Parliament Question: Grievance Redressal and National Consumer Helpline (NCH)

Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3040 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026 GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL AND NATIONAL CONSUMER HELPLINE (NCH) 3040. SHRI CAPTAIN BRIJESH CHOWTA: Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) the details and the total number of complaints received from consumers in Dakshina Kannada district through the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) during the last three years, year and sector-wise; (b) the average time taken for resolution of such complaints, along with the percentage of grievances successfully redressed within the prescribed timelines as per NCH or Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) norms; (c) whether the Government has undertaken any review of grievance redressal efficiency or complaint- handling trends in Tier-II cities such as Mangalore and if so, the findings of such review; and (d) whether the Government plans to establish or upgrade any regional Consumer Helpline Centre or outreach unit in Mangalore to support multilingual grievance handling, consumer awareness and faster resolution and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L.VERMA) (a) to (d) : The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs has emerged as a single point of access to consumers across the country for their grievance redressal at pre- litigation stage. Consumers can register their grievances from all over the country in 17 languages including Hindi, English, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Nepali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Maithili, Santhali, Bengali, Odia, Assamese and Manipuri through a toll-free number 1915. These grievances can be registered on Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM), an omni-channel IT enabled central portal, through various channels- WhatsApp (8800001915), SMS (8800001915), email (nch-ca@gov.in), the NCH app, the web portal (consumerhelpline.gov.in) and the Umang app, as per their convenience. 1,398 companies, who have voluntarily partnered with NCH as part of the ‘Convergence’ programme directly respond to these grievances according to their redressal process and revert by providing a feedback to the complainant on the portal. Complaints against those companies who have not partnered with National Consumer Helpline are forwarded to the company for redressal. The details of the total number of complaints received from consumers in Karnataka including Dakshina Kannada district through the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) during the last three years, year and sector-wise is placed at the Annexure.National Consumer Helpline has put in place a mechanism to address all the grievances received on the Helpline portal. The average grievance disposal time over the last three years for the grievances received through CPGRAMS is provided in the table below: Year Average disposal time (in days) 2023 24 2024 18 2025 13 The Department regularly monitors grievance data and identifies non-convergence companies. NCH partners with companies who have a proactive approach to efficient consumer complaint resolution, and want to join the programme on a voluntary basis. It shares with them the data of the complainants along with the complaints received at NCH related to their company, to facilitate free, fair and fast redressal through participative cooperation providing win-win situation for both consumers and companies. In this endeavour, NCH ensures accountability and timely resolution of consumer complaints by forwarding grievances to the convergence partners on a real-time basis. Once these companies are onboarded as convergence partners, they are required to prioritize the swift and effective resolution of complaints in collaboration with the NCH. This partnership helps to ensure better accountability and a quicker redressal of consumer complaints, ultimately benefiting consumers across the country. NCH has also simplified the process of registering the companies as convergence partners making it online, hassle-free and transparent. A feedback mechanism has been implemented, enabling consumers to share their feedback and suggestions by visiting the web link at https://consumerhelpline.gov.in/public/feedback and filling out a short form. The feedback and suggestions received are regularly analyzed to enhance consumer satisfaction and improve the effectiveness of the helpline. 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. *****ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3040 FOR 11.03.2026 REGARDING GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL AND NATIONAL CONSUMER HELPLINE (NCH). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Details of the total number of complaints received from consumers in Karnataka including from Dakshina Kannada district through the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) during the last three years, year and sector-wise. Year-wise S. No. State 2023 2024 2025 KARNATAKA 1 72,459 89,028 1,27,944 (Including from Dakshina Kannada district) Sector-wise 2023 S. No. Sector Name Total 1 E- Commerce 30062 2 Electronics Products 3864 3 Banking 3287 4 Agency Services 3046 5 Consumer Durables 3012 6 Telecom 2286 7 Retail Outlets 2261 8 Automobiles 1954 9 Broadband & Internet 1793 10 Digital Payment Modes 1296 11 Others 19598 Grand Total 72,459 2024 S. No. Sector Name Total 1 E- Commerce 28582 2 Food 6935 3 Agency Services 5097 4 Consumer Durables 4821 5 Electronics Products 4489 6 Broadband & Internet 4372 7 Banking 3888 8 Automobiles 2873 9 Telecom 2696 10 Travel & Tourism 2689 11 Others 22586 Grand Total 89,0282025 S. No. Sector Name Total 1 E- Commerce 35458 2 Food 10848 3 Agency Services 7040 4 Electronics Products 6268 5 Consumer Durables 5804 6 Travel & Tourism 5337 7 Broadband & Internet 4397 8 Telecom 3966 9 Automobiles 3656 10 Banking 3560 11 Others 41610 Grand Total 1,27,944 *****