Due to the COVID-19 lock-down, I went back home in March. COVID-19 outbreak came to light in December, 2019 and started from Wuhan, China; when it was declared to WHO that cluster cases of pneumonia-like disease were spreading due to unknown causes. Later, WHO declared it pandemic seeing the enormous increase in cases all over the world.

In India, the first case of COVID-19 was reported on January 30, 2020 which originated from China. When the pandemic started wreaking havoc, as a preventive measure the Government of India announced a nationwide lock-down for 21 days starting from March 24. Since then we saw four phases of lock-down and for phases of unlock as well.

When corona-virus is prevalent in society and everybody is scared and anxious because of the pandemic, when we all are fighting at our own levels; during lock-down period, there was one fight which was fought by daily wagers, low class workers, and by their mothers, sisters and wives as well as their sons, brothers or husbands who had gone to different states as migrant workers. They were anxious and worried about their family members as they didn’t know how their family members would be surviving far away from their homes when they had no jobs and money with them and no way to return as well.

Today, I am going to share the story of my house help, Rajkumari, whose three sons Kamlesh, Vimlesh and Mithilesh had gone to Gujarat for work. Two of them worked in brick factories whereas the younger one worked as road or tiles labourer. But because of the lock-down there was no work for them, hence they were not getting paid and their ration also got finished in the first week of the lock-down. All the three members stayed at different parts of Gujarat as they all work at different places.

In the first few weeks Rajkumari cried a lot and called us daily. My mother consoled her and we helped her and her sons in whatever way we could. One day she came to our house somehow, sat outside and started crying uncontrollably, we asked her what the reason was? To which she replied that her son was telling her to come home by foot and as she was listening to many accident stories, she was scared. We called her son and told him to wait for some days in the view that maybe the government thinks of helping these people so that they could also reach their safe place which is home. Firstly, he was not listening but at last we were able to persuade him to wait there and not come home by foot.

In some days his wait was over as the government relaxed the lockdown and started Shramik Train Sewa from May 7 and by God’s grace his contractor helped him to get his pass. He reached home in some days and was staying outside his home to complete the quarantine period. Rajkumari’s family members had built a makeshift hut for him. Her second son, Vimlesh also got his pass made and he also reached home after some days after going through quite an ordeal.

Vimlesh stayed with four other friends who were from the same place. Vimlesh’s contractor asked for Rs. 1000 from each of them for getting the pass made. They thought that anyhow they will reach home so they gave the money. The contractor ran away with the money and stopped picking their call. When they got totally frustrated, they texted him that if he wouldn’t get the pass made, they would go to the police. The threat worked and he received the call as soon as he saw that message. He made an excuse of his phone not working and affirmed that he would get their passes made soon and not more than two days passed, he came with the passes and with money as well. So, in a week they also started their journey.

The third son whose factory continued running in the first two months of lock-down as his contract was getting over after that so he didn’t go through any such problems. After two months, his contractor helped his pass getting made without hassle and he came home back without facing any problem.

Here Rajkumari who was happy beyond limits as her sons came back told us that she was worried sick about their sons as she was afraid whether she would be able to see her sons or not. When all of her sons returned back, she promised to herself that she wouldn’t let her sons go back. She said that even if they had less money, they would survive happily but she was not able to survive without knowing how her sons would be. She even went on to extend that even at her age she could happily feed her sons but can and will never put their lives in danger.

The problem of one Rajkumari and her sons were solved but there were many whose situations never saw a daylight as due to lack of ration, food, money and help, many of the workers set out for the journey back home on foot with the blisters on the foot, not adequate food, with their family which comprised of the women, kids and old members. They went for days walking and some even couldn’t reach home because of misshapen like train accidents, road accidents and many people passed away in the middle of the route because of walking for days in April-June heat which is really scorching heat without much water or food which led to dehydration, heat-stroke and other such health problems.

This pandemic many people lost their jobs, hopes, careers, integrity and even their lives. But this lock-down has also made us become more resilient and patient. Many of the people came on the road to help these walkers. People pooled in to help each other. The fight with COVID-19 is continuing and we all will fight it, keep each other safe and try to be happier as we all live once.

Pranab Mukherjee, who served as the 13th President of India from 2012 to 2017 passed away Monday evening at the age of 84. His son, Abhijit Mukherjee has confirmed his dismissal through his tweet. Mukherjee had suffered a fall at his Rajaji Marg house and had been operated to remove a blood clot in his brain on August 10. He was also tested positive for Covid-19. Doctors on Monday morning warned that there was a decline in his condition. Soon after, Abhijit Mukherjee also tweeted a request to people, asking them to pray for his father. “He is a fighter & with all your good wishes & prayers , He will surely recover !” Abhijit tweeted.

Three hours later, Abhijit made the announcement on social media.

“With a Heavy Heart , this is to inform you that my father Shri #PranabMukherjee has just passed away in spite of the best efforts of Doctors of RR Hospital & prayers ,duas & prarthanas from people throughout India !,” he tweeted.

Mukherjee was born on 11 December 1935 in Mirati. His political career spanned five decades, the highest point of which came when he became President of India. He was Minister of Finance between 2009 and 2012, Minister of Defence (2004-2006), Minister of External Affairs (2006-2009).

Pranab Mukherjee was also awarded India’s highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna in 2019 by the current President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.

Politicians like Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Amit Shah and many others are giving their condolences to his family through their tweets.

The Supreme Court of India gave the final judgment of the criminal contempt case against the prominent lawyer, Mr. Prashant Bhushan on Monday. A fine ₹1 was imposed on him and if the lawyer fails to do so, he will be jailed for 3 months besides a debarment from practice for a period of 3 years.

It was the two tweets of Mr. Bhushan which were said to be derogatory and “scandalising” the court. Scandalising the court broadly refers to statements or publications which have the effect of undermining public confidence in the judiciary. The Contempt of Court Act, 1971, outlines the procedure in relation to investigation and punishment for contempt. The objective behind this is to prevent the degradation of the court’s image in the eyes of the people, thereby securing the public confidence in the courts.

The case against Mr. Bhushan was filed because of his tweets where he accused CJI Bobde of hypocrisy, posting the judge’s image on a luxurious Harley-Davidson bike. He wrote that the CJI is riding a bike without helmet and mask, keeping the doors of the court closed for the public. In another of his tweets, Mr. Bhushan had targetted the SC especially the last four CJIs and held them responsible for the “destruction of democracy” in India.

The case was historical as it focused on the limitations to the Fundamental Right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the constitution. The contempt of case is a “reasonable restriction” to free speech. There has always been a clash between free speech on one hand and the public/national interests on the other. The SC judgement of imposing a fine of ₹1 can be said to be an attempt to strike a balance between the two. The lawyer was punished in a way that he is declared guilty while also not being too harsh on him in the sentence. The case against Mr.Bhushan was seen as a test of free expression in the world’s largest democracy.

India and Russia, the two finalists of FIDE online Chess Olympiad have been announced as the joint winners of the tournament, following a server failure that caused many players to lose connections.

At first, Russia was initially declared the winner, when two Indian players, Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh, lost their games at in the finals on a time basis while their time was lost due to loss of internet connection.

India had lodged the official appeal after the controversial result and said that players’ internet connection had gone down due to server failure. The two countries were declared joint winners after India’s appeal. The International Chess Federation Fide issued a statement saying that it’s chairman Arkadi Dborkovich decided to award gold medals to both teams. This was the first time that FIDE conducted the Olympiad in an online format.

The first round was a 3-3 draw between the two teams in the final. The second round was also on par with Nihal and Divya being declared defeated on time. India was represented in the tournament by Vidit Gujarati, former world champions Viswanathan Anand, Koneru Hampi, D Harika, R Pragananda, P. Harikrishna, and Divya Deshmukh.

India rested Anand in the first round and were drawing six bets in the first round. In the second round, Anand, Vidit and Harika played with the likes of lan Nepomaniacchi , Danil Dubov and Aleksandra Kosteniuk respectively, while Divya was leading her side to victory against Polina Shuvalova. Hampi and Aleksandra were on a par with Goryachkina and Nihal and Andrei Espenko.

A sudden server failure caused both Nihal and Divya to lose their internet connection with their games and lost them on time. In the final the score went 4.5-1.5 in favor of Russia. But India appealed to the appeals committee, favouring this technical aspect and FIDE changed the decision and declared the two countries joint winners.

“We all have our demons, that doesn’t mean you’ll stop fighting
to it”
Mental illness is a really serious issue at the same time being the
most unpredictable as well as unnoticeable. we can never predict
just by looking at the person what he/she is going through.
Mental illness are basically chronic distruption in neural circuits of
the brain. The distrupted neural circuit affect the functioning of
brain in the ways of how a person thinks, feels, acts, behave etc.
The distrupted neural circuit eventually dramatically effect the
person’s mood and make them hallucinate or believe the things
that actually doesn’t exists or make sense.
It can be caused either by biological factors or environmental
factors such as genetic, drug,alcohol,stress or lack of sleep.
The society we’re living in, most of the people tend to avoid the
problem of mental illness, or hesitate to share these kinds of
issues, but remember if you’re not speaking it you’re storing it and
that’s get heavy.
It’s extremely hard for the society to understand you unless you
speak to them.
There is no cure for this but the recovery is definitely possible.
Just by doing self care & little things you can keep your brain
healthy ,calm & avoid the mental illness
1-stay socially active, the more you communicate the more you
get comfortable with people around you.

2.practice mindfulness on daily basis

3.spend more time with loved ones

4.have balanced diet

5.have proper 8hr sleep

• 

According to several search engines “Freedom is the power and ability to think, act and speak without hindrance or restraint. Freedoms are often enshrined in the charters and constitutions of nations as foundations of law. It is also common for laws to restrict freedoms in various ways.” But the meaning of freedom for every individual is different. According to a few people, freedom means the right attitude which can transform a barrier into a blessing, an obstacle into an opportunity, or a stumbling block into a stepping stone. In other words, breaking barriers is freedom. The barrier to success is not something that exists in the real world; it is composed purely and simply of doubts about ability. Setting our wings open to fly high and high until you touch the clouds and achieve your dreams is freedom. Freedom is something that lets you fight all the challenges to accomplish your goal. Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
You’re a free man in a beautiful world
Living the dream they say
You got to wake up and shake off
All the laziness that’s in your way
Hey dreamer why are you dreaming
What are you doing still sleeping

You’re a nightmare, to handle,
And this life you’re living is a scandal
Freedom in a jail, cozy in a hole,
All that dripping wax in a candle bowl
What a waste of life that’s too much to bear
Take me seriously and start to care

Freedom is a choice, choose it with your wisdom
There isn’t any comfort zone, in any living organ
Try and take a chance, you never know the outcome
It will be hard,
But you’re going to earn freedom.
You can be the most beautiful person in the world and everybody sees light and rainbows when they look at you, but if you yourself don’t know it, all of that doesn’t even matter. Every second that you spend on doubting your worth, every moment that you use to criticize yourself; is a second of your life wasted, is a moment of your life thrown away. It’s not like you have forever, so don’t waste any of your seconds, don’t throw even one of your moments away and this is freedom. You said you knew the perfect place to run to. A place that was empty of people, and buildings, and far, far away. A place covered in blood-red earth and sleeping life. A place longing to come alive again. It’s a place for disappearing, you’d said, a place for getting lost… and for getting found.
I’ll take you there, you’d said. And I could say that I agree and this is freedom. Freedom lies within us. Endings are powerful. Get the ending wrong, and your growth could be stunted by lingering baggage that saps your energy and attention. A properly executed ending however, provides closure and cleanliness, readying you to attack the new with refreshed vigour. Build your life on your dreams; because dreams never have bad endings. As one grows older, one views many things with a more relaxed perspective. However, there are also certain things that all of a sudden start to become more difficult: climbing the stairs, pulling on roller shutter belts and using a manual handle to extend the awning – all these things require a considerable expenditure of energy. However, one thing is a non-negotiable for you: you continue to value your independence. Above all, within your own four walls.
“BE FREE to achieve your goals and this is real freedom, this is the really independence.

By. Kumari lili

A group of experts recently held a webinar organised by Udaipur-based NGO Usanas foundation on “Rethinking India’s ‘One China Policy’: Tragedy of Tibet”. The list of speakers had names of Former Special Secretary, Krishan Varma, Prof. Srikanth Kondapalli, Abhijeet Iyer-Mitra Senior Fellow, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies and Tibetan Activist and Writer Tenzin Tsundue.

Experts have said that India should support the democratic government in Hong Kong, must establish economic and technological relations with Taiwan. On 18 Apr, 2018, The Modi Government announced its revised Foreign Direct Investment Policy which stated that for China to invest in any venture in India it will have to take the Indian Government’s approval first.

Since last few years Taiwan has also invested in Indian Energy and Technology sector so the question arises that will the new policy stop Taiwan’s Investment too? The answer is no as India has declared that the revised policy will not apply on Taiwan hence continuing its friendly relations with Taiwan.

Background

Since 1949, India has followed One China policy and in 1950, India became the first non-published country to establish diplomatic relations with China.

China was ruled by Qing Dynasty from 1644 to 1912. In 1894, Japan attacked on China and captured the present day country known as Korea, a part of Island and Present known island country Taiwan. It came to be known as 1^st Sino-Japan War. In the aftermath of the war the Qing Dynasty started to fall apart.

To unify the fallen China, a brave person named as Sun-Yat-San came forward. In 1912, he formed a party named as Kaumin Tang Party (Republic of China). He succeeded in his mission but, the success did not stay for long. After the death of Mr. Sun-Yat-Sun in 1925, the party got divided into two parts namely Nationalists and Communists. The Nationalists party was led by Chang Kai Skek while the latter was led by Mao Zedong. Both the leaders wanted to retain the dream of Sun-Yat-Sun but began to grow distant due to the difference of opinions. Further, mao Zedong wanted to have full control of China.

The distribution took place due to the difference of views of the two parties:

• The nationalists believed that the citizens shall be given the power to decide on how they should live while the communists believed that the party should decide that how the citizens should live.
• The nationalists believed in democracy while the communists believed in dictatorship.

 In 1927, however the difference took the shape of civil war wherein the nationalists began to kill the members of the communist parties along with their families in Shanghai.

On the other hand, Japan in 1931 captured one of the largest states of China, Manchuria. It tortured the people of China like hell. Whoever spoke Chinese was shot dead. Later, declared 2^nd Sino-Japan War in1935 which ended in 1945 after nuclear attack.

After Japan’s retreat Manchuria came to China and communists started to plot against Nationalists. They took the help of Russia (also a communist country) to eliminate the latter. Later, in 1949, communists declared mainland China as a communist country and named it as People’s Republic of China (PRC). The nationalists, who were around 20 lakh, under the leadership of Chang Kai Skek took all the cattle and all the needful things and moved to an island named Formosa known as Taiwan today. With this the civil war continued till 1950.

Chang Kai Skek declared the island to be Republic of China (ROC) and pledged to bring the other counterpart with his country which he claimed to be ‘real’ China.

 Washington and other countries recognized Taiwan as Real China. United Nations which was established in 1945 gave Taiwan a permanent seat. But, in 1971, Washington’s President Richard Nixon began to shift to People’s Republic of China and Taiwan lost its permanent seat in United Nations as well.

People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims that there is only ‘one’ China and that Taiwan is it inalienable part.

In 1992, an agreement was signed between Chinese communist party and Kuomintang named as “Consensus”. It states that there is only one China but allows for differing interpretations and that Taiwan will not seek independence. However, in January 2019, the President of Republic of China (Taiwan)   Tsai Ing -Wen declared that ‘one country, two systems’ framework will no longer be acceptable thereby, rejecting the ‘Consensus’.

Present Scenario

Amidst the face-off between China and India on Line of Actual Control (LAC), Taiwan had released a poster showing Lord Rama preparing a arrow to shoot the Chinese Dragon citing “We Conquer. We Kill”. This shows how much Taiwan supports India. Furthermore, it provided masks to India and warned it about COVID 19 in 2019.

Although the diplomatic relation between Taiwan and India are unofficial but they have improved a lot and should continue to develop further.

The webinar has raised various rational points.

• It is believed that India should show its full support to Taiwan.
• It should support the efforts Tibetians to have self-rule.
• India shall allow Uighur leaders to visit the country which has been denied several times in the past.
• It should increase its relations with Taiwan since it’s a technology and economic superpower.
• It should refrain from recognizing the annexation of Tibet and Turkestan.

Former Deputy National Security Advisor Arvind Gupta has expressed his concerns that India is not taking a dynamic approach and has not moved much in revising policy and taking forward. During a webinar recently organized by Law and Society Alliance and Defence, he suggested that India should be supporting the attempts of the Tibetans to achieve self-rule and should provide Dalai Lama more recognition and position in diplomatic engagements, aside from visibility in India’s political circles. Along with this, India must begin economic and technological engagements with Taiwan, besides supporting it politically. He also recommended garnering India’s support to the democratic movement in Hong Kong, albeit India doesn’t join the western countries’ joint efforts at isolating China in geopolitics. He also recommended Indian support to the voices against human rights violations in Xinjiang at global fora.[1]

Conclusion

If China mandates the countries to sign One China Policy to allow them to do trade with it then India should also make it mandatory for all countries to sign One India Policy stating that Jammu & Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are India’s part. China should know that this is not 1962 (in reference to Indo-China War, 1962). This is New India.

Plus, I believe that when in India during the fight for Independence, Pakistan was given to Muslim League (Mohammad Ali Jinnah) as an independent State then why can’t China do the same for Taiwan?

India should fully support Taiwan and bring technology from it. This will reduce our dependence on China for electrical goods which comprises of maximum part of goods exported to India from China. In return India can sell weapons and missiles (Brahmos) to Taiwan to strengthen its defense. This will show our full support to Taiwan.

After all this, this is for sure that India needs to ReThink its One China Policy.

---

[1]S. Manish, “Experts ask India to revise ‘One China’ policy, urges it to consider these five points immediately’, 23 Jun, 2020

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has come into enforcement from 20 Jul, 2020. Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, did the briefing of the act to the media on the same date through video conference. It will replace the old Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Background

On 8 Jul, 2019, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan introduced the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha. It was passed in the Lok Sabha on 30 Jul, 2019. Later, on 6 Aug, 2019, it was passed in the Rajya Sabha. The bill got assent from Hon’ble President Shri

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has come into enforcement from 20 Jul, 2020. Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, did the briefing of the act to the media on the same date through video conference. It will replace the old Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
Background
On 8 Jul, 2019, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan introduced the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha. It was passed in the Lok Sabha on 30 Jul, 2019. Later, on 6 Aug, 2019, it was passed in the Rajya Sabha. The bill got assent from Hon’ble President Shri Ram Nath Kovind on 9 August, 2019 and was notified in The Gazette of India on the same date.
The date of enforcement of the act was mentioned on the bill as 20 Jul, 2020. So, the act came into enforcement on the prescribed date. From now on, all the cases on consumer disputes will be decided according to the provisions of this particular Act.
What’s New?
As expected the new Act is full of new and improved provisions. One of them is Mediation mentioned from Sec 74 to 81 of the respective Act which will help in the speedy disposal of the disputes. Others are:
Sr. no. Title Explanation

1. Covers E-Commerce Transactions The New Act has broadened the definition of ‘consumer’. The updated definition includes a person who buys any goods, whether through offline or online transactions, electronic means, teleshopping, direct selling or multi-level marketing. The earlier Act did not specifically include e-commerce transactions, and this shortfall has been taken care of by the New Act.
2. Enhancement of Pecuniary Jurisdiction Revised pecuniary limits are fixed under the New Act. Accordingly, the district forum can now entertain consumer complaints where the value of goods or services paid is below INR 10,000,000 (Indian Rupees Ten Million). The State Commission can entertain disputes where the worth of products is more than INR 10,000,000 (Indian Rupees Ten Million) but less than INR 100,000,000 (Indian Rupees One Hundred Million), and the National Commission can exercise jurisdiction where such value is more than INR 100,000,000 (INR One Hundred Million).
3. E-Filling of Complaints The New Act provides flexibility to the buyer to file complaints with the jurisdictional consumer forum located at the place of residence or work of the buyer. This is unlike the present practice of filing it at the place of purchase or where the vendor has its registered office address. The New Act also contains enabling provisions for consumers to file complaints electronically and for hearing and/or examining parties through video-conferencing. This is aimed to supply procedural ease and reduce inconvenience and harassment for the consumers.
4. Establishment of Central Consumer Protection Authority The New Act initiated the establishment of a regulatory authority known as the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), with extensive powers of enforcement. The CCPA will have an investigation wing, headed by a Director-General, which will conduct inquiry or investigation into the consumer law violations.

• The CCPA has been granted wide powers to take suo-moto actions (an action when the court takes its own control over the case), recall products, order reimbursement of the price of goods/services, cancel licenses and file class-action suit, if a consumer complaint affects more than one individual.

1. Provision for ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) The New Act provides for mediation as an Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism, making the process of dispute adjudication simpler and faster. This will help with the speedier resolution of disputes and decrease the pressure on consumer courts, which already have a lot of cases pending before them.
2. Product Liability & Penal Consequences The New Act has instituted the concept of merchandise liability and brings within its scope, the merchandise manufacturer, merchandise service provider and merchandise seller, for any claim of compensation. The term ‘merchandise seller’ refers to a person who is involved in placing the merchandise for a commercial purpose and as such includes e-commerce platforms too. The defense that e-commerce platforms merely act as ‘platforms’ or ‘aggregators’ will no longer be accepted. There is increased liability risk for manufacturers as compared to the merchandise service providers and merchandise sellers, considering that under the New Act, manufacturer will be liable in merchandise liability action albeit he proves that he wasn’t negligent or fraudulent in making the express warranty of merchandise. Certain exceptions have been provided under the New Act from liability claims, such as, that the merchandise seller won’t be liable where the merchandise has been misused, altered or modified.
3. Penalties for Misleading Advertisements The CCPA may impose a penalty of up to INR 1,000,000 (Indian Rupees One Million) on a manufacturer or an endorser, for a false or misleading advertisement. The CCPA can also sentence them to imprisonment for up to 2 (two) years for the same. In case of a subsequent offence, the fine of maximum INR 5,000,000 (Indian Rupees Five Million) and imprisonment of up to five years. Furthermore, the CCPA can prohibit the endorser of a misleading advertisement from endorsing that specific product or service for a period of up to one year. For every subsequent offence, the period of prohibition can be of maximum three years.

• The New Act fixes liability on sellers considering that there are various instances in recent past where consumers have fallen prey to unfair trade practices under the influence of celebrities acting as brand ambassadors. In such cases, it becomes important for the endorser to take the onus and exercise due diligence to verify the veracity of the claims made in the advertisement to refute liability claims

1. Unfair Trade Practices The New Act introduces a specific broad definition of Unfair Trade Practices, which also includes sharing of personal information given by the consumer in confidence, unless such disclosure is made in obedience to the provisions of any other law.

Conclusion
It is clear that the scope of the new Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has been widened by the Indian Legislature. The Act has strengthened the consumer’s rights by establishing authorities, imposing strict liabilities etc. With the enforcement of the new act gone are the days when the consumer had to ‘beware’. Now, consumers will be treated like Kings. Sellers will now have to become more attentive regarding their malpractices and will have to be extra cautious. Through this, now, we know for sure that the world is changing and our Indian Legislature is improving. We are now good to go!!

on the same date.

The date of enforcement of the act was mentioned on the bill as 20 Jul, 2020. So, the act came into enforcement on the prescribed date. From now on, all the cases on consumer disputes will be decided according to the provisions of this particular Act.

What’s New?

As expected the new Act is full of new and improved provisions. One of them is Mediation mentioned from Sec 74 to 81 of the respective Act which will help in the speedy disposal of the disputes. Others are:

Sr. no.	Title	Explanation
1.	Covers E-Commerce Transactions	The New Act has broadened the definition of ‘consumer’. The updated definition includes a person who buys any goods, whether through offline or online transactions, electronic means, teleshopping, direct selling or multi-level marketing. The earlier Act did not specifically include e-commerce transactions, and this shortfall has been taken care of by the New Act.
2.	Enhancement of Pecuniary Jurisdiction	Revised pecuniary limits are fixed under the New Act. Accordingly, the district forum can now entertain consumer complaints where the value of goods or services paid is below INR 10,000,000 (Indian Rupees Ten Million). The State Commission can entertain disputes where the worth of products is more than INR 10,000,000 (Indian Rupees Ten Million) but less than INR 100,000,000 (Indian Rupees One Hundred Million), and the National Commission can exercise jurisdiction where such value is more than INR 100,000,000 (INR One Hundred Million).
3.	E-Filling of Complaints	The New Act provides flexibility to the buyer to file complaints with the jurisdictional consumer forum located at the place of residence or work of the buyer. This is unlike the present practice of filing it at the place of purchase or where the vendor has its registered office address. The New Act also contains enabling provisions for consumers to file complaints electronically and for hearing and/or examining parties through video-conferencing. This is aimed to supply procedural ease and reduce inconvenience and harassment for the consumers.
4.	Establishment of Central Consumer Protection Authority	The New Act initiated the establishment of a regulatory authority known as the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), with extensive powers of enforcement. The CCPA will have an investigation wing, headed by a Director-General, which will conduct inquiry or investigation into the consumer law violations. – The CCPA has been granted wide powers to take suo-moto actions (an action when the court takes its own control over the case), recall products, order reimbursement of the price of goods/services, cancel licenses and file class-action suit, if a consumer complaint affects more than one individual.
5.	Provision for ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution)	The New Act provides for mediation as an Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism, making the process of dispute adjudication simpler and faster. This will help with the speedier resolution of disputes and decrease the pressure on consumer courts, which already have a lot of cases pending before them.
6.	Product Liability & Penal Consequences	The New Act has instituted the concept of merchandise liability and brings within its scope, the merchandise manufacturer, merchandise service provider and merchandise seller, for any claim of compensation. The term ‘merchandise seller’ refers to a person who is involved in placing the merchandise for a commercial purpose and as such includes e-commerce platforms too. The defense that e-commerce platforms merely act as ‘platforms’ or ‘aggregators’ will no longer be accepted. There is increased liability risk for manufacturers as compared to the merchandise service providers and merchandise sellers, considering that under the New Act, manufacturer will be liable in merchandise liability action albeit he proves that he wasn’t negligent or fraudulent in making the express warranty of merchandise. Certain exceptions have been provided under the New Act from liability claims, such as, that the merchandise seller won’t be liable where the merchandise has been misused, altered or modified.
7.	Penalties for Misleading Advertisements	The CCPA may impose a penalty of up to INR 1,000,000 (Indian Rupees One Million) on a manufacturer or an endorser, for a false or misleading advertisement. The CCPA can also sentence them to imprisonment for up to 2 (two) years for the same. In case of a subsequent offence, the fine of maximum INR 5,000,000 (Indian Rupees Five Million) and imprisonment of up to five years. Furthermore, the CCPA can prohibit the endorser of a misleading advertisement from endorsing that specific product or service for a period of up to one year. For every subsequent offence, the period of prohibition can be of maximum three years. – The New Act fixes liability on sellers considering that there are various instances in recent past where consumers have fallen prey to unfair trade practices under the influence of celebrities acting as brand ambassadors. In such cases, it becomes important for the endorser to take the onus and exercise due diligence to verify the veracity of the claims made in the advertisement to refute liability claims
8.	Unfair Trade Practices	The New Act introduces a specific broad definition of Unfair Trade Practices, which also includes sharing of personal information given by the consumer in confidence, unless such disclosure is made in obedience to the provisions of any other law.

Conclusion

It is clear that the scope of the new Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has been widened by the Indian Legislature. The Act has strengthened the consumer’s rights by establishing authorities, imposing strict liabilities etc. With the enforcement of the new act gone are the days when the consumer had to ‘beware’. Now, consumers will be treated like Kings. Sellers will now have to become more attentive regarding their malpractices and will have to be extra cautious. Through this, now, we know for sure that the world is changing and our Indian Legislature is improving. We are now good to go!!