Consumer Protection, Awareness and Welfare in India under Globalized Marketing - A Case Study in Kolkata

Consumer protection, awareness and welfare are the main challenging issues to modern day Globalised Marketing in India. Consumer Protection offers business to re-examine its marketing policies and programmes for meeting the ever growing needs of consumer welfare. It is being steadily transformed to a market of buyers who exercise the choices depending on their level of awareness from a market containing predominantly sellers. Consumers’ rights can be protected in an economy with the competitive markets if correct standards for the commodities for which one can make a payment have been ensured by the involvement of an institutional network and system of legal protection. Our paper has tried to focus on the protection and welfare of Indian potential consumers in the markets by showing their activities with the purchase of any product or service varying across the country. Compared to the developed countries, the levels of consumer awareness with a large population like India is much lower. This is rooted in economic inequality, low levels of literacy and ignorance. Because of this, consumers are not able to assert their rights and on many occasions are exploited by the trade and industry and service providers. Protecting and promoting the welfare of consumers has thus become one of the major concerns. On the basis of our empirical findings by applying the econometric methodology of simple linear and logistic regression with cross sectional data collected from a primary survey conducted in Kolkata Municipal area. Regular monitoring of the legislation to protect the consumers and promoting the welfare of the consumer is the ultimate aim of the study.