NCERT Textbook: Consumer Education and Protection

 Page 1


222
Chapter
12
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter the learner will be able to —
z z understand the importance and role of Consumer Education and 
Protection 
z z explain the basic concepts related to Consumer Education and 
Protection 
z z analyse the knowledge and skills needed for a career in this field
z z understand the scope and career options.
Introduction
All of us purchase a variety of goods and services to satisfy our needs and 
desires. Hence, every human is a natural consumer. Have you, your parents 
or friend experienced any problem where, even after paying for the goods, 
you found that the quality was not as per your expectations for the price 
paid or the quantity supplied was less than what was promised? Did you 
pay for some services which appeared attractive in the advertisement but 
in reality fell far short of the image portrayed? Under such circumstances 
what was your reaction? Did you feel frustrated and cheated? What did you 
do? Did you take any action, draw attention of the manufacturer/service 
Consumer Education 
and Protection
Chapters.indd   222 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
Page 2


222
Chapter
12
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter the learner will be able to —
z z understand the importance and role of Consumer Education and 
Protection 
z z explain the basic concepts related to Consumer Education and 
Protection 
z z analyse the knowledge and skills needed for a career in this field
z z understand the scope and career options.
Introduction
All of us purchase a variety of goods and services to satisfy our needs and 
desires. Hence, every human is a natural consumer. Have you, your parents 
or friend experienced any problem where, even after paying for the goods, 
you found that the quality was not as per your expectations for the price 
paid or the quantity supplied was less than what was promised? Did you 
pay for some services which appeared attractive in the advertisement but 
in reality fell far short of the image portrayed? Under such circumstances 
what was your reaction? Did you feel frustrated and cheated? What did you 
do? Did you take any action, draw attention of the manufacturer/service 
Consumer Education 
and Protection
Chapters.indd   222 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
Unit V - Resource Management
223
provider to the problem you experienced? Did they give you a hearing and 
take any kind of corrective measures? Were you satisfied? If not, did you 
feel that the situation could have been better if you had some support? Let 
us try to find answers to these questions.
You have already learnt in Class XI about family finance management 
incorporating money income, its management, savings and investment, 
credit and also realised how important it is to get maximum satisfaction 
on spending each penny that you earn. Consumer education teaches you 
to be an efficient and alert consumer. 
Significance of Consumer Education 
and Protection
Look around and you will find that the number of products being 
manufactured and sold is steadily increasing in both urban and rural 
markets. We are all aware that manufacturers are responsible for supplying 
good quality products and if there is a problem, consumers have the right 
to redressal. Manufacturers can no longer take consumers/customers for 
granted. With increasing number of consumers and volume of consumption 
of goods and services, manufacturers/suppliers/service providers have 
begun to realise that it is important to respect and satisfy the ‘consumer’, 
since the reputation of the company and its profits are determined by 
consumer opinion. India has been transforming from an underdeveloped to 
a developing economy. Much of this can be attributed to industrialisation 
and globalisation. These economic changes have improved the standard of 
living along with increased buying power. We are living in a ‘global village’ 
and facing the challenges of global markets. The march towards ‘global 
economy’ necessitates a global outlook on the part of consumers who 
cannot sit back and watch. They have to emerge as a progressive force to 
ensure their welfare. They have to understand the economic system and 
inter relationships of individuals with each other, with business and with 
government. It is necessary for today’s consumer to be careful, alert and 
be well informed. Consumer education and protection have thus become 
important.
Further, the Indian government has become liberal and opened the 
doors to foreign companies. Thus we can see a variety of products, made 
by multinationals that have established their manufacturing/assembly 
units in India or imported items, on the shelves of many stores. This 
has advantages but, at the same time, there are disadvantages. On the 
positive side the Indian consumer has much to choose from and can look 
Chapters.indd   223 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
Page 3


222
Chapter
12
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter the learner will be able to —
z z understand the importance and role of Consumer Education and 
Protection 
z z explain the basic concepts related to Consumer Education and 
Protection 
z z analyse the knowledge and skills needed for a career in this field
z z understand the scope and career options.
Introduction
All of us purchase a variety of goods and services to satisfy our needs and 
desires. Hence, every human is a natural consumer. Have you, your parents 
or friend experienced any problem where, even after paying for the goods, 
you found that the quality was not as per your expectations for the price 
paid or the quantity supplied was less than what was promised? Did you 
pay for some services which appeared attractive in the advertisement but 
in reality fell far short of the image portrayed? Under such circumstances 
what was your reaction? Did you feel frustrated and cheated? What did you 
do? Did you take any action, draw attention of the manufacturer/service 
Consumer Education 
and Protection
Chapters.indd   222 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
Unit V - Resource Management
223
provider to the problem you experienced? Did they give you a hearing and 
take any kind of corrective measures? Were you satisfied? If not, did you 
feel that the situation could have been better if you had some support? Let 
us try to find answers to these questions.
You have already learnt in Class XI about family finance management 
incorporating money income, its management, savings and investment, 
credit and also realised how important it is to get maximum satisfaction 
on spending each penny that you earn. Consumer education teaches you 
to be an efficient and alert consumer. 
Significance of Consumer Education 
and Protection
Look around and you will find that the number of products being 
manufactured and sold is steadily increasing in both urban and rural 
markets. We are all aware that manufacturers are responsible for supplying 
good quality products and if there is a problem, consumers have the right 
to redressal. Manufacturers can no longer take consumers/customers for 
granted. With increasing number of consumers and volume of consumption 
of goods and services, manufacturers/suppliers/service providers have 
begun to realise that it is important to respect and satisfy the ‘consumer’, 
since the reputation of the company and its profits are determined by 
consumer opinion. India has been transforming from an underdeveloped to 
a developing economy. Much of this can be attributed to industrialisation 
and globalisation. These economic changes have improved the standard of 
living along with increased buying power. We are living in a ‘global village’ 
and facing the challenges of global markets. The march towards ‘global 
economy’ necessitates a global outlook on the part of consumers who 
cannot sit back and watch. They have to emerge as a progressive force to 
ensure their welfare. They have to understand the economic system and 
inter relationships of individuals with each other, with business and with 
government. It is necessary for today’s consumer to be careful, alert and 
be well informed. Consumer education and protection have thus become 
important.
Further, the Indian government has become liberal and opened the 
doors to foreign companies. Thus we can see a variety of products, made 
by multinationals that have established their manufacturing/assembly 
units in India or imported items, on the shelves of many stores. This 
has advantages but, at the same time, there are disadvantages. On the 
positive side the Indian consumer has much to choose from and can look 
Chapters.indd   223 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
224
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2
for better products with competitive pricing. The disadvantage of having 
a large array of products is that choosing the right product is now more 
difficult since one has to understand new technology, new products and 
new features. One has to compare the price and quality, in order to be 
able to make an informed decision, especially because consumers face 
problems such as malpractices, exploitation by unscrupulous sellers, 
misleading advertisements, making it important for each one of us to be 
wise consumers.
Basic Concepts
Let us ??rst brie??y examine the word ‘consumer’ . We can define Consumers 
as the final buyers of goods and services, for the satisfaction of their 
personal needs and wants, ranging from products of nature to products 
and/or services from the market. Consumers are the primary component 
of a socio-economic system since every human being who is a consumer 
to a smaller to larger extent would like to have a good standard of living. 
Hence as purchasing power increases, people tend to purchase products 
that will give comfort, satisfaction and as a symbol of prestige, contributing 
to increasing number of ‘consumer footfalls’. The more people buy, 
more money comes into the market/system and thus contributes to the 
development and growth of the country’s economy. 
Let us acquaint ourselves with a few other relevant terms:
Consumer product: The term means any article, produced or distributed 
for sale to a consumer for personal or family use in one’s home or in 
an institution e.g., school, hospital, college, office, etc., or for business 
purposes. 
Consumer behaviour: It is a process through which the buyer makes 
decisions about purchasing.
Consumer forum: A place/organisation where consumers can discuss 
consumer products/services and their advantages and disadvantages. 
Some forums work as advocacy groups that seek to protect consumers 
and help them address problems faced vis-a-vis consumer products.
Consumer footfalls: This means the number of customers/consumers 
who visit any given space such as a store or a mall. Thus with increasing 
consumption in a country, consumer footfalls are higher. Fig. 20.1 
summarises what a customer expects when s/he buys either a product or 
service. 
Chapters.indd   224 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
Page 4


222
Chapter
12
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter the learner will be able to —
z z understand the importance and role of Consumer Education and 
Protection 
z z explain the basic concepts related to Consumer Education and 
Protection 
z z analyse the knowledge and skills needed for a career in this field
z z understand the scope and career options.
Introduction
All of us purchase a variety of goods and services to satisfy our needs and 
desires. Hence, every human is a natural consumer. Have you, your parents 
or friend experienced any problem where, even after paying for the goods, 
you found that the quality was not as per your expectations for the price 
paid or the quantity supplied was less than what was promised? Did you 
pay for some services which appeared attractive in the advertisement but 
in reality fell far short of the image portrayed? Under such circumstances 
what was your reaction? Did you feel frustrated and cheated? What did you 
do? Did you take any action, draw attention of the manufacturer/service 
Consumer Education 
and Protection
Chapters.indd   222 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
Unit V - Resource Management
223
provider to the problem you experienced? Did they give you a hearing and 
take any kind of corrective measures? Were you satisfied? If not, did you 
feel that the situation could have been better if you had some support? Let 
us try to find answers to these questions.
You have already learnt in Class XI about family finance management 
incorporating money income, its management, savings and investment, 
credit and also realised how important it is to get maximum satisfaction 
on spending each penny that you earn. Consumer education teaches you 
to be an efficient and alert consumer. 
Significance of Consumer Education 
and Protection
Look around and you will find that the number of products being 
manufactured and sold is steadily increasing in both urban and rural 
markets. We are all aware that manufacturers are responsible for supplying 
good quality products and if there is a problem, consumers have the right 
to redressal. Manufacturers can no longer take consumers/customers for 
granted. With increasing number of consumers and volume of consumption 
of goods and services, manufacturers/suppliers/service providers have 
begun to realise that it is important to respect and satisfy the ‘consumer’, 
since the reputation of the company and its profits are determined by 
consumer opinion. India has been transforming from an underdeveloped to 
a developing economy. Much of this can be attributed to industrialisation 
and globalisation. These economic changes have improved the standard of 
living along with increased buying power. We are living in a ‘global village’ 
and facing the challenges of global markets. The march towards ‘global 
economy’ necessitates a global outlook on the part of consumers who 
cannot sit back and watch. They have to emerge as a progressive force to 
ensure their welfare. They have to understand the economic system and 
inter relationships of individuals with each other, with business and with 
government. It is necessary for today’s consumer to be careful, alert and 
be well informed. Consumer education and protection have thus become 
important.
Further, the Indian government has become liberal and opened the 
doors to foreign companies. Thus we can see a variety of products, made 
by multinationals that have established their manufacturing/assembly 
units in India or imported items, on the shelves of many stores. This 
has advantages but, at the same time, there are disadvantages. On the 
positive side the Indian consumer has much to choose from and can look 
Chapters.indd   223 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
224
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2
for better products with competitive pricing. The disadvantage of having 
a large array of products is that choosing the right product is now more 
difficult since one has to understand new technology, new products and 
new features. One has to compare the price and quality, in order to be 
able to make an informed decision, especially because consumers face 
problems such as malpractices, exploitation by unscrupulous sellers, 
misleading advertisements, making it important for each one of us to be 
wise consumers.
Basic Concepts
Let us ??rst brie??y examine the word ‘consumer’ . We can define Consumers 
as the final buyers of goods and services, for the satisfaction of their 
personal needs and wants, ranging from products of nature to products 
and/or services from the market. Consumers are the primary component 
of a socio-economic system since every human being who is a consumer 
to a smaller to larger extent would like to have a good standard of living. 
Hence as purchasing power increases, people tend to purchase products 
that will give comfort, satisfaction and as a symbol of prestige, contributing 
to increasing number of ‘consumer footfalls’. The more people buy, 
more money comes into the market/system and thus contributes to the 
development and growth of the country’s economy. 
Let us acquaint ourselves with a few other relevant terms:
Consumer product: The term means any article, produced or distributed 
for sale to a consumer for personal or family use in one’s home or in 
an institution e.g., school, hospital, college, office, etc., or for business 
purposes. 
Consumer behaviour: It is a process through which the buyer makes 
decisions about purchasing.
Consumer forum: A place/organisation where consumers can discuss 
consumer products/services and their advantages and disadvantages. 
Some forums work as advocacy groups that seek to protect consumers 
and help them address problems faced vis-a-vis consumer products.
Consumer footfalls: This means the number of customers/consumers 
who visit any given space such as a store or a mall. Thus with increasing 
consumption in a country, consumer footfalls are higher. Fig. 20.1 
summarises what a customer expects when s/he buys either a product or 
service. 
Chapters.indd   224 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
Unit V - Resource Management
225
Reasonable 
price
Appropriate/Adequate 
information 
Consumer
Expects
Correct weights 
and measures
Genuine goods, 
articles/services
Ethics in Sales and 
Promotion 
Quality products
Purity of products
Fig. 20.1: Consumers’ expectations while purchasing goods
However, many a times consumers face problems because the 
manufacturers/service providers may be unable to fulfill all expectations, 
some of them may cheat and many consumers do not take manufacturers/ 
retailers to task for shoddy products, high prices, adulteration, faulty 
weights and measures and/or are unaware of various protection measures. 
It is important to know about these problems so that one can ensure that 
one is not cheated. It is universally recognised that the level of consumer 
awareness and protection is an indicator of a country’s development 
and progress. Let us now look at some of the major problems faced by 
consumers.
1.  Substandard/poor quality goods: Various manufacturers can make 
the same product such as large multinational corporations, local 
Indian manufacturers and some may be imported from other 
countries. However, the material used may be different and the 
product quality may also vary, making it difficult for a consumer to 
identify a poor quality product. Many consumers are ignorant about 
quality standards.
2.  Adulteration: Adulteration may be intentional or unintentional. A 
substance is said to be adulterated when some substances are either 
added to or removed from a product. Consequently the composition, 
nature or quality is altered. Adulteration is a serious problem not 
only because it is exploitative but because it can cause harm to 
health and safety of the consumer. 
Chapters.indd   225 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
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Page 5


222
Chapter
12
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter the learner will be able to —
z z understand the importance and role of Consumer Education and 
Protection 
z z explain the basic concepts related to Consumer Education and 
Protection 
z z analyse the knowledge and skills needed for a career in this field
z z understand the scope and career options.
Introduction
All of us purchase a variety of goods and services to satisfy our needs and 
desires. Hence, every human is a natural consumer. Have you, your parents 
or friend experienced any problem where, even after paying for the goods, 
you found that the quality was not as per your expectations for the price 
paid or the quantity supplied was less than what was promised? Did you 
pay for some services which appeared attractive in the advertisement but 
in reality fell far short of the image portrayed? Under such circumstances 
what was your reaction? Did you feel frustrated and cheated? What did you 
do? Did you take any action, draw attention of the manufacturer/service 
Consumer Education 
and Protection
Chapters.indd   222 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
Unit V - Resource Management
223
provider to the problem you experienced? Did they give you a hearing and 
take any kind of corrective measures? Were you satisfied? If not, did you 
feel that the situation could have been better if you had some support? Let 
us try to find answers to these questions.
You have already learnt in Class XI about family finance management 
incorporating money income, its management, savings and investment, 
credit and also realised how important it is to get maximum satisfaction 
on spending each penny that you earn. Consumer education teaches you 
to be an efficient and alert consumer. 
Significance of Consumer Education 
and Protection
Look around and you will find that the number of products being 
manufactured and sold is steadily increasing in both urban and rural 
markets. We are all aware that manufacturers are responsible for supplying 
good quality products and if there is a problem, consumers have the right 
to redressal. Manufacturers can no longer take consumers/customers for 
granted. With increasing number of consumers and volume of consumption 
of goods and services, manufacturers/suppliers/service providers have 
begun to realise that it is important to respect and satisfy the ‘consumer’, 
since the reputation of the company and its profits are determined by 
consumer opinion. India has been transforming from an underdeveloped to 
a developing economy. Much of this can be attributed to industrialisation 
and globalisation. These economic changes have improved the standard of 
living along with increased buying power. We are living in a ‘global village’ 
and facing the challenges of global markets. The march towards ‘global 
economy’ necessitates a global outlook on the part of consumers who 
cannot sit back and watch. They have to emerge as a progressive force to 
ensure their welfare. They have to understand the economic system and 
inter relationships of individuals with each other, with business and with 
government. It is necessary for today’s consumer to be careful, alert and 
be well informed. Consumer education and protection have thus become 
important.
Further, the Indian government has become liberal and opened the 
doors to foreign companies. Thus we can see a variety of products, made 
by multinationals that have established their manufacturing/assembly 
units in India or imported items, on the shelves of many stores. This 
has advantages but, at the same time, there are disadvantages. On the 
positive side the Indian consumer has much to choose from and can look 
Chapters.indd   223 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
224
Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2
for better products with competitive pricing. The disadvantage of having 
a large array of products is that choosing the right product is now more 
difficult since one has to understand new technology, new products and 
new features. One has to compare the price and quality, in order to be 
able to make an informed decision, especially because consumers face 
problems such as malpractices, exploitation by unscrupulous sellers, 
misleading advertisements, making it important for each one of us to be 
wise consumers.
Basic Concepts
Let us ??rst brie??y examine the word ‘consumer’ . We can define Consumers 
as the final buyers of goods and services, for the satisfaction of their 
personal needs and wants, ranging from products of nature to products 
and/or services from the market. Consumers are the primary component 
of a socio-economic system since every human being who is a consumer 
to a smaller to larger extent would like to have a good standard of living. 
Hence as purchasing power increases, people tend to purchase products 
that will give comfort, satisfaction and as a symbol of prestige, contributing 
to increasing number of ‘consumer footfalls’. The more people buy, 
more money comes into the market/system and thus contributes to the 
development and growth of the country’s economy. 
Let us acquaint ourselves with a few other relevant terms:
Consumer product: The term means any article, produced or distributed 
for sale to a consumer for personal or family use in one’s home or in 
an institution e.g., school, hospital, college, office, etc., or for business 
purposes. 
Consumer behaviour: It is a process through which the buyer makes 
decisions about purchasing.
Consumer forum: A place/organisation where consumers can discuss 
consumer products/services and their advantages and disadvantages. 
Some forums work as advocacy groups that seek to protect consumers 
and help them address problems faced vis-a-vis consumer products.
Consumer footfalls: This means the number of customers/consumers 
who visit any given space such as a store or a mall. Thus with increasing 
consumption in a country, consumer footfalls are higher. Fig. 20.1 
summarises what a customer expects when s/he buys either a product or 
service. 
Chapters.indd   224 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
2024-25
Unit V - Resource Management
225
Reasonable 
price
Appropriate/Adequate 
information 
Consumer
Expects
Correct weights 
and measures
Genuine goods, 
articles/services
Ethics in Sales and 
Promotion 
Quality products
Purity of products
Fig. 20.1: Consumers’ expectations while purchasing goods
However, many a times consumers face problems because the 
manufacturers/service providers may be unable to fulfill all expectations, 
some of them may cheat and many consumers do not take manufacturers/ 
retailers to task for shoddy products, high prices, adulteration, faulty 
weights and measures and/or are unaware of various protection measures. 
It is important to know about these problems so that one can ensure that 
one is not cheated. It is universally recognised that the level of consumer 
awareness and protection is an indicator of a country’s development 
and progress. Let us now look at some of the major problems faced by 
consumers.
1.  Substandard/poor quality goods: Various manufacturers can make 
the same product such as large multinational corporations, local 
Indian manufacturers and some may be imported from other 
countries. However, the material used may be different and the 
product quality may also vary, making it difficult for a consumer to 
identify a poor quality product. Many consumers are ignorant about 
quality standards.
2.  Adulteration: Adulteration may be intentional or unintentional. A 
substance is said to be adulterated when some substances are either 
added to or removed from a product. Consequently the composition, 
nature or quality is altered. Adulteration is a serious problem not 
only because it is exploitative but because it can cause harm to 
health and safety of the consumer. 
Chapters.indd   225 8/16/2022   12:28:43 PM
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Human Ecology and Family Sciences – Part 2
3.  High Prices: Every consumer expects that s/he will be charged a 
fair price for a product. However, we must bear in mind that prices 
are influenced by government policy, availability, quality, delivery 
system, market location, method of distribution, costs of promotion, 
method of purchase and consumer’s desire for convenience. Despite 
this, some consumers tend to relate price to quality of an item, 
though it is not necessary. Prices of same quality goods may 
vary because of high/low cost of production, overhead expenses, 
advertising etc. Some suppliers may overcharge when they find that 
the customer is not well informed and lacks knowledge.
4.  Lack of Consumer Information: Most consumers are unaware of their 
rights and responsibilities and do not know the various legislative 
provisions that have been made to protect them. 
5.  Inadequate or Erroneous Information given by Manufacturer: This 
includes:
z z Labels of most products are not factually correct, some are 
deceptive and misleading. Most labels fail to give complete 
essential information and often use terminologies which a 
common consumer is unable to understand. 
z z Advertisements are not informative and are limited in their ability 
to answer many essential questions about qualities or uses of 
the product. Seldom advertisements do focus on features, care 
and maintenance, after sales service, etc. 
z z There is a lack of buying guides on consumer durables and non-
durables to aid the consumer in decision-making. 
z z Packaging is being used as a potent marketing tool. Attractive 
packages persuade consumers to make impulsive purchases. 
At times the container used for packing products is larger than 
the contents. Many a times several layers of expensive packing 
material is used. Manufacturers repackage existing products 
into attractive looking and novel shapes of packs and advertise 
the product to be “in a new pack”, although the product quality is 
the same. However, the consumer is enticed by the new packing. 
6.  Incorrect Weights and Measures: The consumer sometimes ends up 
getting less quantity than what he pays for due to incorrect weights 
and measures. This is because either the weights and scales are 
altered by the retailers or correct measures are incorrectly used. 
Measures are often deceptive and exploit consumers of their money. 
Weights and measures without seal or verification stamp are not 
genuine.
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