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| Image by BBC |
The huge population of India, which, till not so long ago was seen as one of the nation's biggest problems, is today seen as its one of the biggest assets. The up-rise of the middle class has opened up more business opportunities in India than any other part of the world. While the western economies struggling to come out of recession, there aren’t any apparent signs of one in India. Auto, Telecom, Banking, Pharmaceuticals are all rising sectors in India. All of this has lead companies to introduce products in India at a break neck speed. And the Indian consumer who just never had so many options for every little thing, is now almost baffled. People are coming out of the 'savings' mentality and are spending more money for maintaining a better lifestyle. All of this is good. Consumers have more options, companies have a great market. But there are a few things which could bring about bad consequences for consumers if not handled properly:
Consumer laws
Few months back I read about Maruti Suzuki's A-Star having some problems with its fuel tank which could cause fuel leakage, consequently a posing fire danger. I was absolutely shocked when I read a statement by a Maruti spokesperson indicating that there are no such laws in India under which they are mandated to recall the cars for safety fears. Another auto industry analyst also highlighted:
"In India, there is no law of highway safety or any regulatory authority of that nature which requires them to make such disclosures."
Although Maruti did recall the cars after a global widespread of the problem and also probably because of the incessant criticism, what this brings into light is a general state of consumer safety laws in the country. There is probably just very little that most of the companies have to go through before launching new products in the market (as compared to West) and worse of all, they can always get away with almost any wrong doing.Is it Amnesia?
Secondly, I guess we have a short term memory as far as buying decisions are concerned. Even if a company is known for introducing bad products in the past, we, as consumers base our buying decisions largely on the spot deal rather than the long term reputation of the company.
I think as consumers, the onus lies with us that we make the right decisions for ourselves. Huge multi-nationals will flood the market with all sorts of products. They will almost force us into buying anything with their intelligent marketing. But end of the day, its our money, our family, our health and our life. We should all think through the long term effects of our buying decisions. A packet of potato chips was bad when it didn't have any saturated fat. It is still bad when it doesn't have any trans fat. It will still be bad when it won't have some new kind of fat!!
