Mr Amitesh Verma, Secretary- Centre for Social Change, introduced the speakers and guests and outlined the agenda for the workshop.
In his theme address, Mr S. C. Sharma, President- Bhartiya Manav Kalyan Samiti, highlighted that given the growing trend of digitalization there is a need of concerted and coordinated efforts by governments, regulators and businesses to ensure consumers’ interests are safeguarded.
Speakers from Consumer VOICE, Mr Hemant Upadhyay, Mr Gopal Ravi Kumar and Mr Subash Tiwari, discussed the urgent need of digital literacy in the age of economic reforms, the regulatory framework to effectively address the complexity of digital transactions, safety steps during E-commerce activities and important Do’s and Don’ts for consumers to keep in mind. The presentations from Consumer VOICE were followed by a very interactive Q&A session.
Chief Guest, Mr Vijay Satokar- Veteran Journalist and Former Editor, Press Trust of India, shared with the audience that he himself does not know much about cell phones and often takes his son’s help when it comes to digital technology. He pondered if this is happening to highly literate people imagine the plight of the common man.
A special address was also delivered by Ms Alka Rai from Ambedkar University, which highlighted some latest facts and figures related to increasing use of digital technology in India.
Ms Reeta Nayak, President- Centre for Social Change, concluded the workshop with a summary of the discussions and vote of thanks to the speakers, guests and participants. The workshop was followed by lunch, where the speakers and guests further interacted with the participants.
The workshop was attended by over 65 participants from diverse professional fields as well as age groups.
