By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, NOV 25, 2024: IN a significant development, National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has partnered with over 1000 companies under its Convergence Programme to expedite grievance resolution. These companies span major sectors, including e-commerce, travel and tourism, private education, FMCG, consumer durables, electronic products, retail outlets, automobiles, DTH & cable services, and banking. Complaints related to these convergence companies are directly transferred to them for online resolution.

The number of convergence partners has steadily increased from 263 companies in 2017 to 1009 companies as of now. This growth highlights the role of these partners in enhancing the helpline's efficiency, enabling quick and effective grievance redressal and promoting transparency and accountability. The partnerships ensure that consumer complaints are addressed at the pre-litigation stage, fostering greater consumer trust. However, if a complaint remains unresolved, consumers are encouraged to approach the appropriate Consumer Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), Government of India, regularly monitors grievance data to improve the grievance redressal process. Recently, the Department identified the top ten non-convergence companies that have received the highest number of grievances during the current fiscal year (2024-25). These companies include Delhivery Limited, Electronicscomp.com, Domino's Pizza, Haier Appliances India Pvt. Ltd, FirstCry.com, Thomson India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Rapido, Orient Electric Limited, and Symphony Limited. A meeting with these companies is scheduled for next week, to discuss and address the ongoing grievances and to bring them onboard as convergence partners.

The technological transformation of NCH has led to a significant increase in its call-handling capacity. The number of calls received by NCH has grown nearly tenfold, from 14,795 calls in January 2015 to 1,41,817 calls in January 2024. This exponential growth reflects the rising confidence of consumers in using the helpline to register their grievances. The average number of complaints registered per month has surged from 37,062 in 2017 to 1,12,468 in 2024.

In a move to further improve the grievance redressal system, NCH is in the process of introducing AI-based Speech Recognition, a Translation System, and a Multilingual Chatbot as part of the NCH 2.0 initiative. These technological upgrades are aimed at making the grievance filing process more seamless, efficient, and inclusive.

The AI-powered Speech Recognition and Translation System will allow consumers to file complaints through voice input in their local languages, minimizing manual intervention. The Multilingual Chatbot will further streamline the complaint-handling process by providing real-time assistance, reducing manual data entry, and enhancing the overall user experience.

These changes will ensure that consumers from all linguistic backgrounds have equal access to the grievance redressal system. The Department of Consumer Affairs is committed to providing a hassle-free, speedy, and cost-effective grievance resolution process. The introduction of Generative AI, speech recognition, translation, and chatbot technologies under the NCH 2.0 initiative will mark a significant step in improving consumer protection at the pre-litigation stage.

The Department has revamped the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), making it the central point of access for consumers across India to seek grievance redressal at the pre-litigation stage. The helpline is available in 17 languages, including Hindi, English, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Nepali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Maithili, Santhali, Bengali, Odia, Assamese, and Manipuri, allowing consumers from all regions to register their grievances via the toll-free number 1915. Grievances can also be registered on the Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM) portal, a centralized IT-enabled system that offers multiple channels for filing complaints, such as WhatsApp, SMS, email, NCH app, web portal, and the Umang app.

Once complaints are received, NCH forwards them to the respective companies, regulators, or government departments for resolution.