Areas of work

Consumer Protection :
Consumer protection has been one of the core areas of work involved in by CREAT. Since its inception in 1993 CREAT has taken special interest in protecting the interests of the consumers. This is done through handling consumer complaints, representing consumers in various policy making bodies, filing complaints in consumer forum, mediation etc. CREAT has filed some complaints in the forum and has been successful.

Governance and Right to Information :
As part of its program on empowering civil society in Governance, CREAT has been focusing on issues relating to citizens' Right to Information, Citizens' Charters and strengthening grievance redressal machinery in government departments. CREAT has launched a campaign on Right to Information in Karnataka from June 2004. This is being supported by Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi.

Consumer Participation in Power Sector Regulation and Reform :
The process of economic reforms and liberalization has ushered in an era of regulation. Public services like telecom, banking and power sector have come under the umbrella of independent regulation. However the benefits of regulation will accrue to the public only through an active involvement and participation of civil society organizations. Realising the importance of consumer involvement in power sector reforms, CREAT launched a project entitled 'Public Understanding and Participation'(PUP) in October 2003 with the assistance of USAID. The project was successfully completed in June 2004.

At present CREAT is continuing the project independently. The activities include training programs, seminars, workshops, publications and participating in public hearings organized by the electricity regulatory Commission.

Consumer Education :
Since its establishment in 1993 CREAT has been actively involved in consumer educating consumers both formal and informal. CREAT has established consumer clubs in schools and colleges. Activities include debates, essay and quiz competitions, exhibitions, drawing competitions etc. A Consumer Educators Network (CENET) has been constituted to assist schools, colleges and educational institutions to set up consumer clubs. In addition a Students Consumer Action Network (SCAN) has been established to coordinate the activities of various consumer clubs.

Consumer Information Centre :
CREAT has established a Consumer Information Centre with financial assistance from Ministry of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Government of India. The CIC acts as a Consumer guidance and counseling hub. The CIC consists of a library with over 3000 books, 25 magazines, 7000 paper clippings and a large number of workshop reports, papers, presentations, monographs etc. CIC is a repository of judgments delivered by consumer forum/commission. Judgments from 1987 is available for reference and study.

Clipping Service :
CREAT has a clipping service. Documents, judgments, reports, paper clippings etc. are made available to consumers, students, researchers, media persons on payment of actual cost of Xerox, postage/courier.

Trade, economics and Globalisation :
CREAT believes that globalisation and its effect is a major concern for consumer safety and security. Trade and globalisation is another area of focus of CREAT. At present CREAT is involved in a campaign called GRANITE on trade and globalisation supported by Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) Jaipur. The project involves conducting

 

 

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