About This Section

This section collects previous-year Board examination questions (CBSE and State Boards) from Chapter 5 — Consumer Rights — with model answers, showing how the chapter is tested.

Board Previous Year Questions

Q1. What factors gave birth to the consumer movement in India? (3 marks)

Answer: The consumer movement arose from dissatisfaction with unfair trade practices and the absence of any legal protection. In the 1960s, rampant food shortages, hoarding, black-marketing and adulteration of food and edible oil led to its organised form. Till the 1970s consumer groups mainly wrote articles and held exhibitions; later there was an upsurge in consumer groups, strengthened internationally by the UN Guidelines (1985).

Q2. Explain any three consumer rights with an example each. (3 marks)

Answer:

  • Right to Safety: protection from hazardous goods/services - e.g., Reji crippled by improper anaesthesia won compensation.
  • Right to Information: to know product details - e.g., the printed MRP and expiry date let a consumer complain about overpricing or defects.
  • Right to Choose: to decide freely - e.g., Abirami got a fee refund because she had the right to discontinue a poor course.

Q3. Describe the three-tier redressal machinery set up under COPRA. (3 marks)

Answer: COPRA set up a three-tier quasi-judicial machinery: the District Commission for claims up to Rs 1 crore; the State Commission for claims between Rs 1 crore and Rs 10 crore; and the National Commission for claims above Rs 10 crore. A consumer whose case is dismissed at a lower level can appeal to the next higher level (district → state → national).

Q4. What legal measures has the government taken to empower and protect consumers in India? (5 marks)

Answer: The government has: (i) enacted COPRA 1986 (amended 2019), granting consumers legal rights and setting up a three-tier redressal system; (ii) enacted the RTI Act (2005) to ensure information about government functioning; (iii) established Departments of Consumer Affairs in central and state governments to spread awareness; and (iv) promoted standardisation marks - ISI, Agmark and Hallmark - which are mandatory for products affecting health and safety like LPG cylinders and packaged water. The 2019 amendment also covers internet purchases and allows a mediator for quicker settlement.

Q5. Critically examine the progress of the consumer movement in India. (5 marks)

Answer: Progress: India has an exclusive redressal system under COPRA, observes National Consumers' Day (24 December), has over 2,000 consumer groups, and strengthened protection through the 2019 amendment (internet buying, mediator, penalties). Limitations: only about 50-60 groups are well organised; redressal is cumbersome, expensive and time-consuming; cash memos are often not issued, so evidence is hard to gather; and enforcement of laws (including worker-protection laws) is weak. Overall, awareness is spreading but slowly, and the movement needs consumers' active participation to be truly effective.