Table Butter · 7 brands compared Table Butter Debit Cards 12 banks compared Instant Noodles Is the salt too much and the fibre too less? Product Survey

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7 brands compared

Table Butter

Debit Cards12 banks compared

Instant NoodlesIs the salt too much and the fibre too less?

Product SurveyInverters

Vol. XX, Issue 1 JANUARY 2019 Rs 50

TOP PERFORMER

More milk fat, less salt – that’s how it should be

COMPARATIVE TESTTable ButterMore milk fat, less salt – that’s how it should be

IN THE NEWS

85

CONTENTS

14

22

27

STUFF MATTERS The Silver Leaf on Your FoodIs it safe for consumption?

DECODING FOOD LABELSInstant NoodlesIs the salt too much and the fibre too less?

PRODUCT SURVEYInvertersWhich one do you want to be on, when the power goes off?

34 BFSIDebit CardsHow banks charge you for using these

41

43

LEGAL MATTERSWill Assured Returns Schemes Be Declared Illegal?What will be the impact on homebuyers and builders?

Doctors’ Duties, Consumers’ FearsAnd the laws in-between

4 •

Editor's VoiceChief EditorProf PK Ghosh

Mg EditorProf Sri Ram Khanna

COOAshim Sanyal

Director OutreachAnand Pandeya

Editor Padma Pegu

Sales & DistributionNiraj Kumar Singh

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AccountsMonender Singh

IT DeskHemant Upadhyay

TechnicalBhaskar Kr MukhopadhyayMAU Khan H Wadhwa KC ChoudharySheeba Parveen

LegalAnkur SahaVikash Soni

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MarketingPranay ShethSnehanshu SinghAshutosh Massey

SubscriptionFaraz Ahmed

AdminRamanjeet KaurGovind Singh

Real EstateSajjan Jindal

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PadmaEditor

Am I a conscious traveller?While enjoying a shikara ride at Dal Lake in Srinagar, a shop-on-

a-boat approached us and a boatman tried his best to sell everything that he had to offer to tourists – packaged water, cookies, chocolates, carbonated beverages, candies... almost everything that you can pick at any confectionery store across India. We said no to it all and asked if he instead had some dry fruits, the produce that his state was known for. The boatman pulled out a packet of pistachios; we obliged and bought a couple of packets. It was only after I read the information on the label that I found out that our pistachios were Californian and had been imported by a Chennai-based company and were marketed and distributed by a Ghaziabad-based firm, which probably supplied them to a wholesaler in Srinagar and that’s how the product eventually ended up on a shikara on the Dal.

So my idea of buying local produce from a local farmer went in vain.

Californian pistachios in Kashmir indicate how profit-oriented companies make a business proposition out of the livelihoods of marginalized communities. Yes, the boatman did earn his profit by selling imported dry fruits, but the overall revenue trail goes back to companies registered not just in other states but also outside the country. On the contrary, had we bought Kashmiri nuts, the money would have flowed back into the local value chain, would have helped the distressed farmers within the valley. In our mind, we made up for this by buying locally made papier-mâché products, local weaves, pieces of walnut-wood jewellery... by eating a popular cold-water trout and also by generously tipping the hospitable drivers.

Essentially, my purpose of sharing this experience is to leave you with this thought: whether the money you spend when travelling to another place benefits the economy of your local hosts. In past editions of Consumer Voice, we have published several articles that talked about conscious consumption and travel; we shared ideas around how travellers help in keeping the cash flow within the community and how each traveller can do their bit in helping the communities of whichever place they travel to. It may sound difficult, but all it needs is a simple approach – a thought process that can identify the difference between commercialised/industrialised tourism and authentic and conscious travel. For example, before making a decision to buy a pizza, a burger, fried chicken, a pack of potato chips, or other such fast or packaged foods, compare them with the authentic local delicacies of the town you are in, sense their deliciousness as well as understand the economic and social value that your purchase may add to the region. Also, try approximating the carbon footprints of your purchases – from farm to manufacturing unit to packaging unit to retail shelves, as also the lifecycle of its packaging material, which is the main cause of litter across all tourist destinations in the country.

It is said that we fight to protect what we fall in love with. Perhaps that’s the reason why I have once again brought this subject up. If you wish to protect destinations that you love and feel protective about, you have to adopt a different way of seeing, being, believing and doing. Spare a few minutes, revisit your understanding of sustainability, and try assessing the implications via-á-vis your actions when you travel. Ask yourself if your actions are responsible, sustainable, ethical, green, and good.

CONSUMER VOICE JANUARY 2019 • 5

In the NewsIn the News

Recent verdicts from consumer forums across India• Maternity benefits not applicable only to live births

The Pune consumer forum has slammed a private insurance company for denying maternity benefits to a woman who had to abort her 23-week twin foetuses due to medical complications. After a five-year battle by the victim, the court rapped the firm for acting unjustly and ordered full payment and compensation.

Radha (name changed), an employee of Wipro, was suffering from severe preeclampsia and could slip into a coma triggered by hypertension and acute renal failure, and hence had to undergo an abortion. With consent from the family, doctors performed the procedure. She had to pay a hospital fee of over Rs 1.5 lakh. An ICICI Lombard General Insurance policyholder, Radha submitted the bills to claim refund through the agent Medi Assist India. Much to her disbelief, the insurance company paid only Rs 24,313 and disallowed Rs 97,028, terming it ‘policy excess.’

The company told Radha that maternity benefits were applicable only to two live births, and that she was not admitted to the hospital for delivering babies and also that her condition was failure of other organs. Further, the company said that she was treated to save her life and it was for this reason the pregnancy was terminated.

The consumer forum came down heavily on the insurance company, stating childbirth does not indicate living or dead child, and asked the company to not just settle the claim but also compensate the victim.

• Dedicated public window set up at Chandigarh consumer courtA dedicated public window for filing complaints has been set up at the consumer court building in Chandigarh.

Justice Jasbir Singh, president of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, informed that earlier people approaching the consumer court had to go to the staff for filing their complaints. “Now a special designated public window, set up at the entrance of the building, will help ease the process,” he said.

Apart from registration of complaints, an inquiry desk will be set up where a special designated staffer will address inquiries of complainants. The complainant can personally appear in their case without an advocate. After a new notification, if the claim of the complainant is up to Rs 5 lakh, there would be no court fee.

Interestingly, the two consumer forums at Chandigarh have a record of settling cases faster than the average settlement time of other forums across India. The administration has already proposed the setting up of a third forum to ease stress on the existing two.

• Jet Airways to pay Rs 25,000 for changing flight without permissionA 72-year-old cardiologist had filed a complaint against Jet Airways for rescheduling his flight without informing

him. The court has ordered the airline to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation and also return the booking amount with nine per cent interest from the date of payment.

Complainant Dr Nautej Singh had planned his travel way in advance and had booked a morning flight from Pune to Delhi and a connecting flight to Srinagar from Delhi. However, a day before his travel, Jet updated him via a text message that his morning flight had been rescheduled. The airline paid no heed to his repeated requests to put him on another flight so that he won’t miss his connecting flight. Distressed, he was forced to book another flight with another airline at an exorbitant rate. He also requested Jet to refund his booking amount. Then, just a day before the flight, Jet informed Singh that the flight was scheduled to fly on its original time, but that was too late as Singh had already booked another flight. The airlines refused to refund entire booking amount and offered a minimal amount after deductions.

Deciding the case, the court clarified that rescheduling a confirmed ticket without permission amounted to negligence under consumer law. Singh had paid Rs 14,249 for the ticket and Jet Airways had confirmed his booking. He later started receiving messages about the change in the flight timing. When the complainant asked for clarification, the company reconfirmed that his flight had been rescheduled. As it was not possible for Singh to take the flight, he asked for refund. It seemed that Jet took its customers for granted and sometimes arbitrarily decided to reschedule their flights, causing inconvenience to its passengers. This was not just negligence, but also amounted to mental harassment of customers.

6 •


Food labels encourage healthier choices: Study

Labels on packaged foods as well as on restaurant menus giving information on nutrition facts, calorie counts, whether these are fat-free or have low sodium, etc., have to some extent encouraged healthier eating choices, say researchers.

The research, led by Tufts University researchers, found that labelling reduced consumers’ intake of calories by 6.6 per cent, total fat by 10.6 per cent, and other unhealthy food options by 13 per cent. Labelling also increased consumers’ vegetable consumption by 13.5 per cent.

In contrast, labelling did not significantly impact consumer intakes of other targets such as total carbohydrate, total protein, saturated fat, fruits, whole grains or other healthy options, the researchers concluded.

“Many old and new food policies focus on labelling, whether on food packages or restaurant menus. Remarkably, the effectiveness of these labels, whether for changing consumers’ choices or industry product formulations, has not been clear,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean at Tufts’s Friedman School.

“Our findings provide new evidence on what might work, and what might not, when implementing food labelling,” he added.

For the research, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the team reviewed 60 interventional studies – conducted in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia. When industry responses were evaluated, the team found that labelling led to reductions of both trans-fat and sodium in packaged foods by 64.3 per cent and 8.9 per cent, respectively.

However, no significant effects of labelling were identified for industry formulations of total calories, saturated fat, dietary fibre, other healthy components (e.g., protein and unsaturated fat), or other unhealthy components (e.g., total fat, sugar and dietary cholesterol).

“For industry responses, it’s interesting that the two altered components – trans-fat and sodium – are additives,” said Mozaffarian.

“This suggests that industry may be more readily able to alter additives, as opposed to naturally occurring ingredients such as fat or calories, in response to labelling. It will be interesting to see whether this will translate to added sugar,” he noted.

Ceramics in your home may cause cancer

The findings, led by the University of Plymouth in England, showed that cadmium ceramics wares and glass painting in your house might contain high levels of cadmium that could raise the risk of cancer.

Cadmium is commonly used to give products a bright red, orange or yellow pigment, but over time the decoration on glass can start to flake and the glaze on ceramics fail, ingestion of which can potentially raise risks to human health as well as the environment.

As per the findings, cadmium was also found in everyday household products like secondhand plastic toys, drinking glasses and alcoholic beverage bottles. The surfaces of these common items were covered by cadmium more than the recommended levels, said to be ranging from 50 to 800 parts per million (ppm).



The highest readings of up to 70,000 ppm were recorded on the enamels of old and new drinking glasses and bottles, with cadmium detected in about 70 per cent of the 197 logos, patterns, text, pictures and cartoons tested on 72 products, the researchers revealed in the paper published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

“If you asked most people about cadmium, they would probably know very little about it. But it is listed among the World Health Organization’s 10 chemicals of major public health concern, alongside substances such as lead and asbestos,” said Andrew Turner, associate professor from the varsity.

“The health risk depends on how easily the cadmium can flake off or leach out. Additional tests performed indicate that this is greatest for enamelled glassware,” said Turner.

In addition, cadmium was found in new ceramic items such as mugs, plates and bowls, with the highest recorded level of 40,000 ppm, and in old plastic products including toys, with a maximum 35,000 ppm in a small decorative brooch.

Voice OutreachTobacco-vendor licensing

As part of their tobacco-intervention activities, the Consumer Voice team along with their state partners is working on tobacco-vendor licensing. The objective is limited tobacco sale through licensed vendors. Vendor licensing is authorizing a business to engage in tangible retail sales from a shop, a sidewalk stand, a pushcart, a shop, or a motor vehicle.

The teams organized state-level stakeholder workshops at Ahmedabad and Chennai wherein health experts, officials from municipal corporations, representatives from state health departments, tobacco control cells, resident welfare associations, representatives from civil societies, activists working on tobacco control and consumer and child rights issues, and representatives from media were present.

Certificate of Recognition being handed over by Ashim Sanyal, COO, Consumer Voice, to V Subramaniam, CEO and whole-time director, Reliance Retail Ltd, on Reliance Sudz being ranked No. 1 as well as value for money in the comparative product testing of detergent cakes. The report was published in the December 2018 issue of Consumer Voice.

Also seen in the photo are Vinod Dhanuka, EVP and head of R&D and QA, Shivram Murti, CMO, private label, Ketan Mody, CFO, private label, and

Manan Arora, AGM, brand and product management.

Certificate of Recognition being handed over by Ashim Sanyal to Amber Aftab, marketing manager, Jyothy Laboratories Ltd, on Henko being ranked No. 1 in the comparative product testing of detergent cakes, published in the December 2018 issue of Consumer Voice.

8 •

Comparative Test

Nutritionally speaking, your table butter has roughly 80 per cent milk fat (mostly saturated), 12 to 16 per cent water, 2 per cent nonfat milk solids (lactose, protein), and 2 to 3 per cent added salt. It is the most concentrated of dairy products, containing about 740 kilocalories per 100 grams (210 kilocalories per ounce). Butter is a good source of vitamin A and has a little bit of vitamin D as well. Of all of these attributes, which have the most say in determining the quality of the said butter, you may wonder. So, here we are, evaluating seven brands of table butter on attributes as per their importance and relevance. Since so much butter is not good for one’s health, what with the saturated fats in it, one will be well advised to choose a brand that meets the basic quality requirements specified in the food standards, especially with regard to fat, solids not fat, moisture and salt. The findings from our test results will reveal, among other things, whether the brands have the minimum 80 per cent milk fat as specified by the food standards.

A Consumer Voice Report

Table ButterMore milk fat, less salt – that’s how it should be

We tested the seven brands on a range of quality, safety and acceptability parameters. These included milk fat, milk solids not fat, curd, moisture, acidity and common

salt. The brands were further subjected to adulteration tests, microbiological tests and sensory tests.

The samples were tested as per requirements of FSS Regulations, Agmark and Indian Standard 13690. We followed the standard test methods at an NABL-accredited laboratory.


Table Butter

CV RECOMMENDATION | TOP PERFORMER

VitaVALUE FOR MONEY

DMS

BRANDS TESTED

Score Rating: >90: excellent*****, 71–90: very good****, 51–70: good***, 31–50: average**, up to 30: poor*

Rank Total Score out of 100

(rounded off)

Brand MRP (Rs)

Net Weight (gm)

Price (Rs) per 100 gm

Best before

(months)

Manufactured/Marketed by

1 93 Vita 44 100 44 12 The Rohtak Co-Op Milk Producers Union Ltd

2 91 Verka 46 100 46 8 The Punjab State Co-Operative Milk Producers

Federation Ltd

3 89 DMS 210 500 42 12 Delhi Milk Scheme

4 87 Mother Dairy

46 100 46 12 Mother Dairy Fruits & Vegetable Pvt. Ltd

4 87 Gowardhan 80 200 40 12 Parag Milk Foods Pvt. Ltd

5 86 Amul 46 100 46 12 Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd

6 84 Paras 225 500 45 12 VRS Foods Pvt. Ltd

Key Findings• Based on the overall test findings, Vita is the top performer and is followed by Verka and DMS.• The value-for-money brand is DMS.• Vita and Verka had the highest fat content.• DMS and Vita had lowest amounts of SNF (solids not fat).• Moisture was lowest in Vita and Verka.• All the brands met all requirements specified in the Food Safety & Standards Regulations.• All brands cleared the tests for microbiological safety and are therefore safe for consumption.• In sensory panel tests, Amul is the top performer and is followed by Mother Dairy and Vita.

10 •

What is butter?

Butter is the smooth, fatty substance obtained from churning cream. Butter manufacturers first pasteurise the cream. This heat treatment destroys bacteria, inactivates enzymes, and gives the cream a cooked or heated flavour.

What is table butter?

Table butter is the product made from pasteurized cream obtained from milk and milk products, with or without ripening with the use of standard lactic culture, addition of common salt, annatto or carotene as colouring matter, and diacetyl as flavouring agent.

What is white butter?

White butter is the product made from pasteurized cream obtained from milk and milk products, without ripening and without addition of any preservative including common salt, any added colouring matter, or any added flavouring agent.

TEST RESULTSFOR PHYSICOCHEMICAL

PARAMETERS

Milk Fat | Milk Solids Not Fat | Curd | Reichert Meissl Value of Extracted Fat | Butyro-

refractometer Reading of Extracted Fat | Moisture | Acidity | Common Salt

Milk fat

As per the national standards, the minimum requirement for milk fat in table butter is 80 per cent.

• Fat percentage was above the minimum requirement in all brands.

• Vita and Verka (83.9 per cent each) had the highest fat content, followed by DMS (82.8 per cent).

Fat is an essential part of any balanced diet, providing essential fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins and a concentrated source of energy. It is a major constituent of butter.

Comparative Test


As per Dietary Guidelines for Indians by National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, 2011, diets of young children and adolescents should contain about 30 grams to 50 grams fat per day. So, a higher amount of milk fat is better for consumers.

Milk solids not fat (SNF)

SNF in table butter shall be a maximum two per cent as per FSS Regulations.

• SNF was found within the permissible limit (0.4 per cent to 1.4 per cent) in all brands.

• DMS (0.4 per cent) had lowest amount of SNF and therefore scored highest. It was followed by Vita (0.7 per cent).

Milk has mainly two parts: fat and solids not fat (SNF). Apart from fat, all other solids such as vitamins, minerals, protein and lactose together make up SNF.

Curd

Curd shall be a maximum 1.0 per cent as per Indian Standard and 1.5 per cent as per AGMARK.

• Curd was highest in Amul and Paras (both 1.3 per cent) and lowest in DMS (0.4 per cent) and Vita (0.7 per cent).

Moisture

The maximum permissible limit for moisture in table butter is 16 per cent.

• Moisture in all brands was within specified limit.

• Vita (13.7 per cent) and Verka (13.8 per cent) had the lowest amounts of moisture. This is good for consumers.

The presence of moisture is inherent in butter processing and to some extent is good for maintaining the taste and odour. But an excess of moisture compromises the quality of the butter.

Acidity

Acidity shall be a maximum 0.15 per cent as per Indian Standards.

• All brands were found within the specified limit.

Acidity is due to lactic acid produced by the action of bacteria. As acidity increases with storage time, this parameter is a means of checking storage conditions.

Common salt

Salt should be a maximum three per cent in table butter as per FSS Regulations.

• All the brands had salt and tasted salty. Salt was found lowest in Verka (1.5 per cent) and highest in Mother Dairy (2.1 per cent).

Salt is added in butter as a preservative and also as a taste and flavour enhancer. Salt must be homogenously mixed during the processing of butter to give it a uniform taste.

The adulteration tests

Reichert-Meissl (RM) value of extracted fat

The RM value is ascertained when examining fat. It determines adulteration.

• All tested brands met the requirement set by FSS Regulations.

Butyro-refractometer (BR) reading of extracted fat

BR reading can be used to check adulteration, if any, of milk fat. An increase in BR reading indicates adulteration with vegetable oil. If BR reading diverges from the prescribed limit for variability, presence of foreign fat may be suspected

• All brands were within the specified limits set by FSS Regulations.

Table Butter

12 •

PHYSICOCHEMICAL SCORES

Parameter ↓Weightage

(%)Vita Verka DMS Mother

DairyGowardhan Amul Paras

Milk fat 30 27.36 27.36 24.72 23.52 23.28 23.76 22.80

Milk solids not fat 8 7.04 6.80 7.76 6.80 6.80 5.60 5.36

Curd 6 5.52 5.28 6.00 4.80 4.80 3.84 3.84

Reichert Meissl value of extracted fat

6 6.00 4.80 5.70 5.55 5.70 5.40 5.52

Butyro-refractometer reading of extracted fat

6 5.52 5.10 5.22 5.64 5.70 5.82 5.70

Moisture 5 4.15 4.10 3.55 3.60 3.50 3.85 3.50

Acidity (as lactic acid) 4 3.68 3.36 3.84 3.68 3.84 3.68 3.84

Common salt as NaCI 3 2.58 2.70 2.46 2.34 2.40 2.40 2.64

Microbiological activity in your butter

Microbiological contamination is a serious issue for milk and milk products. Microorganisms are responsible for many food-borne diseases. We conducted tests as per FSS Regulations, for yeast and mould count, aerobic plate count, coliform count, E. coli, S. aureus, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.

• All the brands passed in these tests.

Comparative Test


Packing and Marking

Packing should be proper because it protects the product from deterioration and increases its shelf life. Each pack should also carry information about the characteristics of the product and/or the claims of the manufacturer. The samples were verified against the marking requirements as given in the relevant Indian Standards.

• Except DMS, all brands were wrapped in printed butter paper and packed in hard paper box. DMS was wrapped in butter paper only.

• DMS did not carry the green dot and customer-care details.

• Net weight was found to be above the declared quantity in all the brands.

• Amul and Vita had AGMARK.

FOR SENSORY ATTRIBUTESThe samples were judged by an expert panel on

these attributes: a) colour, b) appearance, c) flavour, d) body and texture, and e) packaging. The test guidelines were as prescribed in Indian Standard 7769-1975.

• Amul was the top performer and was followed by Mother Dairy and Vita.

• DMS scored lowest.

• Amul was rated best on flavour.

Brand Score out of 12

Amul 11.76

Mother Dairy 11.54

Vita 11.39

Verka 11.32

Paras 11.16

Gowardhan 11.08

DMS 10.46

Dear readers: We are open to hearing your suggestions on products and services that you believe should be reviewed/tested by Team Consumer Voice. You may write to [email protected]

• Amul and Vita had very good packing. DMS was wrapped only in butter paper and was given the lowest score.

Table Butter

14 •

Based on claims by brands, instant noodles are supposed to give us instant protein and calcium, among other things. The atta brands are also expected to contain fibre. Do they declare their fibre amount, though, considering that declaration of fibre/dietary fibre on the label is not mandatory as per Indian law? We shortlisted nine brands of instant noodles (three being atta noodles) to study the protein-, energy- and fibre-related information given on their labels. Interestingly, some of the maida brands have also claimed to contain fibre. Additionally, we have rated the sugar, salt and fat quantities as per traffic light colours. Read on to find out which brands have not mentioned their salt quantity on the label.

Instant NoodlesIs the salt too much and the fibre too less?

We chose nine popular brands of instant noodles to interpret the nutritional information given on their labels. Three brands are made from whole-wheat flour (atta) and six from wheat flour/refined wheat flour (maida).

Decoding Food Labels

Sl No. Brand Label Claim Manufactured/Marketed byMade from wheat flour/refined wheat flour (maida)

1 Ching’sSchezwan

Wheat flour Capital Foods Pvt. Ltd

2 KnorrSchezwan

Refined wheat flour Hindustan Unilever Ltd

3 Maggi2-Minute noodles

Refined wheat flour (maida) Nestle India Ltd

4 RelianceSelect

Wheat flour Reliance Retail Ltd

5 Top Ramen Wheat flour Indo Nissin Foods Pvt. Ltd6 Wai Wai Wheat flour CG Foods (India) Pvt. Ltd


Instant Noodles

Made from whole-wheat flour (atta)

1 Maggi Atta

Atta Nestle India Ltd

2 PatanjaliAtta Classic

Atta Pattanjai Ayurved Ltd

3 Top RamenAtta

Atta Indo Nissin Foods Pvt. Ltd

Energy, Protein and Fibre/Dietary Fibre

Maida Noodles

Sl No.

Brand Energy Protein Fibre/Dietary Fibre

In 100 gm (kcal)

% of RDA (for woman doing

sedentary work)

In 100 gm

(gm)

% RDA for man

In 100 gm (gm)

% of RDA (WHO

recommendation)

1 Ching’sSchezwan

441.7 23.2 10.5 17.5 NM* _

2 KnorrSchezwan

423.5 22.3 9.3 15.5 0.6 2.0

3 Maggi2-Minute Noodles

427.0 22.5 8.0 13.3 3.6 12.0

4 RelianceSelect

429.0 22.6 10.0 16.7 NM* _

5 Top Ramen 464.0 24.4 8.5 14.2 NM* _

6 Wai Wai 470.5 24.8 9.4 15.7 3.0 10.0

Atta Noodles

Sl No.

Brand Energy Protein Fibre/Dietary Fibre

In 100 gm (kcal)

% of RDA (for woman doing

sedentary work)

In 100 gm

(gm)

% RDA for man

In 100 gm (gm)

% of RDA (WHO

recommendation)

1 Maggi Atta

422.0 22.2 12.0 20.0 6.0 20.0


462.0 24.3 10.2 17.0 5.6 18.7

3 Top RamenAtta

465.3 24.5 8.2 13.7 4.8 16.0

16 •

Key Findings• Among the nine brands, energy value is highest in Wai Wai (470.5 kcal per 100 gm) and lowest in Maggi

Atta (422 kcal per 100 gm).

• Consuming 100 gm of Wai Wai noodles by a woman engaged in sedentary work means about one-fourth (24.8 per cent) of her daily requirement of energy has been met.

• Among the nine brands, protein value is highest in Maggi Atta (12 gm in 100 gm) and lowest in Maggi 2-Minute Noodles (8 gm in 100 gm).

• Consuming 100 gm of Maggi Atta noodles by a man means one-fifth (20 per cent) of his daily requirement of protein has been met.

• Declaration of fibre/dietary fibre on the label is not mandatory as per Indian law. Among the nine brands, six – Knorr Schezwan, Maggi 2-Minute Noodles, Wai Wai, Maggi Atta, Patanjali Atta and Top Ramen Atta – have declared dietary fibre on their labels. This is a consumer-friendly step on the part of these brands.

• Among the brands that have declared fibre/dietary fibre, the highest amount is in Maggi Atta (6 gm per 100 gm) and the lowest is in Knorr Schezwan (0.6 gm per 100 gm).

• Consuming 100 gm of Maggi Atta noodles by a person means one-fifth (20 per cent) of their daily requirement of fibre/dietary fibre has been met.

Dietary-fibre requirement can be met by adopting a diet that incorporates plant-origin foods including fruits, vegetables and grains.

A high-fibre diet offers many health benefits, which include:

• Normalising bowel movements

• Maintaining bowel health

• Lowering of cholesterol levels

• Helping control blood sugar levels

• Aiding in achieving healthy weight

The WHO Committee on Chronic Degenerative Diseases has recommended a daily dietary-fibre intake of 30 gm.



Per-Day Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for Indians

This is as per the manual of Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2011, prepared by National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad. RDA refers to the average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all healthy people.

Nutritional labelling of packaged food products refers to the disclosure of the main nutrients, such as energy, fat, protein, carbohydrate, sugar and salt content, on the label. As per India’s Food Safety and Standards (Packaging & Labelling) Regulations, 2011, mandatory nutritional information or nutritional facts per 100 grams or 100 millilitres or per serving of the product shall be given on the label. Such information shall contain the following:

a) energy value in kilocalories (kcal)

b) the amounts of protein, carbohydrate (specify quantity of sugar) and fat in gram (gm) or ml

c) the amount of any other nutrient for which a nutrition or health claim is made

Note that declaration of salt/sodium and dietary fibre is not mandatory.

Instant Noodles

Traffic Light Labelling

In year 2007, Food Standards Agency (FSA) of the United Kingdom developed traffic light labelling guidelines with these objectives:

• to allow consumers to correctly identify healthier food products

• to assist consumers to make comparisons between products easily

• to allow consumers to make these comparisons at a glance

The traffic light labelling system uses three colours – green, amber and red – to show at a glance if a particular food has low, medium or high amounts of fat, sugar and salt. Foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt are linked with obesity and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and high blood pressure. As yet, the UK labelling system is not followed in India.

18 •

Ingredient Green (low content)

Amber (medium content)

Red (high content)

Fat less than or equal to 3 gm between 3 gm and 17.5 gm more than 17.5 gm

Sugar less than or equal to 5 gm between 5 gm and 22.5 gm more than 22.5 gm

Salt less than or equal to 0.3 gm between 0.3 gm and 1.5 gm more than 1.5 gm

Results can be interpreted as follows:Green: eat often (desirable); amber: eat occasionally (neutral); red: eat sparingly (undesirable)

This is how the criteria for foods (per 100 gm) are set out in the traffic light labelling system:

Traffic Light Rating

Maida Noodles

Sl No. Brand Fat Sugar Salt

In 100 gm(gm)

Traffic Light

In 100 gm(gm)

TrafficLight

In 100 gm(gm)

TrafficLight

1 Ching’sSchezwan

16.3 Amber 0.0 Green 4.5* Red

2 KnorrSchezwan

17.2 Amber 9.3 Amber 3.9* Red


15.7 Amber 2.2Green

3.1*Red

4 RelianceSelect

17.3 Amber 4.4 Green NM _

5 Top Ramen 18.9 Red 2.2 Green NM -

6 Wai Wai 20.9 Red 2.1 Green 3.5 Red



NM: Not mentioned *Sodium multiplied by 2.54

Atta Noodles

Sl No. Brand Fat Sugar SaltIn 100 gm(gm)

Traffic Light

In 100 gm(gm)

TrafficLight

In 100 gm(gm)

TrafficLight

1 MaggiAtta

14.6 Amber 2.8 Green 2.8* Red


19.0 Red 3.3 Green 3.5* Red

3 Top RamenAtta

21.0 Red 3.6 Green NM _

Instant Noodles

Key Findings• Traffic light for fat is amber in Ching’s Schezwan, Knorr Schezwan, Maggi 2-Minute Noodles, Reliance

Select and Maggi Atta – this means one may consume these occasionally. It is red for Top Ramen, Wai Wai, Patanjali Atta and Top Ramen Atta, which means one may eat these sparingly (undesirable).

• Traffic light for sugar is amber for Knorr Schezwan. For the rest it is green – this translates into ‘desirable’ so far as sugar is concerned.

• While declaration of sodium/salt on food products label is not mandatory as per Indian law, six brands – Ching’s Schezwan, Knorr Schezwan, Maggi 2-Minute Noodles, Wai Wai, Maggi Atta and Patanjali Atta – have done so. This is a consumer-friendly step on the part of these brands.

• Reliance Select, Top Ramen and Top Ramen Atta have not declared their sodium/salt quantity.

• For the brands that have declared their salt content, traffic light is red.

• Consuming 100 gm of Ching’s Schezwan noodles means 90 per cent of one’s daily requirement of salt has been met.

20 •

Unit Price

The unit price gives a fair idea about the cheapest and costliest brands.

WHO (World Health Organization) Guidelines on Dietary Salt

Adults should consume less than 2 grams of sodium, or 5 grams of salt, per day, according to guidelines issued by the WHO. The main source of sodium in our diet is salt, although it can also come from sodium glutamate, used as a condiment in many parts of the world. A person with elevated sodium levels can be at risk of raised blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Sl No. Brand Maximum Retail Price (MRP) (Rs)

Declared Net Weight (gm)

Unit Price (price per 100 gm) (Rs)

Made from wheat flour/refined wheat flour (maida)1 Ching’s

Schezwan10 60 16.67

2 KnorrSchezwan

15 68 22.06


12 70 17.14

4 RelianceSelect

18 75 24.00

5 Top Ramen 10 70 14.296 Wai Wai 12 70 17.14

Made from whole-wheat flour (atta)1 Maggi

Atta19 75 25.33


10 60 16.67

3 Top RamenAtta

15 70 21.43



In case you did not know

1) Noodles are ‘snack’ foods and so it’s best to reduce consumption.

2) High salt is added to noodles through the seasoning supplied in sachets. You can reduce the sodium content by using a minimum amount of seasoning, preferably half of the sachet.

3) You can increase the protein value of noodles by adding an egg or a small amount of soya products such as tofu or soya nuggets. Add vegetables and fruits either for garnishing or as an accompaniment.

• Analytical Quality Testingo Food Testing o Water Testingo Testing of Beverageso Environmental Testing

• Training o FoSTaC (Mandated by FSSAI for all FBOs)o Analytical Training o Food Technology Dissertation

• Research and Development o Product Development o Method Development o Product Enhancement o Efficacy Studies o Research Surveys o Sensory Evaluation

Our Accreditations & Certifications • National Accreditation Board for Testing and

Calibration Laboratories - ISO/IEC 17025: 2005 (TC-5275)

• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSAI)

• Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)• Central Pollution Control Board of India (CPCB)• Department of Scientific and Industrial Research

(DSIR)• OHSAS 18001 : 2007 Occupational Health and

Safety Assessment Series• ISO 22000: 2005- Food Safety Management System• ISO 14001:2015- Environmental management

systems• ISO 9001: 2015, Quality Management System

FICCI Research & Analysis CentreIndia’s leading Laboratory for Food & Environment Analytical Services

Contact: Tel. No. +91 11 45333500/529, Mob.: +91 7042786159Email Id: [email protected], [email protected]

Address: Plot No. 2A, Sector-8, Dwarka, New Delhi- 110077

30 Years of Excellence...Services We Offer:

Instant NoodlesKey Findings• As per unit price, Top Ramen (Rs 14.29 per 100 gm) is the cheapest among the brands made from maida.

The costliest is Reliance Select (Rs 24 per 100 gm).

• Among the brands made with atta, Patanjali Atta Classic (Rs 16.67 per 100 gm) is the cheapest and Maggi Atta (Rs 25.33 per 100 gm) is the costliest.

22 •

You see these in sweets shops, these thin silver foils peppered on the various delicacies. Also known as chandi ka vark, various mouth fresheners, dry fruits and spices, and some culinary preparations, too, are frequently garnished with these silver leaves. Why are these used in the first place? Are there safety concerns associated with consumption of such silver?

Here are some reasons why silver leaf has found such extensive usage:

• It provides a rich, appealing look to foods.

• Silver has antimicrobial properties and so prevents growth of bacteria.

• It prevents spoilage from contaminants.

• It increases shelf life of foods.

Silver is an excellent antibacterial agent even in low concentrations. In fact, it is also used in antiseptic creams and in dressing materials. Recent studies have claimed that silver consumption may be helpful for diabetic patients too.

The Silver Leaf on Your FoodIs it safe for consumption?

Stuff Matters

Silver foils have traditionally been used in Indian culinary preparations. Their use is also common in South Asian, Middle Eastern and Japanese cuisines. Gold and silver foils were used extensively in some European nations for medicinal purposes. Ayurveda has also prescribed the use of gold and silver foils for various medicinal properties.

So, Is It Okay to Eat that Silver?

None of the beneficial aspects mentioned above implies that one should start having foods with


The Silver Leaf on Your Food

silver regularly. While having it once in a while in sweets, mouth fresheners and other culinary preparations is fine, it is important to note that silver is not an essential mineral and there is no dietary recommendation for silver.

Excessive consumption of biologically active silver can cause irreversible damage to human beings. Edible silver foil/vark is not considered harmful to the body, as they are biologically not active in nature.

There is Adulteration too

Unscrupulous manufacturers are known to use aluminium instead of silver. Some food samples containing silver foils have been found to have traces of nickel, lead, copper, chromium, cadmium and manganese. Their consumption can be harmful for human consumption.

There are also concerns regarding poor quality of silver and unhygienic preparation methods.

In European nations, foils made up of gold and silver have been recognized as approved food foils. The European Union classifies these as food additives and has assigned them E numbers (numbers assigned to food additives for universal identification) – E175 for gold foils and E174 for silver foils.

How Can You Identify Fake Silver/Vark?

Here are some quick tests to detect adulterants in silver leaves.

Test 1

Take some portion of leaf and crush it between two fingers. Pure silver leaf will crush easily and crumble into powders. Aluminium leaf will break into smaller shreds.

Silver leaves are also available to consumers in grocery shops and bakery shops, and even on e-commerce portals. They are used to prepare traditional delicacies at household level.

Test 2

Take the suspended silver leaf, shape it into a ball, and ignite it. Pure silver leaf will burn out completely, leaving behind a glistening ball. Aluminium will burn and leave behind ashes that are greyish black.

Test 3

Place the silver leaves in a test tube and add diluted hydrochloric acid. If it becomes turbid with a white precipitate, it is silver because aluminium can neither become turbid nor can it precipitate.

Test 4

Simply attempt to wipe off the silver layer. If the silver residue sticks in the hand, it is most likely adulterated with aluminium.

24 •

Making It Vegetarian

Silver leaf was traditionally manufactured by placing silver between the intestines of animals obtained from slaughterhouses and hammering it thin. That way, it was easier to remove the thin silver sheets from an animal tissue. However, keeping in mind the concerns of vegetarians, this activity was banned in 2016 by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

An alternative manufacturing process involves beating the silver using specially treated paper and polyester coated with food-grade calcium powder.

– Compiled by Richa Pande

The following clauses are as per Regulation 2.11.4 of Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives), Regulations, 2011, with regard to silver foil or chandi ka vark:

• It should be in the form of a sheet of uniform thickness, free from creases and folds. The weight of the silver leaf should be up to 2.8g/sq. m, and silver content should be of minimum 999/1,000 fineness.

• It should not be manufactured using any material of animal origin at any stage, and be in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011, and the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011.

Stuff Matters

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These are as good as a necessity if you live in a locality that experiences frequent and unannounced power cuts. Of course there is nothing like a standard inverter that serves all purposes for everyone. That will depend on factors like your power requirements and the appliances you will need to run on your inverter. Here, the battery capacity plays the determining role. It will determine how many backup hours the inverter will provide and for how many hours your equipments will run. Going cost-effective may not prove to be the wisest course here because better battery life and maintenance may not come at the cheaper prices.

InvertersWhich one do you want to be on, when the power goes off?

Product Survey

To begin with, know your power requirements and what electrical appliances you will need/want to run on the inverter when there is no power. After all, you need that inverter so as to be able

to operate your basic household electrical appliances.

The first thing is to calculate how much backup you want, or how many appliances you want the inverter to support. Since each appliance has a different power requirement, it is advisable to note down what appliances are a must so that you can decide what capacity of inverter/battery you should purchase.

An inverter is an electrical device that converts DC voltage into AC voltage. The DC voltage is supplied to the inverter by the battery that is connected to the inverter, while the AC voltage is supplied to the household circuit by the inverter to run the home appliances. In the layperson’s language, it stores energy (electricity) as a backup in the battery when there is power and distributes it in order to run home appliances in case of a power failure.

28 •

Product Survey

For example

If you want to support 4 fans, 3 tubelights, 3 CFL bulbs and one television, the total power requirement is (4 x 80 + 3 x 40 + 3 x 20 + 120) = 620 watts. So you will need an inverter that can support those 620 watts. Considering a power factor of 0.8, you will need an inverter/UPS of 775 VA, or above, capacity.

Here is a compilation of the all-important things you should know before making the final purchase decision.

• Types of inverter

There are three types of inverter based on the waveforms.

• Sine-wave inverter (most recommended): This is the correct waveform on which all electronic equipment, televisions and computers are designed to run. They filter the output voltage well. Although a bit costly, these are the best when it comes to handling electronic/heavier appliances.

• Modified sine-wave inverter (budget-friendly): These are cheaper compared to sine wave inverters but works with the majority of the appliances. However, these may reduce the power efficiency when used longer.

• Square-wave inverter (avoid): These are the simplest and cheapest of all, but works only with simple equipments. Computers, televisions, induction motors, transformer loads and even light bulbs are not recommended to run on this waveform.

What appliances can you run on the inverter?

An inverter is usually recommended for running energy backup for lights, ceiling fans, computers, televisions, etc. If you wish to run the refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner, etc., you need to buy a higher-capacity inverter.

Sine-wave inverters are expensive compared to the other two types, but are the best for high-

sensitivity electronic equipments/heavy appliances. Modified sine-wave inverters are best for appliances with medium power requirements – for example, for televisions, laptop chargers, etc. Square-wave inverters are the least efficient inverters and can power only low-sensitivity applications (lighting and heating).

• Inverter battery

The battery is the backbone of an inverter system. The performance and backup time of an inverter largely depend upon the battery quality and capacity. When you want to know ‘how much backup will the inverter provide’ or ‘for how many hours it can run all of your equipments’, you need to check the battery capacity. It is the battery capacity that decides the backup hours. It is expressed in Ah (ampere hours).

We recommend the tubular batteries. While on the costlier side, these have storage and longer life spans when compared to flat-plate batteries. The only thing you should make sure is to fill it regularly with distilled water for the battery to run well.

kW and VA

Watts (W) and volt-amperes (VA) are units of measurement for electrical power. Watts refer to ‘real power’, while volt-amperes refer to ‘apparent power’. Electronic products show one or both of these values to provide information about how much energy they will consume or how much current they will draw.


Inverters

Power Requirement Backup (in hours) Suggested Battery Size

600 watts 2 (600 x 2)/12 = 100Ah

900 watts 2 (900 x 2)/12 = 150Ah

1000 watts 3 (1,000 x 3)/12 = 250Ah

How to Choose Battery Size

Batteries are available in various ampere-hour capacities. You need to first decide how much backup you require. Here is the formula to calculate the backup:

Load/Voltage x backup hours = amperes

For example, 542 watts/12V x 3 hours= 135Ah

Calculating Battery Size

Types of Inverter Battery

Feature Flat-Plate Battery Tubular Battery Maintenance-Free Batteries

Battery life Low (~ 3 years) High (~ 5 years) Medium (3 to 4 years)

Maintenance High Medium Low

Water toppings High Medium Low

Safety Low Low High

Releases harmful gases Yes Yes No

Ventilation requirement Yes Yes No

Weight Low High Depends on the model

Price Rs 9,000 to Rs 15,000 Rs 9,000 to Rs 25,000 More than Rs 11,000

30 •

Comparisons at a Glance: Of Inverters and Batteries

Sl No.

Brand ModelCapacity

(VA)

Sine Wave/Quasi Sine

Wave/Square Wave

Inverter

Battery (no. of

batteries required)

Price (Rs)

Warrantee (year)

1 Luminous Zelio 1,700 Sine wave Inverter/UPS 2 6,900 2

2 Microtek Static Converter UPS SEBz

1,100 Sine wave Inverter/UPS 1 4,220 2

3 Luminous Zelio 1,100 Sine wave Inverter/UPS 1 4,549 2

4 Microtek Hybrid 950 Sine wave Ups Inverter 1 3,880 2

5 APC BI850SINE 850 Sine wave Ups Inverter 1 5,556 2

6Exide 850VA Pure

Sine Wave850 Sine wave Ups Inverter 1 5,080 2

7 Microtek Upseb 900 Square wave Inverter 1 4,120 2

8 Luminous Ecovolt 700 Sine wave Inverter 1 3,780 2

9 Microtek Ups 24x7 Hb

725 Sine wave Inverter 1 3,140 2

10 Amaron 880VA 880 Sine wave Inverter 1 5,424 2

11 Su-Kam SHINY 900 Sine wave Inverter 1 7,999 2+7

12 Microtek UPS 24x7 HB 950 Sine wave Inverter 1 3,699 2

13 Su-kam Falcon Eco 1,000 Sine wave Inverter 1 3,990 2

14 Luminous Ecovolt 1,650 Sine wave Inverter 2 6,880 2

15 Luminous Zelio 1,500 Sine wave Inverter 2 7,125 2

16 Microtek SEBz 1,600 Sine wave Inverter 2 6,186 2

17 Su-kam Falcon 1,600 Sine wave Inverter 2 6,500 2

18 Luminous Cruz 2,000 Sine wave Inverter 2 9,762 2

19 Microtek Jumbo 2,000 Sine wave Inverter 2 7,339 2

20 Su-kam Falcon Eco 2,000 Sine wave Inverter 2 6,900 2

Product Survey

Dispose of the old battery

Your dealer will pay you for the dead battery or deduct the amount from the new battery price. Ensure that your battery is not disposed of in any manner other than by depositing it with the local dealer/manufacturer/registered recycler or at designated collection centres.


Inverter Batteries – Tubular type

Sl No. Brand ModelCapacity

(Ah)Weight

(kg)Price

Warrantee (months)

1 Exide New Insta Brite Battery 150 41 10,700 36

2 Amaron Tall Tubular Battery 150 11,800 48

3 Luminous ILTT 18048 150 54.7 17,100 60

4 Luminous RC 18000 150 53.3 11,300 36

5 Luminous EXTRA CHARGE - EC 18036 150 54.7 15,200 36

6 Luminous INVERLAST - ILTT 24060 180 60 21,000 60

7 Luminous INVERLAST - ILTT 25060 200 62.5 18,850 60

8 Amaron CR150TT 150 17,400 36

9 Exide EIMTT1500B 150 56.5 14,000 36

10 Exide INVAGO1500 150 67 17,500 60

11 Su-kam SBW 1500 150 61.5 14,470 48

12 Okaya XL6600T 160 11,100 36

13 SF Sonic STAN MASTER SM8500 150 46 11,099 36

14 Tata Green INV 150G51 150 44.6 11,349 24

15 Exide INVAMASTER IMST1500 150 56.5 12,549 36

16 Microtek POWER EB 1800TT 150 46 11,799 36

17 Microtek POWER EB 1700 10,699 36

18 Tata Green INV -180H52 180 64 14,000 24

Note: Price may vary from retailer to retailer and are negotiable. Before buying check detailed specifications on ecommerce platforms like amazon.in and flipkart.com and compare the models.

Inverters

32 •

Load (watts)

12-Volt Inverter Battery

100Ah 150Ah 180Ah 200Ah

Backup time (hours) Backup time (hours) Backup time (hours) Backup time (hours)

50 19.2 28.8 34.56 38.4

100 9.6 14.4 17.28 19.2

150 6.4 9.6 11.52 12.8

200 4.8 7.2 8.64 9.6

250 3.8 5.7 6.91 7.68

300 3.2 4.8 5.76 6.4

350 2.7 4.11 4.93 5.4

400 2.4 3.6 4.32 4.8

450 2.1 3.2 3.84 4.26

500 1.92 2.8 3.45 3.84

Backup Time

Backup time of inverter battery depends on battery capacity (Ah) and connected load. Estimated backup time is given in the table below.

Increase the Life of Your Inverter’s Battery

• First and most important, replenish the distilled water at the right time. That will depend on your inverter’s battery type and usage pattern. Better keep a reminder in your smartphone calendar or make a habit of checking it on the first of the month.

• Never keep the battery on the floor. Always use a plastic trolley or some insulated material sheet for the battery’s longer life.

• Apply grease on the socket connections to protect the battery from corrosion or rust decays. If there is corrosion already, remove it with the help of an old brush, hot water and baking soda.

• Discharge the battery completely once in a month and charge it again. It will refresh the inner electrolyte.

• It is better not to connect high-load devices to the inverter when they are not necessary. Using energy-efficient home appliances also lowers the burden on the inverter battery significantly.

• You can use a trolley, also known as battery cover or case, for the battery. It stops damage of flooring from acid spillage. The battery is kept inside the trolley and the inverter is placed on top of it, thus taking less space.

Product Survey


Where a solar inverter differs from a normal inverter

The solar inverter consists of solar panels, a charge controller, some switching circuits and batteries and inverters. It has a terminal for connecting the battery and solar panels of correct rating. The battery is charged from the output of solar panels when it is under sufficient sunlight. In a solar inverter, the photovoltaic solar panel produces variable direct current (DC). The inverter converts this direct current into alternating current.

Using a solar inverter will help you reduce the electricity bill. Solar panels can be placed at homes as well as offices.

UPS and Inverters

While both UPS and inverters provide backup power, inverters are preferred for general electric appliances whose working may not get affected by extended delays in power supply. The UPS is used for electronic appliances such as computers, servers, workstations and medical equipment which perform critical tasks and cannot tolerate delays in power supply. In UPS, the switchover to backup power is prompt, while in an inverter there is a little delay. The UPS also provides protection to the load against spike, voltage fluctuation and noise.

Inverters

34 •

As a banking product, debit cards have gained in popularity over recent years, with more and more consumers swiping these more and more. Sample this – while debit-card usage in ATMs dropped by 18 per cent between August 2013 and August 2018, its usage at point-of-sale (PoS) outlets increased by 200 per cent during the same period. At the same time, this is also true that when a certain product begins to be used extensively, the negative features/fallouts come to the fore. In the following report, we will focus on these aspects and also assess the various banks’ offerings on some standard parameters.

Subas Tiwari & Gopal Ravi Kumar

Debit Cards How banks charge you for using these

For this study, we chose private banks mainly because they are more aggressive in their approach in providing latest technologies to customers, as compared to nationalized banks. Among the private banks, we

considered their people-to-bank network ratio in the country as measured in the number of branches serving customers. Narrowing it down, we selected those private banks that were operating more than 500 branches in India.

In the NewsBFSI


What are e-payments?

An e-payment system is a way of making transactions or paying for goods and services through an electronic medium, without the use of cheque or cash. It's also referred to as an electronic payment system or online payment system.

The final 12 banks were compared on their charges, if any, for services/facilities such as card issue, annual maintenance, PoS transactions, transactions per month at ATMs (own bank), ATM-transaction fee (beyond limit), international card-transaction fee, renewal of card, and issue of duplicate card/PIN. We gave the highest weightage (20 points) to customer feedback, which also helped in determining the most important and beneficial variables. These variables have a direct bearing on the product structure. Our questionnaire covering various features of banks’ debit cards received responses from more than 500 customers.

In India, total debit cards in circulation as on November 2017 was 731,332,595 and this grew to 805,522,146 as on August 2018, thereby registering about 109% growth. Consequent growth in rupee value was 2,492,721.70 Mn (November 2017), as against 2,759,761.00 Mn (August 2018), which is a jump of 109.67%.

CV RECOMMENDATIONS

Best Buy

Yes Bank

Good Buy

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank

Fair Buy

Karur Vysya Bank

In the NewsDebit Cards

36 •

Notes:

a) Information given here has been sourced from banks’ websites and brochures as on 03-12-2018.

b) Unless specified otherwise, all figures are in rupees.

c) NS – not specified

d) For the purposes of this study, we have considered only those private banks that have 500 or more branches in India.

e) The figures mentioned above pertain to metropolitan branches.

f) In many banks the GST is included in service charges and is hence not specified here.

g) Charges for services described differently in nomenclature are grouped under major heads.

E-PAYMENTS THROUGH DEBIT CARDS: A COMPARATIVE CHART

CV Weightage

Points (100)e-Payments thru Debit Card Yes Bank


Karur Vysya Bank

Federal Bank

Lakshmi Vilas Bank

Karnataka Bank

HDFC Bank

Axis Bank

IndusInd Bank

City Union

South Indian Bank

Bandhan Bank

10 Card-issue fee 149 (4) Nil (10) 125 (7) Nil (10) Nil (10) Nil (10) NS (0) Nil (10) 249 (2) Nil (10) 200 (2) 200 (2)

10 Annual-maintenance fee 149 (4) 100 (7) 175 (2) 150 (4) 100 (7) 150 (4) 200 (2) Nil (10) 249 (2) NS (0) 200 (2) 200 (2)

5 Renewal of card fee 149 (3) NS (0) Nil (5) Nil (5) NS (0) NS (0) 200 (1) NS (0) 249 (1) Nil (5) NS (0) NS (0)

5 Issue of duplicate PIN fee 50 (3) 50 Nil (5) 50 (3) 100 (1) NS (0) 50 (3) Nil (5) 20 (3) NS (0) 100 (1) NS (0)

5 Duplicate-card fee 149 (3) 200 (3) 100 (5) 300 (1) 200 (3) 100 (5) 200 (3) NS (0) 249 (1) 250 (1) NS (0) NS (0)

10 PoS transaction charge (%) NS (0) Nil (10) NS (0) 2.5 (5) NS (0) 2.5 (5) Nil (10) NS (0) NS (0) NS (0) NS (0) NS (0)

10Free transactions per month at ATMs (own bank) (no.)

Free (10) Free (10) Free (10) NS (0) Free (10) 8 (7) 5 (4) 4 (1) Free (10) NS (0) NS (0) Free (10)

10Free transactions per month at other banks’ ATMs (no.)

5 (4) 5 (4) 5 (4) Free (10) 3 (1) 8 (7) 3 (1) 4 (2) 5 (4) 5 (4) 5 (4) 5 (4)

5 ATM transaction fee (beyond limit) 20 (3) 20 (3) 20 (3) 20 (3) 18 (5) 20 (3) 20 (3) NS (0) 20 (3) 20 (3) 20 (3) 20 (3)

5International card-transaction fee (cash withdrawal)

120 (5) 100 (5) 125 (5) 100 (5) 100 (5) 150 (2) 110 (5) NS (0) 125 (5) NS (0) 150 (2) 125 (2)

5International card-transaction fee (balance enquiry)

20 (5) NS (0) 25 (2) 25 (2) 25 (2) 25 (2) 25 (2) NS (0) NS (0) NS (0) 25 (2) 25 (2)

20 Customer feedback 18 6 5 3 4 2 10 8 3 6 2 1

Total 62 61 53 51 48 47 44 36 34 29 18 29

In the NewsBFSI


E-PAYMENTS THROUGH DEBIT CARDS: A COMPARATIVE CHART

CV Weightage

Points (100)e-Payments thru Debit Card Yes Bank


Karur Vysya Bank

Federal Bank

Lakshmi Vilas Bank

Karnataka Bank

HDFC Bank

Axis Bank

IndusInd Bank

City Union

South Indian Bank

Bandhan Bank

10 Card-issue fee 149 (4) Nil (10) 125 (7) Nil (10) Nil (10) Nil (10) NS (0) Nil (10) 249 (2) Nil (10) 200 (2) 200 (2)

10 Annual-maintenance fee 149 (4) 100 (7) 175 (2) 150 (4) 100 (7) 150 (4) 200 (2) Nil (10) 249 (2) NS (0) 200 (2) 200 (2)

5 Renewal of card fee 149 (3) NS (0) Nil (5) Nil (5) NS (0) NS (0) 200 (1) NS (0) 249 (1) Nil (5) NS (0) NS (0)

5 Issue of duplicate PIN fee 50 (3) 50 Nil (5) 50 (3) 100 (1) NS (0) 50 (3) Nil (5) 20 (3) NS (0) 100 (1) NS (0)

5 Duplicate-card fee 149 (3) 200 (3) 100 (5) 300 (1) 200 (3) 100 (5) 200 (3) NS (0) 249 (1) 250 (1) NS (0) NS (0)

10 PoS transaction charge (%) NS (0) Nil (10) NS (0) 2.5 (5) NS (0) 2.5 (5) Nil (10) NS (0) NS (0) NS (0) NS (0) NS (0)

10Free transactions per month at ATMs (own bank) (no.)

Free (10) Free (10) Free (10) NS (0) Free (10) 8 (7) 5 (4) 4 (1) Free (10) NS (0) NS (0) Free (10)

10Free transactions per month at other banks’ ATMs (no.)

5 (4) 5 (4) 5 (4) Free (10) 3 (1) 8 (7) 3 (1) 4 (2) 5 (4) 5 (4) 5 (4) 5 (4)

5 ATM transaction fee (beyond limit) 20 (3) 20 (3) 20 (3) 20 (3) 18 (5) 20 (3) 20 (3) NS (0) 20 (3) 20 (3) 20 (3) 20 (3)

5International card-transaction fee (cash withdrawal)

120 (5) 100 (5) 125 (5) 100 (5) 100 (5) 150 (2) 110 (5) NS (0) 125 (5) NS (0) 150 (2) 125 (2)

5International card-transaction fee (balance enquiry)

20 (5) NS (0) 25 (2) 25 (2) 25 (2) 25 (2) 25 (2) NS (0) NS (0) NS (0) 25 (2) 25 (2)

20 Customer feedback 18 6 5 3 4 2 10 8 3 6 2 1

Total 62 61 53 51 48 47 44 36 34 29 18 29


There are usually two types of charges on a debit card. One is the annual fee that a bank charges for issuing the card to the customer. The other is the convenience fee that is charged at merchant outlets for swiping the card at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal.

A customer is entitled to eight free monthly transactions at an ATM (five at their home bank ATMs and three at non- home bank ATMs) in a metro city. Thereafter, a bank charge is levied on each ATM transaction.

The Advantages in Digital Transactions

a) The biggest advantage is convenience. Customers can pay for items on an e-commerce website at anytime and anywhere. They just need an internet-connected device.

b) Lower transaction costs and decreased technology costs make it more convenient and simple.

c) Transactions are made in seconds without wasting customer’s time.

d) One can always check their virtual account and keep track of their transaction history.

e) One can reach more clients from all over the world, resulting in more sales.

And the Limitations a) Difficult for a non-technical person: Most of

the digital payment modes are based on mobile phones, the internet and cards. These modes may be somewhat difficult for a layperson to understand and accept.

b) The risk of data theft: Hackers can attack the servers of the bank or the e-wallet you are using and get your personal information. They can use this information to steal money from your account.

c) Overspending: You keep limited cash in your physical wallet and may think twice before buying anything. In digital payment modes, you have all your money with you always. This can result in overspending.

38 •

Do These

• Sign immediately on receipt of the debit card (at the back).

• Change the PIN at frequent intervals.

• During PoS transactions, ensure that all relevant details are correct before putting your PIN number so that the card does not get declined (some banks make it applicable for international transactions).

• Use the debit card only on reputed websites, be it for using through the internet or through a POS.

• Retain the transaction confirmation receipt after using the debit card.

• Be sure to check the card statement and report immediately to your bank if you find any transaction that is suspicious in nature or has not been authorized by you.

• Keep the bank’s phone number handy in case of a lost/stolen debit card so that the card can be immediately blocked from misuse.

• Link your mobile number/email to your debit card/bank account.

• Avoid obvious/easy-to-guess PIN numbers – for example, car number, date of birth, house number.

• Do not lend your debit card to anyone as this card is non-transferable and there is no guarantee that the user will keep it secure.

• Do not immediately throw the charge transaction slip generated by an ATM; carry it with you and throw it somewhere else. This will ensure that scamsters/fraudsters do not misuse the details available in the slip.

Banks have introdu+ced chip-enabled credit/debit cards to enhance data security. Customers need to contact their banks and complete the formalities for exchanging their old cards for the new chip-based debit cards.

How to Report a Debit-Card Fraud?

A fraudulent online transaction in one’s bank account through debit-card use when the card is still in their possession? Yes, that’s a real possibility and can be done by fraudsters by means of email spoofing, phishing or cloning your card. If that happens, here are the steps for you to follow.

• Step 1

The moment you come to know that a suspicious transaction has been done through your debit card (it could be an SMS to your mobile at midnight), ask the card issuer (either by ringing up the customer-care number of the bank or by sending an email) to block the card immediately.

• Step 2

File a complaint in writing with the bank with the following documents:

o Bank statement of your account

o Copy of the SMS received for the alleged transaction

o Copy of your ID proof and address proof as given to the bank

o Copy of the police complaint (narrating the events) that you have filed with the local police station

Not Any of These, though

• Do not click on the ‘save’ option for storing card details and/or password, as it can become accessible to accidental users.

• Avoid using computers at cyber cafes or at any other public place for online transactions.

• Do not respond to, or continue a call from, any number that requires you to disclose card/account details or any other vital information, as none of the banks would ring you up/send email for seeking such information.

In the NewsBFSI


In case the transaction was conducted through a phone app, furnish the screenshot of the information and the location where it was downloaded.

What if the police authorities refuse to lodge an FIR?

Police authorities are obliged to accept any complaint from any member of public where she/he has been duped or has any public grievance. In case the police refuse to entertain lodging of a written complaint, the consumer has the right to approach the courts under Section 156 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Aggrieved consumers can also lodge a complaint with the cyber cell, in addition to lodging their complaint with the police. The contact details of district cyber cells specific to your place of residence are available on the internet.

Fraudulent Transactions and Liability of the Cardholder

Reserve Bank of India, in its circular dated 06.07.2017, spelled out zero liability and limited liability.

• Zero liability

A customer’s entitlement to zero liability shall arise in the following events:

a) Contributory fraud/negligence/deficiency lies on the part of the bank

b) Third-party breach where the deficiency lies neither with the bank nor with the customer but lies elsewhere in the system, and where the customer notifies the bank within three working days of receiving the communication from the bank regarding the unauthorized transaction

• Limited liability

A customer shall be liable for the loss occurring due to unauthorized transactions as under:

a) Negligence by customer: Cases where the loss is due to negligence by a customer, such as where he has shared the payment credentials, the customer will bear the entire loss until he reports the unauthorized transaction to the bank. Any loss occurring after the reporting of this unauthorized transaction shall be borne by the bank.

b) Delay in reporting or customer’s liability is not proved: Cases where the responsibility for the unauthorized transaction lies neither with the bank nor with the customer, but lies elsewhere in the system, and where there is a delay (of 4 to 7 working days after receiving the communication from the bank) on the part of the customer in notifying the bank of such a transaction, the per-transaction liability of the customer shall be as delineated in the accompanying table.


40 •

Type of Account Maximum Liability (Rs)

Basic SB deposit accounts 5,000

All other SB accounts, prepaid

payment instruments and gift cards, etc.

10,000

All other accounts and credit cards (above particular limits) 25,000

Summary of Customer’s Liability

Time Taken for Reporting Fraudulent Transaction

Customer’s Liability (Rs)

Within 3 working days 0

Within 4–7 working days

The transaction value or the amount as mentioned in the table below (on maximum liability), whichever is lower

Beyond 7 working days As per bank’s board-approved policy

Reversal Timeline for Zero Liability/Limited Liability of Customer

• On being notified by a customer, the bank shall credit (or by reversal of debit) the amount of unauthorized transaction back to the customer’s account within 10 days without waiting for the settlement of insurance claim, if any. The credit or reversal of debit shall be value-dated so as not to cause loss of bank interest to the customer on the transaction. Banks may also at their discretion decide to waive off any customer liability even in cases of customer negligence.

• Where the bank is unable to resolve the complaint or determine the customer liability within 90 days, it will be liable to pay compensation (the like amount of the alleged unauthorized transaction) to the customer.

• The customer is also entitled to no loss on account of bank interest on the unauthorized transaction (in case of debit cards).

Takeaways

a) Choose a debit card that can be used globally if you are a frequent traveller abroad.

b) Choose one where there is no annual fee or a minimum annual fee.

c) Go for a debit card with a bank where there is an effective grievance redressal mechanism.

Shape of Things to Come?

• Mobile wallets will soon be linked to your bank account so that there is a two-way funds transfer between them (loading mobile wallets through debit to bank account, and vice versa).

• The quick response code (QR Code) is going to be the future app for all payments in merchandise purchases, as merchants accepting QR code will have to shell out only Rs 50 (a PoS machine can set a merchant back by Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000).

• Plastic cards (credit/debit/ATM cards) may soon be replaced by Aadhaar-enabled payment systems (AEPS) wherein all you will have to do is affix your fingerprint(s) after feeding your Aadhaar number to withdraw/conduct cash/transactions.

• Some banks have already introduced the finger-identified system in their in-house ATMs, though on a smaller scale, which in future could be the norm for conducting ATM transactions.

• Voice recognition may also become the future norm in personal identification processes.

In the NewsBFSI


To lure people into investing in their real estate projects, many developers offer ‘assured returns’ schemes, which are basically a financial scam promising very high returns. Investors in residential projects are assured of a fixed rental income, while in commercial projects those assured returns go up to as much as 12 per cent p.a. Soon though, advertisements like premium office spaces with assured returns and easy payment plans may become a thing of the past with the Cabinet clearing the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2018. The Bill seeks to crack down on assured returns schemes and treat them as ‘ponzi’ schemes. It even bars developers who promise fixed returns until possession. It will require all deposit seekers to register with the designated authority provided under the proposed law.

Will Assured Returns Schemes Be Declared Illegal? What will be the impact on homebuyers and builders?

On the face of it, assured returns schemes seem to provide a win-win situation for builders as well as buyers, by providing returns for the buyers and finance for the builders.

A developer looking to raise money for building a proposed project offers an assured returns scheme to investors. The interest rate of the monthly returns to investors usually range between 10 per cent and 12 per cent p.a. of the property’s purchase price – or in

its place, a fixed monthly rental is offered. This works out to lower than the 16 per cent–18 per cent p.a. rate of interest the developer would have to shell out if he opted for a loan from a commercial bank or an NBFC.

Typically, the developer signs an agreement with the buyer wherein the parties agree that the buyer will make an upfront down payment of 90 per cent to 95 per cent of the property’s purchase price at the time of booking/within a few days after such a booking. After receiving this payment, the developer commences

Legal Matters

42 •

In the NewsLegal Matters

CV Helpdesk provides advice, aid and assistance to consumers affected adversely by transactions related to real estate, goods and services.

Call: 011-47331000/47331014 during working days between 10 am and 5 pm.

Email: [email protected]

For details about CV Helpdesk, please visit: www.consumer-voice.org

to the definition of ‘Collective Investment Scheme’, preventing the real state sector from launching projects with assured returns. These schemes typically encourage investors to deposit 100 per cent of the payment and then receive assured returns over the life of the project. Such schemes are now prohibited by SEBI and need to be registered with SEBI.

Going ahead, the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill will provide a framework to protect the interests of investors. Those who have already invested in these schemes may still have to file for recoveries, though. Also, while these schemes are not yet illegal as per SEBI’s current guidelines, investors should refrain from investing in these and report such schemes to the designated authority so that strict actions can be taken against the concerned property developers or brokers.

Take These Precautions

• Any scheme offering double or triple of the principal amount in a very short period is likely to be a trap laid for an unregulated deposit scheme.

• Any scheme offering an interest rate that is much higher than RBI guidelines (read market rates in force) can be a fraud in the making.

• Invest only in registered NBFCs or banks/post offices/other recognized financial institutions or mutual funds that are aligned with regulatory guidelines.

• Payment transactions must be made by cheque against proper receipt (don’t accept handwritten/rough receipt).

• Carefully read the terms and conditions of the offer/MOU before making any investment decision.

• Access the past performance/criminal record, if any, of the company from the ministry of corporate affairs (for registered private/public limited companies) and/or appropriate regulator.

paying monthly assured returns of around 10 per cent–12 per cent p.a. of the property’s purchase price. Returns are normally expressed as ‘commitment charges’ in terms of rupees per square foot of the property booked. These fixed-percentage payments continue till such time as the developer leases out the property to a lessee. The remaining 5 per cent–10 per cent of the property’s purchase price is paid by the buyer upon receiving possession of the property.

In case the builder is not able to either complete the building on time or lease the building, the scheme can collapse.

Their Tall Claims

Investors are promised high returns and low risk on their investments – either that, or a consistent flow of returns regardless of the market conditions. The schemes are sold privately and there is very little transparency. Developers do not generally share their actual financial performance in a report/statement form with their clients.

Investors are lured into such schemes for properties that are yet to be constructed, or for that matter even for land that is yet to be acquired. Developers earn the trust of the unsuspecting investing public by even repaying some of the investments made, in order to make it appear that they are clean about their financial dealings.

In many cases, though, developers stop paying returns citing reasons such as financial constraints or a slow realty market. Some even abandon their projects midway. Complaints about cheque bouncing abound. In the past decade, there have been many fraudulent cases where investors were cheated under such schemes.

Against this backdrop, the government has brought in the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2018. The bill was tabled in July 2018 after receiving Cabinet approval. This will reinforce the recent amendments to the SEBI Act pertaining


Legal Matters

Doctors’ Duties, Consumers’ Fears And the laws in-between

Negligence, simply put, is the failure to exercise due care. The three ingredients of negligence are as follows:

a) The defendant owes a duty of care to the plaintiff.

b) The defendant has breached this duty of care.

c) The plaintiff has suffered a loss/injury (or has

lost life) due to this breach.

Medical negligence is no different. It is only that

in a medical negligence case, most often the doctor or

the hospital is the defendant.

When you visit a doctor, you expect a degree of competence and a diagnosis that you can trust. However, findings of a few studies indicate that trust in doctors working at private hospitals is declining. The number of medical negligence cases in India is going up by nearly 100 per cent every year, with more than 12 per cent of all the cases decided by consumer courts being on medical negligence. According to a report by a Supreme Court lawyer who analysed various cases at consumer forums, between 60 and 66 per cent of the filed cases are because of hospitals taking improper consent from relatives before performing certain procedures or switching hospitals, or improper documentation throughout the course of diagnosis and treatment. This article is an attempt to help consumers understand a few aspects that they should be aware of when caught in a legal battle involving doctors and hospitals.

– Dr Prem Lata, Consumer AwakeningFormer Member, CDRF-Delhi

44 •


Medical malpractice litigation has two functions primarily. First, it deters physicians from lax, careless, or negligent behaviour, and second, it compensates patients (or their kin) who have suffered as a consequence of the negligence of the hospital, physician, or ancillary healthcare.

There are many different types of medical negligence which can result in litigations asking for punishment for guilty doctors or hospitals as well as compensation for victims. Misdiagnosis, missed or delayed diagnosis, surgical errors, and use of inappropriate medicines are some of the most common cases that courts across India deal with on a regular basis.

One of the main problems despite advances in medical technology is a high degree of dependence upon the human decision-making process. We know that x-rays, ultrasounds, scans and other such diagnostic technologies can identify many medical conditions, but their reading is totally dependent on doctors.

Proving Negligence

True, only a doctor can prove a doctor’s wrong and that people from same professions tend to stand by each other, and hence proving negligence is not all that easy. However, it is not that difficult either. There have been great developments in the

area of medical investigations and examinations and a lot of information is available in the public domain, especially regarding standard procedures to be followed and treatments to be given for almost all conditions. It is possible for an aware and alert consumer to know where their doctor went wrong and how he may be challenged.

If you regularly read the Legal Matters section in this magazine, you would have read about many cases wherein negligence was proven by patients by providing all their records and statements of diagnosis by doctors vis-à-vis test reports as well as internationally followed standard operating procedures (created by recognized bodies), which includes the fundamental duties of a doctor.

Doctors’ Duties

The Supreme Court, while deciding a famous case (Dr Laxman Balkrishan Joshi versus Dr Trimbak Bapu Godbole and others), tried to underline the duties of a doctor and observed: “...the duties which a doctor owes to his patient are clear. A person who holds himself out ready to give medical advice and treatment impliedly undertakes that he is possessed of skill and knowledge for the purpose. Such a person when consulted by a patient owes him certain duties, viz. a duty of care in deciding whether to undertake the case, a duty of care in deciding which treatment


Doctors’ Duties, Consumers’ Fears

to give, or a duty of care in the administration of that treatment. A breach of any of those duties gives a right of action for negligence to the patient.”

The above statement is referred to almost every time a negligence case is heard in the court. The statement also implies that the doctor has to take care in deciding whether to undertake the case and that care involves not just the intent and qualification but also appropriate facilities and infrastructure for the treatment. Hence, if a hospital admits patients, it is obliged to provide them treatment in compliance with the standards set by its affiliating body.

In short, consumers must remember that if a doctor or a hospital admits you for a treatment of a particular ailment but lacks fundamental facilities needed for the treatment, then it can be held guilty of negligence as much as the doctor for his erroneous diagnosis, wrong treatment or surgery, or wrong prescriptions or doses of medicines.

Get the Material Facts Right

While consumer forums scrutinize all the material placed on record before admitting the appeal, they

will only go by the standard operating procedures set by the relevant authorities. Consumers must know that although they can gather a lot of information on medical practices, discoveries, innovations as well as malpractices in the medical space through journals, newspapers and the internet, such information may not give any weight to your content in the court of law.

Sometimes patients hide certain material facts from the doctor and this mistake proves fatal to the treatment. Doctors follow a standard treatment process which they avoid when they know that a patient is allergic, sensitive or is not fit for a particular treatment, etc. However, if such information is hidden from them, they cannot be held completely responsible.

Here is a relevant case.

A retired army doctor, on behalf of his wife, sued another doctor for negligence. As per the complainant, his wife underwent a normal breast-enhancement procedure wherein she received artificial implants to increase her breast size. However, after a few days, she

46 •


complained about pain and irritation which gradually became unbearable.

After a lot of discussions, allegations and counter-allegations, it came to light that the lady had undergone a breast-cancer operation that had resulted in smaller breasts. As per the medical advice, for doing another surgery on the same place, dead tissues have to be revived through a medical procedure. In this case, no such procedure could be carried out as the doctors were not aware of the cancer treatment.

The courts rejected the appeal on the grounds that ‘complainant had not disclosed material facts’.

Seek Expert Help

It is true that engaging advocates is not essential for consumers but it being a technical area, medical cases require good drafting. A legal expert can put facts and events in chronological order with necessary proof.

More so, consumers must note that they have to talk, debate and argue before the jury and they need to be prepared for counter-questioning as well. Hence, a little support from a legal expert is recommended.

Do Insurance Companies Protect Doctors?

In case you do not know already, there are special insurance schemes for doctors wherein ‘negligence’ is insured by the company and doctors pay a regular premium for the same. When a doctor is found guilty of negligence and is asked to compensate their victim, it is the insurance company that will have to settle that claim. An unfortunate outcome of these schemes is that when you book a doctor for negligence, it is the battery of lawyers of insurance companies that leave no stone unturned to prove you wrong.

There is the interesting case of Gurudatta Puri Hospital versus Nusrat where guilty doctors never appeared for hearings – instead, lawyers of their respective insurance companies stood in their defence before the court.

The case was decided against the doctors in the district forum. The insurance companies appealed against the verdict at the state forum. The first matter of concern before the state commission was to find out if insurance companies (two in this case) could legally represent doctors and if they should be made a defending party along with doctors, considering

they were the ones who would ultimately pay the compensation.

The state commission said: “The case can be dealt with and decided without the help of insurance companies with the records available. If insurance companies are brought in the picture, the consequences will be adverse for the consumers. That it would cause more delay and harassment by two giants cannot be ruled out. Doctors too may also take things lightly as their responsibility is taken care of by their insurance companies.”

The National Commission dealt with a similar case while disposing of revision petitions from Punjab state commission, but here the insurance company was allowed to become a party, keeping in mind the interests of consumers.

In the case of New India Assurance Company versus Hardeep Singh and others, the National Commission said that if insurance companies were barred from being a party, they would have a good case to go in appeal to a higher court on these very grounds, delaying the compensation process. Also, if the insurance company did not go for appeal, the accused doctors might do so against the insurance company to settle the claim on his behalf, which would further delay the compensation process.

Keeping consumers’ interests at the centre, the National Commission allowed insurance companies to be impleaded as party in defence, but defined respective roles of both doctors and insurance companies. The apex forum stated that doctors were to defend their cases on merit on their own, while insurance companies would only be an agency for informing about the validity of insurance made and its other relevant aspects – that is, admissibility, period of the policy made, etc. Any other objections of the company with regard to the policy had to be decided within the same court. This view of the National Commission was further confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Consumers may know that there is and always will be a moral dilemma for many people when considering medical negligence and claiming compensation. It is worth noting that the courts do not deal in moral dilemmas – they deal in cold, hard facts and as tough as it may sound, cases of negligence need to be addressed not just for the claimant but also for future patients.

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