INVC,,
Delhi,,
India and Germany jointly formulated a project for bilateral cooperation in the area of environment and sustainable development here today. One of the components of this cooperation is in the area of consumer protection. The first phase of the scheme covered the period 2007-08 and the second phase will cover the period 2009-12. The second phase has started from April, 2009. Workshops were held with stakeholders and the German experts also visited India to provide assistance in the areas like comparative testing, alternative disputes redressal mechanism and strengthening of the Voluntary Consumer Organizations. Training was also provided in the area of legal metrology. Equipment is also being supplied to upgrade and modernize 4 selected model legal metrology laboratories at Indore and Delhi.
In the second phase of the project, the areas of consumer advice and redressal models will be focused on as well as implementation of some of the recommendations made during the first phase.
The Federal Republic of Germany and the Government of India already have a joint Working Group on Agriculture, in which discussions are held on areas of mutual interest. The scope of this joint Working Group has now been extended to include the subject of consumer protection also. Thus, issues of mutual interest on consumer protection would be discussed in the joint Working Group meetings and this would further strengthen the already existing cooperation between the two countries in the area of consumer protection.
