New Delhi: On the occasion of National Consumer Day 2025, official data released on Tuesday highlighted a sharp rise in consumer engagement with grievance redressal mechanisms, led by the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) and the newly launched e-Jagriti platform.
The number of calls received by the NCH has increased nearly tenfold over the past decade, rising from 12,553 calls in December 2015 to 1,55,138 calls in December 2024. Alongside this, the average monthly number of complaints registered has grown significantly, from 37,062 in 2017 to 1,11,951 in 2024.
Currently, the helpline resolves over 12 lakh complaints every year, with many cases being addressed within 21 days. This efficiency is supported by partnerships with 1,169 companies and the use of AI-enabled systems designed to accelerate grievance resolution.
Digital platforms now account for almost 65 per cent of all grievance registrations. Submissions through WhatsApp have seen particularly rapid growth, increasing from just 3 per cent in March 2023 to 20 per cent by March 2025.
Between April 25, 2025, and October 31, 2025, the NCH successfully facilitated refunds amounting to Rs 27.61 crore for consumers. This redressal covered 30 different sectors and resolved 49,333 consumer complaints related specifically to refund claims.
The National Consumer Helpline is available in 17 languages and allows consumers to lodge grievances through an Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism using multiple channels, including WhatsApp, SMS, email, the NCH mobile application, the official web portal, and the Umang app. Consumers are encouraged to use the toll-free number 1915 or the online portal to ensure prompt resolution of issues related to goods and services.
In addition, e-Jagriti, launched on January 1, 2025, has quickly established itself as a major digital platform for consumer dispute resolution in India. As of mid-November 2025, the platform had enabled the filing of over 1.35 lakh cases and the disposal of more than 1.31 lakh cases.
The platform has attracted over 2.81 lakh registered users, including around 1,400 non-resident Indians (NRIs). A total of 466 complaints were filed by NRIs, with the highest numbers coming from the United States (146), followed by the United Kingdom (52), the UAE (47), Canada (39), Australia (26), and Germany (18).
In 2025, e-Jagriti showed notable improvement in disposal efficiency. During July and August, 27,545 cases were resolved compared to 27,080 newly filed. Similarly, between September and October, 24,504 cases were disposed of against 21,592 new filings.
With inputs from IANS