CONSUMER COOPERATIVES
- The objective of Consumer Cooperatives has been to eliminate the middleman and to provide daily needs to consumers at reasonable prices.
- These cooperatives have received support from the Government, as they help to check rise in prices of consumer goods.
- Consumer Cooperatives have a 4 Tier structure comprising primary stores, wholesale/central stores, State Consumer Cooperative Federations and the National Consumer Cooperative Federation.
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE CONSUMERS FEDERATION OF INDIA LTD. (NCCF)
- The National Consumer Cooperative Federation was set up in October, 1965 and is administered under the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act.
- The affairs of NCCF are managed by a Board of Directors, comprising both elected and nominated members as per the provisions of the bye-laws of the NCCF.
- The commercial operations of NCCF are handled at the headquarters in New Delhi and through its 26 branches located in the state capitals.
- The NCCF also runs three Industrial Units at Bhiwani (Haryana), Mohali, (Punjab) and Noida (U.P.).
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
- The Central Government has made 7 rules for the better implementation of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009.
- The State Governments have also made their Legal Metrology (Enforcement) Rules.
- India is also a member of the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML).
- Legal standards of Weights and Measures are verified in the five Regional Reference Standards Laboratories (RRSLS) located at Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Faridabad and Guwahati.
BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS (BIS)
- The Bureau of Indian Standards was set up as a statutory organization under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986, taking over the assets and liabilities of the Indian Standards Institution (ISI) that came into existence in 1947.
- The Bureau has its headquarters in New Delhi.
- Mandate of BIS is to satisfy the customer’s needs for quality of goods and services.
- Hallmarking of gold Jewellery was started by BIS in April, 2000 to provide 3rd party assurance to consumers on the purity of gold Jewellery or its fineness.
- The scheme for hallmarking of silver Jewellery was launched in October, 2005.
NATIONAL TEST HOUSE
- The National Test House (NTH), a subordinate office under the administrative control of Department of Consumer Affairs, is a premier scientific institution of the country, established way back in 1912, under the then Railway Board and since then it has grown into a laboratory of national importance in the field of testing, evaluation and quality control of various engineering materials and finished products.
- It is actively involved in all aspects of technology connected with industry, commerce, trade and standardization.
FOOD PROCESSING
- The Ministry of Food Processing Industries was set up in July, 1988 to give an impetus for development of food processing sector in the country.
- Subsequently this Ministry was made a Department and brought under the Ministry of Agriculture in 1999.
- This was again revised and Ministry of Food Processing notified in 2001 which was allocated industries relating to:
- processing and refrigeration of certain agricultural products like milk powder, infant milk food, malted milk food, condensed milk, ghee and other dairy products, poultry and eggs, meat and meat products;
- processing of fish (including canning and freezing);
- establishment and servicing of development council for fish processing industries;
- technical assistance and advice to fish processing industry;
- fruit and vegetable processing industry (including freezing and dehydration) and
- food grains milling industry.
- This Ministry will also look into planning, development and control of and assistance to, industries relating to bread, oil seeds, meals (edible), breakfast foods, biscuits, confectionery (including cocoa processing and chocolate making), malt extract, protein isolate, high protein food, weaning food and extruded food products (including other ready to eat foods); specialized packaging for food processing industry; beer including non-alcoholic beer; alcoholic drinks from non-molasses base; and aerated water and soft drinks.
