Key Highlights
- Strengthening of Consumer Commissions (SCC) Scheme: Persistent vacancies, both at State & District Consumer Commissions, are severely impacting Scheme’s effectiveness.
- Out of total 36 sanctioned posts of President of State Commissions 18 (50%) posts are vacant.
- Consumer Welfare Fund (CWF): Only 71.5% of Revised Estimates (RE) for 2024-25 relating to CWF has been utilized.
- Disbursement of funds under Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) to several states & key agencies, like NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar, has not been uniform.
- Computerization & Computer Networking of Consumer Commissions: Its expansion has streamlined case management, reduced delays, and improved access to justice
- Other: Currently, Indian Standard Time is not being mandatorily adopted by all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
- Lack of uniformity in time across different systems presents significant challenges for law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in investigating cybercrimes.
Key Recommendations
- Take immediate and proactive steps to ensure that states and UTs prioritize the filling of vacant posts within a fixed time-frame.
- Steps need to be taken to implement a more streamlined fund release process to minimize delays in disbursement and ensure the uniform distribution of funds.