Index

S.No Date Topic Pg. No. Remarks

.

Introduction to Project

THE PROCESS of development along with the expanding globalisation and liberalisation process
has increased the number of consumer related issues. Consumer protection has earned an
important place in the political, economic and social agendas of many nations. In India, the
Government has taken many steps including legislative, to protect consumers.
Consumers get exploited in the market. They respond to advertisements and buy goods.
Generally advertisements do not give all the information that a consumer needs to know or wants
to know about a product.

Consumer awareness is making the consumer aware of His/Her rights. Consumer awareness is a
marketing term. It means that consumers note or are aware of products or services, its
characteristics and the other marketing P's (place to buy, price, and promotion). With the
growth of private sector there is a greater need for discipline and regulation of the market.
Consumers must be aware of the sale and purchase of goods, the health and security aspects
also. Ensuring the safety of food items sold in the market is essential these days.

The consumer movement in India is as old as trade and commerce. Even in Kautilya’s
Arthashastra, there are references to the concept of consumer protection against exploitation
by the trade and industry with respect to quality, short weight and measurement, adulteration
etc. Till recently, there was no organized and systematic movement for safeguarding the
interests of consumers.

The ordinary citizen today depends on products, design and construction of which he or she
may not understand. In this situation, reassurance is an over-riding need; reassurance that the
product is reliable and will meet the expectations of the consumers in terms of performance,
safety, durability etc.

Collection of Data

First of all to collect the data, the questionnaire is to be designed. I have tried to cover the
various aspects of consumer awareness while designing the questionnaire.
After designing the questionnaire, I took the sample of 40 households, 20 from the urban area
and 20 from the rural area. To make the study more interesting and meaningful, I made rural-
urban comparison.

I collected the data through Direct Personal Investigation. I made 40 Response Sheets, 20 of
urban respondents and 20 of rural respondents. I personally approached each and every
respondent to collect the data.

The Questionnaire on Consumer Awareness

Question Response
1. Name
2. Address

3. Occupation
4. Are you aware that the product you (YES) (NO)
 buy should be a certified product like
ISI, AGMARK, ISO-9002?
5. Do you check MRP, Manufacturing Date (YES) (NO)
and Expiry Date while buying a
product?
6. Do you confirm the availability of the (YES) (NO)
product at Fair Price Shops?
7. Are you aware of consumer courts to (YES) (NO)
protect your rights?
8. Do you insist on Cash Memo at the (YES) (NO)
time of purchase to ensure genuine
purchase and tax revenue to the
Government?

Classification of Data

After collecting the data from various respondents, I classified it with the help of tally bars.
When classified, the data assumed the following form-

(A) Data relating to Rural Households-

Q.4. Certified Product

YES: II =02

NO: IIII IIII IIII III =18

Q.5. MRP, Expiry and Mfg. Date

YES: II =02

NO: IIII IIII IIII III =18

Q.6. Fair Price Shops

YES: IIII IIII IIII I =16

NO: IIII =04

Q.7. Consumer Courts

YES: NIL =00

NO: IIII IIII IIII IIII =20

Q.8. Cash Memo

YES: NIL =00

NO: IIII IIII IIII IIII =20

Q.9. Updating Awareness

YES: NIL =00

NO: IIII IIII IIII IIII =20

(B) Data relating to Urban Households-

Q.4. Certified Product

YES: IIII IIII IIII III =18

NO: II =02

Q.5. MRP, Expiry and Mfg. Date

YES: IIII IIII IIII III =18

NO: II =02

Q.6. Fair Price Shops

YES: NIL =00

NO: IIII IIII IIII IIII =20

Q.7. Consumer Courts

YES: IIII IIII I =11

NO: IIII IIII =09

Q.8. Cash Memo

YES: NIL =00

NO: IIII IIII IIII IIII =20

Q.9. Updating Awareness

YES: IIII IIII IIII IIII =20

NO: NIL =00

Presentation of Data

After the classification of raw data, now comes the stage of Presentation of Data. The
presentation of data means exhibition of the data in such a clear and attractive manner that
these are easily understood and analysed. There are many forms of presentation of data of
which the following three are well known:

(i) Textual Presentation

(ii) Tabular Presentation

(iii) Diagrammatic Presentation

I have presented the data in tabular form on the next page:

 Consumer Awareness among Households

Extent of Awareness No. of households showing No. of households lacking

Awareness Awareness

Urban Rural Urban Rural

Parameters of Awareness----
1. Looking for certified product ISI, 18 02 02 18
AGMARK, ISO-9002
2. Checking MRP, date of mfg. and 18 02 02 18
expiry date of the product
3. Awareness of Fair Price Shops NIL 16 20 04
4. Awareness of Consumer Courts 11 NIL 09 20
5. Insistence on Cash Memos NIL NIL 20 20
6. Updating Awareness through 20 NIL NIL 20
electronic media and print media

NOTE: It is a sample survey of 40 households, 20 each from rural and urban areas.
SOURCE: Direct Personal Oral Investigation.

Analysis of Data

It means to further summarise the data the data in terms of percentages or averages, so that
the interpretation of data becomes easy and meaningful. I have presented the summary table
below:

Summary Table on consumer awareness among rural and

urban households

Extent of Awareness Percentage of households Percentage of households

showing Awareness lacking Awareness

Urban Rural Urban Rural

Parameters of Awareness----
1. Looking for certified product ISI, 88 08 12 92
AGMARK, ISO-9002
2. Checking MRP, date of mfg. and 92 12 08 88
expiry date of the product
3. Awareness of Fair Price Shops NIL 80 100 20
4. Awareness of Consumer Courts 52 NIL 48 100
5. Insistence on Cash Memos NIL NIL 100 100
6. Updating Awareness through 100 NIL NIL 100
electronic media and print media

Interpretation of Data-The Project Report

Now comes the stage of drawing conclusions of the study. This is my project report. I have
drawn some interesting conclusions from the Summary Table, which I have included in my
project report as follows:

1. There is a general lack of consumer awareness among rural households while urban
households show a high degree of consumer awareness. Lack of education among rural
households perhaps is the principal cause.

2. Looking for Fair Price Shops is the only element of consumer awareness where rural
households excel over the urban households. Perhaps, it is poverty of the rural masses
that compels them to look for cheaper options of purchase.

3. Both rural as well as urban households are almost completely ignorant of the fact that
insistence on cash memos ensures genuine purchases as well as tax revenue to the state.

4. Electronic Media and Print Media are playing an important role in updating consumer
awareness among the urban households.
 Conclusion

Consumer awareness is making the consumer aware of His/Her rights.

Many people are ignorant of their rights to get protected against the exploitation by so many
others. So when there is a forum for such redress of grievances there seems to be no such
exploitation by many; and becomes a rare one. So in order to get a clear picture of the level of
exploitation of consumers, the awareness is required.

There is an urgent and increasing necessity to educate and motivate the consumer to be wary of
the quality of the products, and also the possible deficiencies in the services of the growing
sector of public utilities. In short, the consumer should be empowered with respect to his rights
as a consumer. He should be equipped to be vigilant with a discerning eye so as to be able to
protect himself from any wrongful act on the part of the trader.