‘Celebs must be held responsible for products they endorse’

In line with the recent report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, the Central Consumer Protection Council (CCPC), an apex body that advises the government, has also recommended that brand ambassadors should be made responsible in case of gross misrepresentation of facts or misleading advertisements.

Giving this information to the media after a meeting on Tuesday of representatives of various government bodies, such as food regulator FSSAI, voluntary consumer organisations and senior officials of various ministries, Ram Vilas Paswan, Food and Public Distribution Minister, said the council felt that there should be guidelines for brand ambassadors. The minister said the council had also recommended mandatory standards for drinking water supplied through pipelines.

''The CCPC has said that the FSSAI (Food Safety & Standards Authority of India) should formulate standards for water being supplied through pipeline also and should monitor its quality,'' he added.

In addition, he said, Grahak Suvidha Kendras set up by his Ministry were being directed to take up consumer complaints with the sector regulators or consumer courts.

''So far, five such centres have been set up in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Jaipur, Kolkata, Patna and Delhi. More will be set up in other parts of the country soon.''