Parliament Question: Modes of Complaint Registration on NCH

Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2773 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 MODES OF COMPLAINT REGISTRATION ON NCH

2773. DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE:

SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE:

PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD:

SMT. SUPRIYA SULE:

SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC

DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) as an alternative dispute redressal mechanism including the number of consumer grievances received and resolved, languages supported and modes of complaint registration with specific reference to State of Maharashtra;

(b) the details of complaints received and disposed of through the National Consumer Helpline from Maharashtra during the last three years and the current year, category-wise, including complaints from Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur;

(c) the details of the technological advancements incorporated in the Centralized Consumer Grievance Redressal System to improve efficiency, transparency and responsiveness;

(d) the details of the steps taken by the Government to create greater awareness and accessibility of the National Consumer Helpline in Maharashtra; and

(e) the details of the measures taken by the Government to ensure timely redressal of consumer complaints and the average disposal time for complaints received from Maharashtra during the last three years and the current year? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L. VERMA)

(a) to (e) : 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 a 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. 1,853 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.With specific reference to the State of Maharashtra, the calls received on toll-free number 1915 of NCH in Marathi language during the last three financial years have shown a consistent and sharp increase, from 31,207 calls in 2023-24 to 52,696 calls in 2024-25 and further to 1,03,577 calls in 2025-26, reflecting growing consumer awareness in the State and increasing reliance on NCH as an accessible and language- inclusive platform for grievance redressal.

The details of total number of complaints received and disposed of by the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) from the State of Maharashtra including complaints from Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur during the last three Financial Years are given at Annexure. The increase in the number of complaints reflects the growing awareness, accessibility and consumer confidence in NCH as an effective grievance redressal mechanism driven by sustained outreach and multi-channel digital initiatives undertaken by the Department.

The technological transformation of the NCH has significantly boosted its call-handling capacity.

The number of calls received by NCH has grown from 67,333 calls in June 2019 to 3,11,100 calls in June

2026. This growth reflects the rising confidence of consumers in the helpline. Similarly, the average number of complaints registered per month has surged from 37,062 in 2017 to over 1,97,000 in 2026 (January 2026 to June 2026). Additionally, grievance registration via WhatsApp has gained momentum, with the percentage of complaints filed through the platform increasing from 12% in December 2023 to 21% in December 2025 demonstrating a growing preference for digital communication channels. In absolute terms, WhatsApp grievances rose from 2.48 lakh in 2024 to 3.98 lakh in 2025. Between January 2026 and June 2026 alone, over 2.2 lakh complaints were received through this channel.

The website of the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has been upgraded to serve as the central point of access for consumers across India seeking grievance redressal at pre-litigation stage. This website includes enhanced functionality, modern features, and improved navigation with a user-centric design. It incorporates advanced features, offering faster grievance resolution and a more efficient user experience.

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has successfully facilitated refunds amounting to over ₹91 crore to consumers between 25th April 2025 and 30th June 2026 by effectively addressing over 1,47,000 consumer grievances related to refund claims at the pre-litigation stage.

The Government is undertaking extensive consumer awareness initiatives on pan-India basis under the flagship "Jago Grahak Jago" campaign to educate consumers about their rights and protect them from fraud, deceptive marketing practices and substandard products. Consumer awareness messages are disseminated through multimedia platforms, including Prasar Bharati, NFDC, CBC, IRCTC, MyGov and official social media handles. The Department also conducts IVRS and SMS campaigns in English, Hindi and nine regional languages, with focused outreach in North-Eastern States and SC/ST-dominated areas, besides providing grant-in-aid to States/UTs for localized awareness programmes. During the last 5 years, an amount of ₹ 1 crore has been released as grant-in-aid to Maharashtra for consumer awareness. Further, the Department regularly disseminates information through digital creative, audio-visual content and public awareness campaigns on consumer rights, safe consumer practices, hallmarking, ISI certification, packaged commodities, misleading advertisements and grievance redressal mechanisms. Grassroots awareness is being strengthened through weekly capacity-building sessions with Panchayati Raj Institutions across all States/UTs, with a recent session held in Maharashtra on 5th June, 2026. Participation in public events, cinema campaigns, AIR broadcasts and collaboration with MyGov has further expanded outreach, enabling consumers to make informed choices and seek timely redressal of grievances.NCH has put in place a mechanism to address all the grievances received on the helpline portal.

The average disposal time for grievances received from the State of Maharashtra during the last three

Financial Years is as under:

Average disposal time State Financial Year (in days) 2023-24 59 Maharashtra 2024-25 73 2025-26 34 *****ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2773 FOR ANSWER ON 05.08.2026 REGARDING “MODES OF COMPLAINT REGISTRATION ON NCH”.

Details of total number of complaints received and disposed of by the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) from the State of Maharashtra including complaints from Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur during the last three Financial Years.

State Financial Year Received Disposed 2025-2026 233954 233954 Maharashtra 2024-2025 145176 145176 2023-2024 134139 134139 Mumbai Financial Year Received 2023-2024 47162 2024-2025 50050 2025-2026 80436 Pune Financial Year Received 2023-2024 31398 2024-2025 34976 2025-2026 54331 Nagpur Financial Year Received 2023-2024 6207 2024-2025 7073 2025-2026 10552 *****