It was presumed that it was the responsibility of consumers to be careful while buying a commodity or service:

(i)It took many years for organisations in India, and around the world, to create awareness amongst people.

(ii)This has also shifted the responsibility of ensuring quality of goods and services on the sellers.

(iii)In India, the consumer movement as a ‘social force’ originated with the necessity of protecting and promoting the interests of consumers against unethical and unfair trade practices.

(iv)Rampant food shortages, hoarding, black marketing, adulteration of food and edible oil gave birth to the consumer movement in an organised form in the 1960s.

(v)Till the 1970s, consumer organisations were largely engaged in writing articles and holding exhibitions. They formed consumer groups to look into the malpractices in ration shops and overcrowding in the road passenger transport.