Parliament Question: National Consumer Helpline

ORIGINAL IN HINDI Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2911 (OIH) TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 NATIONAL CONSUMER HELPLINE 2911. SHRI JAI PARKASH: SHRI SATPAL BRAHAMCHARI: (OIH) Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that a large number of consumers in the Hisar and Sonipat Lok Sabha Constituencies are unable to effectively exercise their consumer rights due to a lack of adequate awareness about the National Consumer Helpline and the online grievance redressal system; (b) if so, the details of the complaints received on the National Consumer Helpline, their disposal and the awareness programmes conducted during the last three years in Haryana particularly in the Hisar and Sonipat Lok Sabha Constituencies; (c) whether the Government proposes to start any scheme to enhance consumer awareness in rural and urban areas to publicize the facility for lodging complaints through digital means and to launch special drives at the school, college and Panchayat levels; and (d) if so, the details thereof and the steps proposed to be taken by the Government for its effective implementation in the above said Lok Sabha Constituencies? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L. VERMA) (a) to (d): The Government is undertaking extensive consumer awareness initiatives under the flagship "Jago Grahak Jago" campaign on Pan-India basis to educate consumers about their rights and protect them from unfair trade practices by generating awareness about Hallmark, ISI marked products, details on packaged commodities, dark patterns, misleading advertisements, etc and educating them about the grievance redressal mechanisms. Consumer awareness messages are disseminated through multimedia platforms, including All India Radio, NFDC, CBC, IRCTC, MyGov and official social media handles. The Department has conducted Interactive Voice Response System(IVRS) campaign as well as 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. Further, the Department regularly disseminates awareness information through digital creatives, infographics, and audio-visual content on social media handles. The Department has been participating in prominent fairs, festivals and other major public congregations held in different parts of the country wherein large and diverse groups of people gather. During this year, Department also participated in Surajkund Mela in Haryana. The Department has also run a Public Service Announcement video on Consumer Awareness in cinema theatres across country including Haryana in 2026. Grassroots awareness is being strengthened through weekly capacity-building sessions with Panchayati Raj Institutions across all States/UTs. The sessions with all Panchayats in Haryana were held on 9th May, 2025 and 24th July, 2026.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. 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 detail of number of grievances received and disposed of on NCH from the State of Haryana including Hissar/Sonepat Lok Sabha Constituency during the last three years is as follows: State Year Received Disposed of / Closed 2023 51099 51099 Haryana 2024 58171 58171 2025 83321 83321 *****