Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare has urged FMCG and retail companies to overhaul grievance systems following a five-fold rise in complaints over five years. The government is pushing for advanced testing using AI and robotics while simplifying compliance norms under the Legal Metrology Act to ensure faster issue resolution and build consumer trust.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has issued a clear directive to Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), food, and retail companies to strengthen their consumer grievance redressal systems. This call comes as the government reports a near five-fold increase in consumer complaints over the last five years, indicating growing dissatisfaction with product quality and service standards. Addressing a recent industry conference, Secretary Nidhi Khare underscored that businesses must prioritize reliable service delivery to maintain brand trust.
Scaling Up Quality Testing With Technology
A central focus of the government's approach is the modernization of testing infrastructure. To manage higher volumes of product samples, the Ministry is encouraging companies to integrate artificial intelligence and robotics. The goal is to shift from the current modest testing capacity to a significantly higher scale, with a vision of processing up to 300 samples per day. By reducing costs and increasing the accuracy of quality checks, these technological upgrades aim to support both large manufacturers and smaller businesses. Enhanced traceability is also highlighted as a priority, ensuring that product quality can be monitored effectively across the supply chain.
Easing Compliance And Regulatory Support
To help companies improve their processes, the government is moving to simplify the regulatory environment. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is working to streamline norms to make it easier for businesses to comply with quality requirements. As part of this effort, the government has reduced the total number of Quality Control Orders to 624. Furthermore, changes under the Legal Metrology Act have introduced an improvement notice system. This allows manufacturers and retailers an opportunity to fix minor or non-intentional errors before facing harsher penalties. The government aims to finalize these regulatory simplifications by October 14, 2026, coinciding with World Standards Day.
For investors, these regulatory updates mean companies that proactively invest in quality control and faster grievance resolution may be better positioned to avoid penalties and reputational damage. Increased transparency and faster issue resolution are becoming essential for maintaining market share in the competitive FMCG sector. The key monitorable for stakeholders will be how quickly major FMCG players adopt these AI-based testing systems and whether these internal improvements effectively lower the volume of complaints in the coming quarters.