumer protection in the era of globalization, technologies, e-commerce markets etc., the Consumer
Protection Act, 2019 was enacted.
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provides for a three tier quasi-judicial machinery at District,
State and National level commonly known as “Consumer Commissions” for protection of the rights of
consumers and to provide simple and speedy redressal of consumer disputes including those related with
unfair trade practices. The Consumer Commissions are empowered to give relief of a specific nature and
award compensation to consumers, wherever appropriate. The State-wise details regarding the number of
cases filed and disposed during the last three years in Consumer Commissions is at Annexure-II.
Further, as per Section 38 (7) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, every complaint shall be
disposed of as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made to decide the complaint within a
period of three months from the date of receipt of notice by opposite party where the complaint does not
require analysis or testing of commodities and within five months, if it requires analysis or testing of
commodities.
To serve the interest of speedy justice to the end consumers, Consumer Protection Act states that
no adjournment shall ordinarily be granted by the consumer commissions unless sufficient cause is
shown and the reasons for grant of adjournment have been recorded in writing by the Commission.
The “e-Jagriti” portal launched by the Department of Consumer Affairs on 1st January, 2025 aims
to enhance consumer grievance redressal through a micro-service architecture, Artificial Intelligence /
Machine Learning integration and modern features like faceless onboarding and role-based dashboards. It
unifies existing applications (OCMS, e-Daakhil, NCDRC CMS, CONFONET) into a single, scalable
platform, allowing users to file complaints seamlessly from anywhere with multilingual support. The
system streamlines grievance redressal processes with real-time data access, automated workflows and
tools for stakeholders like judges and advocates. The portal is designed to provide a convenient,
transparent and efficient means for consumers to seek redressal by enabling online complaint filing,
digital submission of documents, online payment of fees and virtual hearing from any location.
To safeguard the interests of consumers from unfair trade practices in e-commerce, the
Department of Consumer Affairs has notified the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020 under
the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. These rules, inter-alia, outline the responsibilities
of e-commerce entities and specify the liabilities of marketplace and inventory e-commerce entities,
including provisions for consumer grievance redressal. These rules also provide that no e-commerce
entity shall adopt any unfair trade practice, whether in the course of business on its platform or otherwise.The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) in exercise of the powers conferred by
Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, has issued “Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation
of Dark Patterns, 2023” on 30th November 2023, listing 13 specified dark patterns identified in e-
Commerce sector. These dark patterns include false urgency, Basket Sneaking, Confirm shaming, forced
action, Subscription trap, Interface Interference, Bait and switch, Drip Pricing, Disguised
Advertisements, Nagging, Trick Wording, Saas Billing and Rogue Malwares. Further, an “Advisory for
Self-Audit by E-Commerce Platforms for detecting the Dark Patterns on their platforms to create a fair,
ethical and consumer centric digital ecosystem” was also issued by the CCPA on 5th June, 2025.
*****ANNEXURE-I
ANNEXURE-I REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED
QUESTION NUMBER NO.1839 FOR 10.12.2025 REGARDING “CONSUMER COMPLAINTS”.
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State-wise details of grievances on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH)
S State/UT 2022 2023 2024
No Received Disposed Received Disposed Received Disposed
1 ANDAMAN
NICOBAR 772 772 860 860 897 897
2 ANDHRA
PRADESH 28393 28393 39378 39378 43343 43343
3 ARUNACHAL
PRADESH 1116 1116 3419 3419 15860 15860
4 ASSAM 10199 10199 12864 12864 16428 16428
5 BIHAR 57300 57300 66898 66898 74244 74244
6 CHANDIGARH 3889 3889 3581 3581 3749 3749
7 CHHATTISGARH 10414 10414 12757 12757 14607 14607
8 DADRA &
NAGAR HAVELI 234 234 364 364 451 451
9 DAMAN & DIU 181 181 273 273 264 264
10 DELHI 85300 85300 90648 90648 108526 108526
11 GOA 2100 2100 2980 2980 3415 3415
12 GUJARAT 46915 46915 60189 60189 67306 67306
13 HARYANA 46797 46797 51099 51099 58171 58171
14 HIMACHAL
PRADESH 4948 4948 6272 6272 6986 6986
15 JAMMU &
KASHMIR 6874 6874 7967 7967 9178 9178
16 JHARKHAND 17370 17370 19969 19969 21838 21838
17 KARNATAKA 54794 54794 72459 72459 89028 89028
18 KERALA 19729 19729 30690 30690 40298 40298
19 LADAKH 136 136 137 137 218 218
20 LAKSHDWEEP 11 11 191 191 198 198
21 MADHYA
PRADESH 50808 50808 61528 61528 67094 67094
22 MAHARASHTRA 103989 103989 125190 125190 147432 147432
23 MANIPUR 362 362 310 310 471 471
24 MEGHALAYA 523 523 663 663 751 751
25 MIZORAM 84 84 133 133 156 156
26 NAGALAND 211 211 325 325 362 362
27 ODISHA 19318 19318 25731 25731 28501 28501
28 PUDUCHERRY 558 558 921 921 1086 1086
29 PUNJAB 21364 21364 23314 23314 26486 26486
30 RAJASTHAN 72109 72109 85086 85086 78675 78675
31 SIKKIM 337 337 490 490 602 602
32 TAMIL NADU 29466 29466 44129 44129 53343 53343
33 TELANGANA 40571 40571 50214 50214 58810 58810
34 TRIPURA 1607 1607 2134 2134 2581 2581
35 UTTAR
PRADESH 139774 139774 173845 173845 192311 192311
36 UTTRAKHAND 11541 11541 13456 13456 15281 15281
37 WEST BENGAL 64105 64105 77107 77107 94465 94465
Total 954199 954199 1167571 1167571 1343412 1343412ANNEXURE-II
ANNEXURE-II REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED
QUESTION NUMBER NO.1839 FOR 10.12.2025 REGARDING “CONSUMER COMPLAINTS”.
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Sl. Year 2022 2023 2024
No. State Number of Cases Number of Cases Number of Cases
Filed Cumulative Filed Cumulative Filed Cumulative
Disposal Disposal Disposal
NCDRC 5810 6384 4497 7230 3656 4125
1. AN DAMAN AND 23 36 8 2 10 1
NICOBAR
ISLANDS
2. AN DHRA 2678 3388 3391 3948 3213 2784
PRADESH
3. AR UNACHAL 22 19 39 30 42 23
PRADESH
4. AS SAM 553 619 559 520 532 589
5. BI HAR 5257 3054 4240 4877 3731 3253
6. CH ANDIGARH 2121 1659 1770 2631 1620 2097
7. CH HATTISGARH 2829 2364 3403 4669 3020 4875
8. DE LHI 4942 5150 5843 8704 5894 6904
9. GO A 177 180 214 379 250 245
10. GU JARAT 14676 16166 17570 18082 17451 13437
11. HA RYANA 11958 9020 13241 11815 13005 10388
12. HI MACHAL 2267 1834 2408 2159 2196 2475
PRADESH
13. JH ARKHAND 1870 2124 1634 2042 1306 1413
14. KA RNATAKA 9032 12021 10391 12637 11464 10493
15. KE RALA 6117 7222 8467 6715 11336 6964
16. M ADHYA 16301 21194 11783 18401 10190 15538
PRADESH
17. M AHARASHTRA 22588 16782 18415 7648 15320 15440
18. M ANIPUR 74 61 50 62 86 36
19. M EGHALAYA 67 191 55 60 68 48
20. M IZORAM 67 107 64 53 99 57
21. NA GALAND 13 15 12 12 5 1
22. OD ISHA 4106 5188 5913 7146 5461 4658
23. PU DUCHERRY 45 55 93 145 132 172
24. PU NJAB 8141 8184 6955 8459 8418 7193
25. RA JASTHAN 14796 11573 13624 12391 12028 11348
26. SI KKIM 22 10 32 26 47 26
27. TA MIL NADU 7079 10105 7120 9162 7141 7791
28. TE LANGANA 4369 5395 3954 4581 3974 4088
29. TH E DADRA 18 2 19 0 9 0
AND NAGAR
HAVELI AND
DAMAN AND
DIU
30. TR IPURA 512 596 223 264 238 170
31. UT TARAKHAND 2214 2250 1101 934 664 602
32. UT TAR 20412 26112 19002 25832 17363 20473
PRADESH
33. W EST BENGAL 6350 7138 5662 6800 4897 4180
34. JA MMU & 10 0 19 4 30 172
KASHMIR
35. LA KSHADWEEP 0 0 4 0 2 2
Total 177516 186198 171775 188420 164898 162061
*****