© 2026 LearnInShort
A consumer is anyone who buys goods or hires services for a consideration — for their own use, not for resale. That last clause matters: a trader buying stock to sell again is not a consumer under the law, and a person buying the same item to use at home is.
The law exists because the two sides of a sale are not equally informed. A seller knows what is in the packet, what the machine can do and how long it will last; a buyer usually does not. Consumer law closes that gap with three tools: rights the buyer can assert, standards the goods must meet, and a place to complain that does not require hiring a lawyer.
India's first comprehensive law here was the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. It was replaced by the Consumer Protection Act of 2019, which brought online shopping, product liability and a new regulator into the picture — the 1986 Act had been written before e-commerce existed.
SSC CGL and CHSL, RRB NTPC, BPSC TRE-4 general studies, the CTET social science paper and UPSC Prelims all ask from this chapter, and it is asked more often since 2019 than it was before.
1. The Consumer Protection Act currently in force in India was passed in which year?
2. How many consumer rights are recognised in India?
3. Which body was created by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to act against misleading advertisements and order recalls of unsafe goods?
4. National Consumer Rights Day is observed in India on which date?
5. The Agmark certification applies to which category of goods?
6. Which of the following was brought under consumer law for the first time by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019?
7. The Hallmark certification in India relates to which products?
8. A consumer complaint valued at up to ₹50 lakh is filed before which forum?