Consumer Awareness of Rights and Responsibilities in India: A Narrative Review of Empirical and Policy Literature

Abstract

Consumer awareness of rights and responsibilities is a prerequisite to an effective consumer protection system and fair market functioning. In India, rapid economic growth and digitalization have created a significant demand for informed and responsible consumers. The facts show that despite having the comprehensive legal frameworks, awareness of consumer rights is uneven, and the use of mechanisms for grievance redressal is limited among different socio, economic groups. This study conducts a narrative review of empirical and policy, oriented literature to explore consumer awareness of rights and responsibilities in India. The review is a synthesis of the key themes related to rights awareness, the awareness action gap, consumer responsibilities and ethical behaviour, and emerging challenges in digital markets. The findings show that the basic consumer rights awareness has gone up; however, the translation of knowledge into effective action is still low. Consumer responsibilities have hardly been acknowledged in either research or policy discussions. The study also points out that digital literacy, data privacy, platform accountability, and manipulative digital practices are some of the major concerns in India's digital marketplace. It ends with the strong consumer education and policy agenda integrated with legal awareness, ethical responsibility, and digital competence, which will not only further consumer empowerment but also facilitate fair market practices.