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The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has been upgraded to make it easier for people across the country to file complaints before going to court, the Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution, BL Verma, informed the Lok Sabha on July 24.
The Minister added in his written reply to the LS that the upgraded NCH is accessible to everyone in the country and supports 17 languages, including Hindi, English, and several regional languages. People can call the toll-free number 1915 or use various methods like WhatsApp, SMS, email, the NCH app, the web portal, or the Umang app to register their complaints. "Transformative changes and technological upgradation of the NCH has led to increase in the call handling capacity of National Consumer Helpline," a release by Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution added separately. The NCH handles complaints from a vast area, such as online shopping, banking, electronics, consumer goods, digital payments, telecom services, legal matters, retail stores, internet services, and various service agencies. The Ministry said that the initiative has seen remarkable success as the number of calls received at NCH has increased during the last few years. These initiatives taken by the Department have also encouraged consumers to register their grievances on the NCH, manifesting an increase in the number of grievances registered at the NCH, the Ministry said. As per the data shared by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, the NCH recived 1,07,966 complaints in Financial Year 2024-25 between April 24 and June 24, while the number in FY 2022-23 stood at 83,832 cases. The NCH received 1,02,976 complaints in FY 2023-24. The Ministry further added that to better assist consumers, the NCH regularly trains its staff in legal and technological skills through workshops. This ensures that the helpline staff can provide accurate information about consumer rights and effectively manage cases while keeping data secure and confidential. NCH was set up by the Department of Consumer Affairs to handle the complaints of the consumers. A consumer can lodge his complaint in the NCH through the toll-free number 1800-11-4000 / 14404, sms, or online through the portal. "INGRAM" (www.consumerhelpline.gov.in). (ANI)
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