“National Consumer Rights Meet” on The future of Consumer Rights Movement”, New Delhi
19/12/2012 | New Delhi
Consumer Rights Activists from various states of India gathered to discuss the future course of the Consumer Rights Movement. During the keynote address on the occasion, Mr. Pankaj Agrawala, secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs said that, “The market was becoming very complex with service industry overtaking the manufacturing industry.” He said that a sizeable section of the population was not even aware of quality products. He wanted consumer organisations to be more active in creating awareness and assured that the Ministry of Consumers Affairs will lend their complete support in their efforts . Mr. Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI-CASCADE said that, “Awareness is the beginning of change.” He said that FICCI-CASCADE would continue its efforts to create consumer awareness through various campaigns throughout the nation.
Lear MoreNATIONAL CONSUMERS RIGHTS WEEK 2012, New Delhi
18/12/2012 | New Delhi
The 6th consultation was organised in the run up to the “National Consumer Day” being celebrated on24th December 2012 FICCI CASCADE celebrated the National Consumer Rights Week during the period 18-20th of December, 2012. The week’s celebration advocated socially responsible behaviour amongst Consumers.
The National Consumer Week was flagged off with the “Awareness through Art” program on 18th December 2012. Students of schools of NCR Delhi participated in an “On the Spot inter school Painting Competition on Consumer Rights” on this day. Over 272 students participated from various schools of NCR Delhi in the Painting Competition on Consumer Rights. The competition focused on the detrimental effects of smuggled, counterfeit and fake goods and their impact on health and safety of consumers. All the participating students were awarded certificates. This was followed by “National Consumer Rights Meet” on 19th December 2012 where Consumer Rights Activists from various states of India gathered to discuss the future course of the Consumer Rights Movement.
During the Key note address on the occasion, Mr. Pankaj Agrawala, Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs highlighted the fact that, “The market was becoming very complex with service industry overtaking the manufacturing industry.” He said that a sizeable section of the population was not even aware of quality products. He further wanted consumer organisations to be more active in creating awarenessand assured that the Ministry of Consumers Affairs will lend their complete support in their efforts.
Mr. Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI-CASCADE assured that FICCI-CASCADE would continue its efforts to create consumer awareness through various campaigns throughout the nation. During the panel discussion the consumer activists unanimously agreed on the need to bring about a change in the Consumer Protection Act and provide a mechanism for speedy trials of the consumer cases.
On the 20th December 2012 the Hon’ble Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food Supply and Distribution was invited to deliver a Special address on the theme of “Building a Consumer Rights Movement-Empowering the Consumer of Today”. During the program the report of the study on “Socio-Economic impact of counterfeiting smuggling and Tax evasion in seven key Indian industry sectors”was released. The report, prepared by Thought Arbitrage Research Institute (TARI), New Delhi, made a pioneering attempt to estimate the size of the ‘grey market’ for selected industry sectors in India and projected the economic loss to industry, government and consequent social impact.
Commenting on the findings, Ms. NainaLal Kidwai, FICCI President said, “Counterfeiting is a serious economic offence causing a huge loss to industry, to the government and also to consumers. But it is still not considered as serious offence.” Further adding on to the subject, Dr. A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI expressed his concern that consumers today are compromising their safety, as the products which they are consuming are not of the set standards because they are not coming from the manufacturer who actually promised them safety and adequate quality. The dignitaries present on the occasion congratulated FICCI CASCADE for having taken this initiative and bring on board Industry and government for the benefit of consumers. The program was attended by over 120 delegates consisting of industry members, consumer rights activities, school teachers, members of the legal professionals .
FICCI CASCADE Seminar on Curbing Counterfeiting and Smuggling – An Imperative for Indian Economy, MADHYA PRADESH
26/11/2012 | Madhya Pradesh
The 5th consultation organised at Bhopal launched a multi-pronged and sustained public campaign to enlarge awareness among the people of Madhya Pradesh about the criminal offences involved in counterfeiting, smuggling and other organized crime which adversely affect the rights and interests of individuals. The seminar focused on the affects of counterfeiting which damage the interests of growers, producers, manufacturers and traders, cause loss of revenue to the public exchequer, and pose a serious threat to the security of the State and the country.
The Minister of Finance, Madhya Pradesh Shri Raghavji, inaugurated the seminar and said that citizens should know about counterfeit products, they should understand that cheaper counterfeit products can risk their life’s. Mr. Govind Goyal, Vice President, Federation of Madhya Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, gave the welcome address, he said that this seminar is of immense importance as it would help in enlarging awareness among all the stakeholders as how to curb the production and use of counterfeit products. He also highlighted that Madhya Pradesh has emerged asa hot bed of illegal cigarettes in India.
The Minister congratulated FICCI-CASCADE and FMPCCI for joining hands to deliberate on such an extremely important problem. He emphasized that the loss suffered by the government by such activities in terms of revenue is huge. He gave a threefold solution to the problem where the consumers have to be made aware of the issue, secondly more people should come forward to report the cases and finally the government should encourage such seminars and people to come forward and report the activities.
Mr. Dinesh Prajapati, Editor, Upbhokta Express highlighted the role of consumers forums and organizations in spreading awareness on counterfeiting and smuggling. Mr. Manoj Mathur, Editor- in-Chief, Bare Truth said that fake and counterfeit medicines have a direct impact on the health and safety of consumers. Mr. M N Buch, Advisor Editor, Bare Truth spoke on the role of media in spreading consumer education and awareness in curbing counterfeiting and smuggling.
In the panel discussion on intellectual property enforcement issues against smuggling and counterfeiting Mr. Deep Chand, advisor FICCI CASCADE highlighted the role of Police and customs enforcement of the techniques and schemes for curbing counterfeiting and smuggling in India. Mr. MR Krishna , ADG, CID Bhopal informed the gathering that CID is the nodal agency for reporting counterfeiting and smuggling cases and invited people to come forward and inform the police. He assured that prompt action would be taken on such reports. The other panel list Dr. D K Verma,Commissioner, Customs &Excise , Bhopal mentioned that the customs have taken this issue very seriously and is working to curb this issue. He mentioned that a conjoint effort of consumers, Industry and the enforcement agency is the key to curb this issue.
FICCI CASCADE Seminar on Curbing Counterfeiting and Smuggling – An Imperative for Indian Economy, GUJARAT
09/10/2012 | Ahmedabad
In the 4th consultation former Gujarat High Court Judge Hon’ble Justice D A Mehta emphasized on the meaning of counterfeiting according to Section 28 of the Indian Panel Code “A person is said to “counterfeit” who causes one thing to resemble another thing, intending by means of that resemblance to practice deception, or knowing it to be likely that deception will thereby be practiced”. He also observed that “Counterfeiters do not pay taxes which is a revenue loss for the government. Consequently, infrastructural spending in education, health and other sectors get reduced,” he observed.
Mr.Tobby Simon, President, Synergia Foundation discussed various researches and incidences related to counterfeiting. He also stated that counterfeiting and smuggling industry does not have any colour,it’s a global multibillion dollar industry. He mentioned that investigators have discovered that incomes from trading in fake cigarettes have been used to fund Al-Qaeda and the IRA. Mr. Simon stated that according to documents seized from Al-Qaeda camps, focus on counterfeiting operations as a means to replace revenues lost as a result of international counter terrorism efforts
Ms. Preeti Joshi, Member of Consumer Redressal District Forum, Gandhi nagar and Founder President, Consumer Affairs Research & Education Center put forth loss faced worldwide due to production of counterfeit products is 600 billion $ and also stated actions taken up by various economies in this direction. She mentioned that Homeland Security Force, US on 29th November,2012 shut 82 websites dealing with counterfeit products. She emphasized on the fact that grass root level needs to be targeted to clean up the economy.
Mr.Yashwant Shah, Editor, Jai Hind appealed to the media to wake up and show people the right path.He mentioned that the subject is very vast and we need to target the children and educate the masses to buy genuine products. He took an oath to take this message to the rural areas and fight against the menace.
Ms.Kavita Vijh, Commercial Specialist for IP, US Embassy highlighted various legal options – civil,criminal and administrative for the enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights. She presented various dimensions of IP crimes. IP Crimes lead to economic harm to rights holders, revenue loss to the states,consumer confusions, public health and safety etc. She further put forth her suggestions to combat counterfeiting by capacity building programmes, training and a strong IPR Enforcement Mechanism.
Experts also highlighted that price differences among neighbouring countries, tax arbitrage and ineffective control are a few reasons for this illicit trade. Thus the seminar ended with focus on growing link between counterfeiting, smuggling and crime. A disorder of this magnitude undermines economic development, a sound market economy system and open international trade and investment. No legitimate business and no country is immune to the impact of counterfeiters.
Therefore it calls for vigorous actions from all of us to counter the growing menace of counterfeiting and smuggling.
Youth Festival – Alaav- Consumer Calling, Srinagar
14/9/2012 | Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora, Srinagar
FICCI Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy in association with the Rotary Club of Kashmir valley, Srinagar, organized AALAV—Youth Festival on Consumer Rights at Islamic University of Science and Technology on 14thSeptember, 2012 in Srinagar. In a first of its kind event held at the Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora, students highlighted the issue of counterfeit and fake products and the need for consumer awareness through painting competition, debates, short skit presentations by artists and students and an interactive session.
Youth Festival on Consumer Rights was organised in association with the Rotary Club of Kashmir valley, Srinagar, at Islamic University of Science and Technology. Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture,Jammu & Kashmir, Ghulam Hassan Mir was the chief guest at the event. Other dignitaries present atthe event included Prof. A.R. Trag, Vice Chancellor Islamic University, Dr. Amit Wanchoo, President Rotary Club of Kashmir valley, Ms.Meenu Chandra, Joint Director FICCI and Mr.Brij Bhardawaj,Veteran Journalist.
In a first of its kind event taking place in the Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora,students highlighted the issue of counterfeit and fake products and the need for consumer awareness through painting competition, debates, short skit presentations by artists and students and an interactive session.
The Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Ghulam Hasan Mir in augurating the festival observed that such events make everyone conspicuous of the responsibility and what all is required to eradicate the evils ofsociety ; one of which is counterfeiting. He admitted that counterfeiting today has deep roots insociety and the impact is far more hazardous than expected to be. He remarked that things can be discussed politically but the impact or result of such political discussion takes a long time and are notvery effective. FICCI CASCADE has grabbed the right nerve by involving youth in the movement because any movement taken in hands by the youth has far reaching and long lasting impact.
Dr. Amit Wanchoo addressing the students threw light on how counterfeiting is affecting the woodcarving, handicraft industry, saffron and the shawl industry of the valley. Due to this counterfeiting the skill and the heritage of the artisan is being lost as the next generation of the artisan is no more interested in getting into the industry. Dr.Wanchoo pointed out that the situation in the valley isalarming and all the sectors together must target at creating awareness among the consumer and take the moment forward. He said that the students are the future of tomorrow and they need to take the initiative in their hands to curb this menace.
Vice Chancellor, Prof. A.R Trag welcomed all the guests to have graced the occasion. He appreciated the title of the event ALAAV- Consumer Calling and thanked FICCI CASCADE to have approached the university to launch the first youth festival. He said such steps are essential for revival of the cottage industry of the valley and most essentially saffron and handloom sector. He said that the problem today is lack of passion and through such events awareness and passion is to be ignited among the consumers. There is a need for consumers to demand their right of un adulterated genuine products.He gave some specific examples were the government has taken some steps towards safe guarding theinterest of saffron producers by providing them high yielding variety of seeds due to which the production of saffron has increased many folds.
Alaav- Consumer Calling-14,sep
Report on ALAAV
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FICCI CASCADE Seminar on Curbing Counterfeiting and Smuggling – An Imperative for Indian Economy-JAMMU & KASHMIR
13/9/2012 | Srinagar
The 3rd consultation was organised in Srinagar in collaboration with Kashmir Chambers of Commerce and Industry focusing on the growing link between counterfeiting, smuggling and crime.
Inaugurated by his Excellency, Shri N N Vohra, Governor, Jammu and Kashmir; the seminar was gracedby other dignitaries including the Hon’ble Minister of State Science and Technology Mr. Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi; Justice (Retd) Mr. B A Kirmani, President State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. In his welcome address Mr. Abdul Hamid Punjabi, President, Kashmir Chambers ofCommerce, cited examples of Kashmiri handicrafts, paper mache products and walnut woodhandicraft industry which are being adversely affected. He further enlightened the gathering on theseverity of the issue and its impact. He emphasized that there is a need to curb this menace and eachone of us have to take a collective stand and work towards formulating stringent policies.
Mr. Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, Minister for Science and Technology and Information Technology, raised concerns about counterfeit goods as they are not only harmful for the consumers but for thegovernment as well. The revenue of the government is zero as the manufacturers of such goods don’tpay tax. This black money is used for other illegal works such as terrorism and other unlawful activitieswhich pose threat to the nation. Talking about the magnitude of the problem it was informed that Asiais the largest producer of counterfeit goods while 70% of such items come from China. It was emphasized that the law enforcement agencies must act stringently to stop this menace.
His Excellency, Shri N N Vohra highlighted the problems faced by the artisans, manufacturers of handicrafts, saffron, walnut, shawl and carpet weaving industries in Jammu and Kashmir. His Excellency raised concerns vis-a-vis introduction of fake currency by the neighbour country to destroy our economy and huge un lawful funds which accrue from smuggling, fake currency, black money and hawala transactions that are being utilized by organized crime groups and mafia networks to foster illegal trade in arms and drugs and fund terrorist activities. He stressed upon buying and selling onlygenuine. He congratulated FICCI-CASCADE and Kashmir Chambers of Commerce for joining hands to deliberate on such an extremely important problem and expressed the hoped that the Seminar will culminate with a set of recommendations which would go a long way in curbing counterfeiting, smuggling and other organized crime.
Mr. Tobby Simon, President, Synergia Foundation mentioned that the terrorist groups like Al- Qedaare now raising money by indirectly getting into the counterfeit trade. The terrorist organizations arenow getting involved in trading in the counterfeit products instead of narcotics, they eitherthemselves or through some agents get in touch with the retailer or the middlemen lure them bymonetary benefits and make them sell the counterfeit product and hence destroy the supply chainintegrity. The money which is generated through this chain is then utilized by them in their terroristactivities causing a threat to national security.
FICCI-CASCADE Seminar on Curbing Counterfeiting and Smuggling – An Imperative for Indian Economy, UTTAR PRADESH
25/7/2012 | Lucknow
The 1st consultation at Lucknow on July 25th, 2012 flagged off the nationwide awareness building campaign to highlight the issues on the growing menace of counterfeit and smuggling. The seminar was presided by Dr.Arbind Prasad, Director General, FICCI, Shri DilipAwasthi, Resident Editor, Jagran Group, Shri Ajay Dixit, Commissioner- Customs, Lucknow (UP), Ms.Kalpana Reddy, First Secretary for Intellectual Property, US Embassy, New Delhi, Shri Vijay Acharya, President, Bharat Jyoti Foundation joined the consultation.
The objective of the event was to spread awareness about the menace of smuggling and counterfeiting. The event further helped sensitize the various stakeholders in the state of U.P on the problem of smuggling and counterfeiting and how it is not only affecting the economy but also poses a serious threat to our lives.
The seminar witnessed enthusiastic interaction where the delegate present demonstrated active interest in the issue concerned. Mr. Harsh Chawla, Trader, informed the gathering with the fact that the magnitude of the problem of counterfeiting in U.P. is high. Cigarettes are sold in the market for Re. 1 while the current tax structure does not allow any legal product to be sold below Rs. 250. The increasing volume of illicit trade encourages entry of organized criminals and leads to generation of huge black money. Issues have been raised in the past by media but manufacturing units are still running and evading huge amount of taxes.
Another delegate Mr.Aslam Ahmed, Advocate, Corporate Laws and IPR Laws brought the problem of distress on taxation between Government and public under notice. Mr. Dixit, Commissioner – Customs, Lucknow further added that implementation of IPR Act does not entail any revenue rather it is to avoid the sufferings of the economy. Mr.Jha, Advisor FICCI CASCADE emphasized on the role of the media to spread awareness among the public and taking the problem of consumers ahead
Another delegate from Unilever put forward a question on the seizures by customs stating that the seizures are more in Southern and Western part of country than in North and how to fill the gap between the import authorities and the companies. Commissioner of Customs welcomed information from companies which could help them detect counterfeit products.
Several suggestions were given by the delegates like disparity of taxes must be avoided by the Government to reduce smuggling; awareness must be spread among the consumers about the importance of cash memo and also manufacturer must come up with scheme for the consumers to detect counterfeit products. FICCI CASCADE should initiate a National helpline to register the cases of illicit trade. Also, Economic Court must be established as judges are reluctant to hear cases of economic offences.
CUSTOMS OFFICERS TRAINING, Delhi
02/07/2012 | Delhi
FICCI CASCADE conducted training program to sensitize and share information with the customs officers to detect and distinguish counterfeit products from the originals at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennaiand Bangalore
Samples of right holders/ brand owners and counterfeit/s were exhibited in the training workshops.Training was imparted on the methods of identification to detect and distinguish originals from counterfeits. Certain instances were narrated where the right owners have been successful in restricting counterfeit goods coming into the market.
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World Anti-Counterfeiting Day,2012, New Delhi
13/6/2012 | FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi
FICCI-CASCADE organised a one day seminar on Developing a Pro-active Strategy to Curb Counterfeiting to commemorate the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day 2012 on the 13th of June 2012.
Mr.PankajAgrawala (IAS), Special Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs inaugurated the seminar. He found the efforts of FICCI-CASCADE to take awareness against counterfeiting to the next generation as a necessary step in the fight against counterfeiting as attitudinal change towards counterfeit goods can best ensure the victory in the war against counterfeiting. He also challenged the industry to think more of the consumer and be innovative and give consumer value for money to address the demand side factors stoking the problem of counterfeit goods.
Earlier, welcoming the Chief Guest and the participants, Mr. Anil Rajput, VP, Corporate Affairs, ITC Ltd said “People should get the message that buying counterfeit products is damaging to the economy. The best way to do this is to make the customer realise the impact of buying a fake product,” said Rajput. On the sidelines of the seminar, an exhibition of the paintings of school children on the theme of “Fighting Counterfeit and Smuggling” was laid out. A catalogue book using some of these works was also released on this occasion. The event saw the participation of over 150 people.
The seminar had a coherent agenda with panel participation from industry leaders on the forefront of implementing anti-counterfeiting initiatives, one of the most active international industry bodies onthe subject, relevant government functionaries and the academia. Representatives of ITC, Microsoft, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, Castrol, Tata Motors, Hewlett-Packard, KPMG, ICC-BASCAP, GS1 India, DuPont, Department of Customs, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, University of Delhi, International Trademark Association (INTA), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police were on panel of the various sessions. The participant list was representative of the major stakeholders on CASCADE’s agenda. It included Toyota, Ford, Pfizer, Havell, Abbott Nutrition, Deloitte, Procter & Gamble, TATA Motors, Philips etc.
World Anti-Counterfeiting Day,2012, New Delhi
13/06/2012 | FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi
FICCI-CASCADE organised a one day seminar on Developing a Pro-active Strategy to Curb Counterfeiting to commemorate the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day 2012 on the 13th of June 2012.
Mr.Pankaj Agrawala (IAS), Special Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs inaugurated the seminar. He found the efforts of FICCI-CASCADE to take awareness against counterfeiting to the next generation as a necessary step in the fight against counterfeiting as attitudinal change towards counterfeit goods can best ensure the victory in the war against counterfeiting. He also challenged the industry to think more of the consumer and be innovative and give consumer value for money to address the demand side factors stoking the problem of counterfeit goods.
Earlier, welcoming the Chief Guest and the participants, Mr. Anil Rajput, VP, Corporate Affairs, ITC Ltd said “People should get the message that buying counterfeit products is damaging to the economy. The best way to do this is to make the customer realise the impact of buying a fake product,” said Rajput. On the sidelines of the seminar, an exhibition of the paintings of school children on the theme of “Fighting Counterfeit and Smuggling” was laid out. A catalogue book using some of these works was also released on this occasion. The event saw the participation of over 150 people.
The seminar had a coherent agenda with panel participation from industry leaders on the forefront of implementing anti-counterfeiting initiatives, one of the most active international industry bodies on the subject, relevant government functionaries and the academia. Representatives of ITC, Microsoft, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, Castrol, Tata Motors, Hewlett-Packard, KPMG, ICC-BASCAP, GS1 India, DuPont, Department of Customs, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, University of Delhi, International Trademark Association (INTA), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police were on panel of the various sessions. The participant list was representative of the major stakeholders on CASCADE’s agenda. It included Toyota, Ford, Pfizer, Havell, Abbott Nutrition, Deloitte, Procter & Gamble, TATA Motors, Philips etc.
