New Delhi, April 8 Illicit trade in India remains as a “shadow economy” that impacts consumer trust, honest businesses and public revenues, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday.
The objective is not just consumer protection, but consumer prosperity, the minister said as he pointed to initiatives such as the Central Consumer Protection Authority, the National Consumer Helpline, and the Jago Grahak Jago campaign as key pillars in empowering citizens, according to a statement from FICCI.
Addressing a seminar, the minister called for a broader coalition reminding it is the "shared responsibility of government, industry and society" to combat illicit trade.
Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said consumer protection has evolved from awareness-building to a technology-enabled system. “From ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ to AI-driven grievance redressal, we are building a system that is faster, more efficient, and transparent,” she said.
She noted the improvements in grievance redressal, saying resolution timelines have been cut from 63 days to around 21 days, and in some online cases even within 72 hours.
“While e-commerce platforms operate at scale and require continuous regulatory engagement, they are also increasingly stepping up—through measures such as delisting and stronger monitoring—to combat counterfeit products,” the secretary said.
She called for a multi-pronged approach, including stronger quality standards, support for MSMEs, greater platform accountability, and enhanced enforcement across both digital and physical markets.
The seminar brought together senior policymakers, judicial leaders, enforcement officials, industry representatives, and consumer organisations to deliberate on the growing threat of illicit trade and the need for stronger consumer-centric frameworks.
“Smuggling and counterfeiting are fundamentally profit-driven crimes. Disrupting their financial flows is essential to dismantling these networks, rather than merely intercepting consignments,” said P C Jha, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and Former Chairman, CBIC.
Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE, called for stronger implementation of rules and deeper institutional coordination due to the evolving nature of illicit trade demands.
He stressed better intelligence-sharing across agencies, stronger enforcement mechanisms, and greater use of technology to detect and prevent violations.
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