Lifetime of a Law
Over
the past few months , NDA government has repealed ( or about to repeal ) , some
1,000 + laws , some of which are 50 / 60 years old
These
were enacted , keeping in mind the Social / Political / Economic situations
prevailing at those times
But
things are changing fast , making those laws obsolete in today's context
Having
outlived their utility , these were only used to harass the public !
Now
, Minister for Food and Consumer Matters , Shri Ramvilas Paswan , is planning
to replace the existing Consumer Protection Act with an improved version
Under
this new version , any celebrity promoting any " sub-standard "
product ( through endorsement ), without first checking out and satisfying
himself with the " correctness " of the benefit claimed by that product
, will become liable for ,
*
Imprisonment of up to 5 years
*
Fine of up to Rs 50 lakhs
No
doubt , a very noble intent !
But
with a potential for endless litigations between , Government / Celebrities
concerned / Advertisers / Media etc
I
have not read the draft bill but the questions going through my mind are :
#
Is there a Government Notified , " Minimum Standard " to which
, each and every product must conform ? Like Indian Standards for most engineering
products ? I doubt , very much
I suppose , the proposed law will make it mandatory for the products ( package
) to carry conformation with such a STANDARD , wherever it exists
Eg
:
Are
there " STANDARDS " for,
*
Lipsticks / Hair Oils / Shampoos / Soaps / Gels / Creams
*
Toothpaste / Diapers / Condoms / Skin Whiteners / Shaving Creams
#
Will this new act also cover " Services " ( besides " Products
" ) ?
It
would be next to impossible to prescribe rigid " Standards " for services
of Doctors / Lawyers / Engineers / Management Consultants / Advisors etc
#
Does the new law expect that the endorsing celebrity must have , himself "
tried out " / " Used " , those products and satisfied himself ,
before promoting the same ?
Even
if it does , is it not possible that what worked well for Amitabh Bachhan , may
not work for me ?
#
What about those " Surrogate " advertisements ? ( remember ,
conducting Board Meetings in swimming pool , only to promote GLASSES ? )
#
What about ( once rampant ) " Subliminal " advertisements , which
flashed on our TV screens for a fraction of a second and persuaded us to buy
this or that , without our even being conscious of having seen that advt
?
#
Many years back , advts appeared only in Newspapers and theatre screens and
were easy to monitor
Over
the past 50 years , technology has progressively pushed these advts onto ever
smaller screens , like TV / Computer / Tablet / Smart Phone / smart watch /
Google Glass etc
Rest
assured , within 5 years , these advts will appear on your thumb-nail or your
eye-ball ( not counting a hologram in the middle of your bedroom ! )
With
arrival of IoT ( Internet of Things ) , you will not even need to SEE any advertisement
, in order to be persuaded !
Advertiser
will simply " Persuade " your " Refrigerator " to order
AMUL cheese instead of GO cheese - without your knowledge and STANDARDS
notwithstanding ! Why waste time to persuade you ?
How
will anybody manage to monitor these ?
#
And finally , everything that you See / Smell / Touch / Feel or Taste ( through
our 5 senses ) , will get processed by the Advertisers , using BIG DATA
software , and products that you did not even know that you wanted , will get
delivered to your home , by a drone !
Remember
what that high priest of technology , Steve Jobs said while releasing iPad :
"
It isn't the consumers' job to know what they want "
I
am sure when he meets Shri Modiji , Apple CEO , Tim Cook will repeat this
Let
us hope the new version of Consumer Protection Act , lasts 5 years !
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs
18
May 2016
hemen
parekh
Marol
, Mumbai , India
(
M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08
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