CBSE Class 10 Social Science HOTs Consumer Rights

MCQ Questions for Class 10 Social Science Consumer Rights

Question : COPRA is also known as
(a) Consumer Safety Act
(b) Consumer Protection Councils
(c) Consumer Forums
(d) Consumer Protection Act
Answer : D

Question : Which organisation provides redressal to consumer grievances?
(a) Consumer Protection Councils
(b) Consumer Protection Act
(c) AGMARK
(d) ISI
Answer : A

Question : COPRA was passed in the year ____ .
(a) 1980
(b) 1986
(c) 1988
(d) 1991
Answer : B

Very Short Questions for Class 10 Social Science Consumer Rights 

Question : Give an example where right to choose in denied?
Answer : Suppose you want to buy toothpaste, and the shop owner says that he can sell the toothpaste only if you buy a toothbrush. If you are not interested in buying the brush, your right to choice is denied.

Question : Exploitation in the marketplace happens in various ways. Mention one point.
Answer : Sometimes traders indulge in unfair trade practices such as when shopkeepers weigh less than what they should or when traders add charges that were not mentioned before.

Question : Explain the ‘right to choose’ and ‘right to seek redressal’ as a consumer’s right.
Answer : Right to choose: Any consumer who receives a service in whatever capacity, regardless of age, gender and nature of service, has a right to choose whether to continue to receive the service. 

Short Questions for Class 10 Social Science Consumer Rights

Question : Give examples of false information which was passed through the media to attract consumers.
Answer : Large companies with huge wealth, power and reach very often manipulate the market in various ways. At times false information is passed on through the media and other sources to attract consumers.
Example 1
A company for years sold powder milk for babies all over the world as the most scientific product claiming this to be better than mother’s milk. It took years of struggle before the company was forced to accept that it had been making false claims.
Example 2
A long battle had to be fought with court cases to make cigarette manufacturing companies accept that their product could cause cancer.

Question : How do the large companies manipulate the market? Explain with examples.
Answer : Large companies with huge wealth, power and reach can manipulate the market in various ways. At times they pass on false information through the media, and other sources to attract consumers. For example, a company for years sold powder milk for babies all over the world as the most scientific product claiming this to be better than mother’s milk. After years of struggle the company finally accepted that it had been making false claims. Similarly, a long battle had to be fought with court cases to make cigarette—manufacturing companies accept that their product could cause cancer.

Question : Why the rules and regulations requires for the protection of consumers interest in the market place? Explain with two reasons. 
Answer : Whenever there is a complaint regarding a Good or service, a consumer find himself helpless and weak as butter tries to shift all the responsibility on to the buyer. This necessitates the protection of consumer in the market place. e.g., India order to achieve the goal of profit, maximization and growth, a businessman sometimes resorts to adulteration of goods, poor quality, failure to give fair measure lack of service and courtesy to the customer, misleading or dishonest advertising etc.

Question : Why is the three - tier quasi - judicial machinery set up fir redressal of consumer disputes? Mention their jurisdiction. 
Answer : Three tier quasi-judicial machinery at the district, state and national level was set up for redressal of consumer disputes.
Claims up to which they deal are:
(a) District Level Courts - Upton Rs. 20 lakhs.
(b) State level courts - Between Rs. 20 lakhs and Rs. 1 crore.
(c) National level courts - Exceeding Rs. 1 crore
If a case is dismissed in district court, the consumer can also appeal in state and then in National level courts.

Question : Analyze the functions of consumer protection councils. 
Answer : Consumer Protection Council (CPC) Ahmedabad is a consumer organization which is working for the protection of consumer's rights.
Functions of CPC are:
(i) Writing articles and holding exhibitions to impart knowledge about consumer rights and consumer problems.
(ii) Forming consumer group to look into the malpractices in ration shops and overcrowding in the road passenger transport.
(iii) Providing legal assistance to consumers by way of providing aid, legal advice, etc., in seeking legal remedy.

Question : "A consumer has the right to get compensation depending on the degree of the damage." Support this statement with an example. 
Answer : Suppose Rekha purchase some medicine for which the company claims that there is no side effect. But after consuming this medicine tablet she faces serious akin problem in the form of rashes and itching. She files a case in the district level consumer court in New Delhi and in the end gets Rs. 50,000 as compensation based on degree of damage.

Question : Give two argument in favor of regulating the prices in India. 
Answer : Need for regulating price - sometimes, traders whose main aim is to earn more profit, raise the prices by illegal ways. If there is no increase in wage for workers who are also consumers in the market, they cannot buy goods. When these goods happen to be essential such as wheat, rice, milk etc., this creates problems foe the people. This necessitates the need for regulation of traders and keeping a close watch on then by the government.

Question : Examine the main factors for the exploitation of consumers in India. 
Answer : Factors which cause exploitation of consumers are:
(i) Limited Information: For a correct decision and choice about a product, a consumer needs full information about price, quality, durability, composition, etc., of the product. In the absence of full and correct information, a consumer may get exploited.
(ii) Limited Supplies: When the supply goods is less than their demand, the prices may Good high and may also encourage the tendency of hoarding. As a consequence, consumers will get exploited.
(iii) Limited Competition: When there is limited competition with regards to production, i.e., when producers are few and can control and restrict the supply of a product, there is possibility of manipulation in prices.
(iv) Low Literacy: illiteracy causes ignorance which leads to exploitation of consumers. The level of awareness in our country is generally low.

Long Questions for Class 10 Social Science Consumer Rights

Question : Discuss the common forms of consumer exploitation.
                                       Or
Explain any four ways in which consumers are exploited in the market.
Answer : Exploitation in the market happens in various ways, as
(a) Underweight and under measurement: The goods sold in the market are sometimes not measured or weighted correctly.
(b) Substandard quality: Selling defective home appliances and expired medicines are its examples.
(c) High Prices: Sometimes sellers charge higher than the MRP.
(d) Duplicity: Fake and duplicate items are sold in the name of genuine goods.
(e) Adulteration and impurities: Adulteration is done in the costly items as in oil, ghee, milk, spices etc. to earn higher profits. This affects consumer’s health and their money goes waste.
(f ) Lack of safety devices: Electronic goods produced locally lack the required inbuilt safeguards, which may cause accidents.
(g) Artificial scarcity or shortage: To earn more profits sellers create artificial scarcity by hoarding and selling the same at higher price.
(h) False or incomplete information: Sellers sometimes mislead people by giving wrong information about the products, price, quality, safety, expiry date, maintenance costs etc.
(i) Unsatisfactory after-sale service: Many suppliers do not provide satisfactory after-sale service in case of expensive electronic equipments, home appliances and cars etc.
(j) Rough behaviour: Consumers are often harassed in matters like LPG and telephone connections and in getting licensed items.

Question : Explain any four steps taken by the government to control price rise. 
                                                                      OR
Describe any three measures taken by the government to control the government to control the price rise. 
Answer : (i) Public Distribution System: Government of India, under its public distribution system ensures the availability of essential commodities such as wheat rice, sugar edible oil and kerosene oil to the consumers at reasonable prices through a network of fair price shops. At present, there are about 4.61 lakh of fair price shops in the country. Subsidies are borne by the government.
(ii) Administrative Price Mechanism: Administrative Prices are those prices of goods and services, which are controlled by the government. Government of India has imposed price controls on a number of commodities, e.g. steel, automobiles, etc. Producers of these commodities cannot charge prices higher than the maximum prices fixed by the government.
(iii) Monetary Policy/Measures: It is the policy of central bank (RBI) to control money supply and credit in economy. This results in people's tendency to consume less, which in turn reduce the demand for goods and thereby lower the prices.
(iv) Fiscal Policy/Measures: It is an expenditure and revenue policy of government to accomplish the desired goals. The intention of the government here is to reduce the money supply, which is kept in the hands of the people. When people has less money to spend, their consumption will also fail, which leads to decline in prices.

Question : Why are rules and regulations required in the market place? Explain.
                                                   OR
“Rules and regulations are required for the protection of consumers in the market place.” Justify the statement with arguments.
                                                   OR
“Why are rules and regulations required for the protection of the consumers in the marketplace?” Explain.
Answer : Rules and regulations are required for the protection of consumers in the market place due to the following reasons:
• Sometimes, traders indulge in unfair trade practices such as underweight, undermeasurement, adulteration, hoarding etc.
• Most of the consumers are unaware of their rights and they are often deceived by the suppliers.
• Whenever a complaint regarding goods or services is made, the seller tries to shift all the responsibility on the buyer.
• Sometimes, the sellers make false claims about the durability and quality of their products through advertisements, catchy slogans and jingles.
• Sometimes, the sellers create artificial scarcity through hoarding and black marketing to sell the goods at higher prices.
• Sometimes, the sellers indulge in adulteration of goods and provide poor quality goods in order to achieve the goals of profit and growth.

Question : “Consumer movement can be effective only with consumers’ active involvement.” Analyse the statement.
Answer : The consumer movement can be effective only with the consumers’ active involvement.
This statement can be analysed giving following arguments.
• The consumers should be aware of their rights and duties.
• The consumers should be vigilant in the market against any unethical practice.
• The consumers should lodge complaints against exploitation.
• If consumers are actively involved, then producers and companies will also be on their guard and offer better services.
• The consumers should purchase only standardised products.
• The consumers should know the legal procedure, i.e., how to get their cases settled in consumer courts.
• The consumers should be well informed and avail the remedies available to them against frauds or any unscrupulous trade practice.

Question : Explain why a consumer should learn to be well informed.
Answer : A consumer should learn to be well informed because:
• A well informed consumer knows how to fight for his rights.
• A well informed consumer cannot be cheated easily by the shopkeepers, traders etc.
• Such a consumer will be able to approach institutions for seeking redressal.
• Consumers will be able to check the provisions made by the government if they are denied from exercising their rights.
• A well informed consumer becomes a rational consumer, i.e., he knows how to spend the money to derive maximum satisfaction out of the products, he buys.

Question : Why is there a great need for consumer awareness? Explain any five reasons.
                                                               OR
‘Consumer awareness is essential to avoid exploitation in the market place.’ Support the statement.
Answer : Consumer awareness is essential to avoid exploitation in the market place as:
• Consumers must be aware of not only the goods and services but also legal measures to protect themselves.
• If consumers are actively involved, companies will also be on their guard to provide better goods and services.
• Consumers must be aware of anti-social activities like hoarding, black marketing etc.
• It makes consumer a rational consumer having knowledge of how market works.
• It enables consumer to be aware of government policies for certification marks such ISI, Agmark that ensure product quality for consumers.
• It enables consumer to use Right to Information Act (RTI) to get information on functioning of government departments

Question : How are consumers exploited in the market place? Explain with three examples.
                                                 OR
How are consumers exploited in the market place? Explain.
Answer : The factors which cause exploitation of consumers in the market place are:
• Limited information. For taking a correct decision and choice about a product, a consumer needs full information about the price, quality, durability, composition, date of manufacture and expiry, ingredients etc. In the absence of full information, a consumer may get exploited in an easy way.
• Limited competition. When there is a limited competition with regard to production, i.e., when producers are few and can control and restrict the supply of a product, there is possibility of manipulation of prices.
• Limited supply. When supply of a good is less than its demand, the prices may go up and encourage the tendency of hoarding. As a result, the consumer may be exploited.
• Adulteration. It means mixing or substituting undesirable materials in the food. It causes a heavy loss to the consumers both monetary and healthwise.
• Hoarding and black-marketing. Traders hold the stock of essential commodities to create artificial scarcity in the market, so that they can sell the commodities at higher prices.
• Under measurement. Traders usually indulge in malpractices like giving under measured goods and charge for the actual quantity.
• Sub-standard goods. In the name of genuine parts or goods, sub-standard or inferior goods are sold in the market. For example, duplicate medicines can be injurious to the health of a person. Defective electrical items without safety measures can be fatal for the user.

Question : How does the Government of India protect the interests of consumers? Explain with five examples.
Answer : The Government of India can protect the interests of the consumers in many ways. Some of them are:
• It should formulate rules and regulations to protect and safeguard the interest of consumers.
• It should enforced these rules and regulations on a regular basis, so that producers should maintain a certain minimum level of quality.
• A three tier quasi-judicial machinery has been set up at district, state and national level for redressal of consumer disputes.
• It has also passed the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to safeguard the interest of consumers which provides various rights and responsibilities to consumers.
• Posters are regularly advertised in the newspapers under the name Jago Grahak Jago through which the government spreads information. if) Consumer Protection Councils are also working for the welfare and protection of consumer rights. They write articles and hold exhibitions to impart knowledge about consumer rights and consumer problems.

NCERT Questions

Question : What factors gave birth to the consumer movement in India? Trace its evolution.
Answer : Unfair practices adopted by sellers, lack of legal system to protect from competition, caused dissatisfaction among the consumers, necessity of protecting and promoting the interests of consumers against unethical and unfair trade practices gave birth to the consumer movement India e.g. Hoarding, Black-Marketing, Adulteration of Good and edible oil, Good shortages gave birth to consumer movements in an organized form in the 1960s.

Question : What is adulteration?
Answer : When some foreign matter, injurious to health, is mixed with any good or natural product, it is called adulteration. This is a crime against humanity. This causes heavy loss to the customers; they suffer from monetary loss as well as spoil their health.
Question : What is the role of Public Distribution System?
Answer : Public distribution system ensures availability of essential commodities like wheat, rice, sugar, edible oil and kerosene etc., to the consumers through a network of outlets or fair price shops. The need of public distribution system was felt to check the forces of supply and demand.
Apart from ensuring food security to the poor as a part of certain administrative measures, public distribution system is also expected to strengthen measures to prevent hoarding, black marketing and overcharging by traders.

Question : How is the consumer redressal process becoming cumbersome? Give four reasons.
Answer : (i) Consumers are required to engage lawyers as these cases require time for filling and attending the court proceedings, etc.
(ii) It is difficult to gather evidence where cash memos are not issued.
(iii) On the issue of compensation to consumers injured by defective products, the existing laws are not very clear.
(iv) Laws that protect workers are weak, especially in the unorganized sectors

Question : Sometimes traders indulge in unfair trade practices to exploited consumer in market place. Give three examples of such unfair trade practices.
Answer : (i) Shopkeepers weigh less than what they charge for.
(ii) Traders add charges that are not mentioned.
(iii) Adulterated/Defective goods are sold.

Question : When you buy any commodity, you will find certain details given in the packing. What are these about? Also give two examples.
Answer : These details are about ingredients used, price, batch number, date of manufacture, expiry date and the address of the manufacturer, e.g., in case of packet of medicine we find 'directions for proper use', information relating to side effects and risks associated with usage of that medicine.
In case of garments, we find information on 'instructions for washing.'