Ahmedabad: The Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC) on Sunday signed a tripartite MoU with the department of consumer affairs, Gujarat govt, and CARE Edge to develop and roll out India’s first Consumer Responsibility Index (CRI).The MoU was formalized in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah, Union consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi and Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, among other senior state leaders, signalling high-level backing for the initiative. According to CERC, the CRI seeks to create a measurable framework to assess how industries treat consumers, addressing what officials described as a long-standing gap in evaluating corporate conduct from a consumer rights perspective. The index will rely on independent and professional assessments to rate businesses on transparency, grievance redressal, ethical standards and service quality. “The objective is to make the framework credible, transparent and easy for the public to understand, enabling consumers to make informed choices while nudging companies towards higher accountability standards. The index would convert corporate responsibility into a measurable benchmark and empower citizens with greater clarity and confidence in the marketplace,” said CERC chairman Sunil Parekh. Separately, CERC signed another MoU with the state consumer affairs department to build a broader consumer awareness ecosystem. The initiative includes youth sensitisation programmes, support for Cyber Surakshit Gujarat, and the establishment of conciliation and pre-litigation centres across all districts to make dispute resolution faster and more affordable.
