Consumer Guidance Society of India
Encyclopedia
The Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) is a consumer rights organisation based in Mumbai
, India. It was the earliest consumers organisation in India, founded by nine women in 1966 , and became the first to conduct formal product testing in 1977. CGSI publishes a magazine, Keemat. Among the chairpersons were Dr. Mrs. Kamala Sohonie, Mrs. Leela Wagh, Mrs. Krishna Basrur, Mrs. Kohli, Mrs. Indu Shirali and Mrs. Usha Sukhtankar. Others followed. Various activities included testing the purity of food products, weights and measures used by shopkeepers and consumer protection in other forms.
Consumers have often been made to endure sub-standard products, very high prices, hazardous drugs, never ending shortage of goods and many more injustices. To fight against these odds 9 ladies in Delhi
came together to form Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI).
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India. It was the earliest consumers organisation in India, founded by nine women in 1966 , and became the first to conduct formal product testing in 1977. CGSI publishes a magazine, Keemat. Among the chairpersons were Dr. Mrs. Kamala Sohonie, Mrs. Leela Wagh, Mrs. Krishna Basrur, Mrs. Kohli, Mrs. Indu Shirali and Mrs. Usha Sukhtankar. Others followed. Various activities included testing the purity of food products, weights and measures used by shopkeepers and consumer protection in other forms.
Consumers have often been made to endure sub-standard products, very high prices, hazardous drugs, never ending shortage of goods and many more injustices. To fight against these odds 9 ladies in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
came together to form Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI).
Achievements and features
- It was the earliest organization founded in the year 1966
- It pressed for Consumer protection Act and Consumer Protection Court in the year 1975. Consumer protection court materialized in the year 1975 itself but consumer protection act turned into reality in 1986
- 70-80% of the complaints received by CGSI are redressed
- It was the first consumer organisation to establish a formal product testing lab in the year 1977.
- It was the first to start a monthly magazine called 'Keemat' which provided information to consumers
- It promotes consumer education, undertakes training programs in rural areas and represents consumer interests in government and other bodies
- It is the only Indian consumer organization to be a council member of Consumer International for 25 years
- It won a national award in 1991 for consumer protection
- It is also a member of state consumer protection council
- It also takes part in a large number of technical committees and government decision making bodies.