Govt Introduces New Rule That Lets Businesses Fix First‑Time Mistakes Before Facing Penalties

The Department of Consumer Affairs has introduced the Improvement Notice mechanism under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 via the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026. This reform allows businesses committing specified first‑time procedural or regulatory lapses to correct them before facing penalties, thereby reducing litigation and promoting Ease of Doing Business while safeguarding consumer interests.

The reform encourages voluntary compliance, reduces unnecessary litigation and compliance burden, while ensuring that strict action continues against fraud, tampering and repeated violations to safeguard consumer interests.

What is the Improvement Notice Mechanism?

• Legal Metrology Officer may issue an Improvement Notice for specified first‑time non‑compliances.
• The notice identifies the deficiency and provides reasonable time to rectify.
• If corrected, penal proceedings are avoided.
• Failure to comply or repeated violations attract strict enforcement.
• Represents a shift to trust‑based regulation.

Why This Reform Matters

• Encourages voluntary compliance and timely self‑correction.
• Reduces unnecessary litigation from inadvertent errors.
• Lowers compliance costs and improves regulatory certainty.
• Allows authorities to focus on fraud and repeated violations.
• Supports the vision of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.”

Businesses Covered

• Manufacturers
• Importers
• Packers
• Dealers
• Repairers
• Traders
• MSMEs

Provisions Covered

• Section 25–29: Use, manufacture, or sale of non‑standard weights/measures.
• Section 31–32: Non‑production of documents, failure to obtain model approval.
• Section 34–36(1): Sale/delivery using non‑standard weights or packaged commodities.
• Section 38–39: Import violations.
• Section 41(1), 41(2): Furnishing false information/returns.
• Section 45–47: Manufacture, repair, or sale without registration; tampering with certificates.

Provisions Covered under the Improvement Notice Mechanism

The Improvement Notice mechanism applies to specified first-time procedural and regulatory non-compliances relating to:

• Registration requirements
• Documentation and record maintenance
• Model approval
• Manufacture, sale and repair of weights and measures
• Import of weights and measures. 
• Transactions and packaged commodities. 
• Furnishing statutory information and returns

Government Clarifications

• The mechanism does not dilute consumer protection.
• Applies only to specified first‑time procedural/regulatory non‑compliances.
• Fraud and repeated violations will continue to face strict penal action.

Broader Context

• Part of Jan Vishwas Act 2026 reforms.
• Includes transition from licensing to registration for weights and measures businesses.
• Expansion of Government Approved Test Centres (GATCs).
• Launch of e‑Maap digital portal for registrations, model approvals, and enforcement services.

Conclusion

The Improvement Notice mechanism is a landmark regulatory reform that balances business facilitation with consumer protection. It reduces compliance burden for honest businesses while ensuring strong enforcement against fraud and repeated violations.

Consumer Brands in India are Seeing 12X Higher Conversion Rates from Personalized Emails- MoEngage Study

In an era where brands are scaling back their paid and digital marketing efforts due to severe budget cuts and a looming recession, email marketing continues to deliver. This economical channel provides a high return on investment (ROI), enables brands to send personalized communications and provides immediate, measurable results.

But this means that all brands are turning towards email as an optimal consumer marketing solution. Consequently, customers receive hundreds of emails each day, and brands need to go the extra mile to ensure their emails stand out in the inbox. Earlier, click-bait titles and topics might have done this job, but customers are now wary of such tactics and expect brands to be more honest.

Email personalization is a great solution here. Brands can ensure that every aspect of their communication speaks right to the customer and addresses their specific needs. Personalization gives brands a way to reach customers when they want to be reached, about products or services they’re interested in.

A study by MoEngage has shown email personalization to be supremely effective — conversion rates increase by up to 12X, CTOR increases by 12X, and unsubscribe rates reduce by up to 88%. The report outlines email benchmarks for multiple industries, and every industry is showing a great increase in metrics from personalization strategies.

This holds true for conversion rates, open rates, CTORs, and unsubscribe rates too. In fact, customer journey-based personalization is shown to increase CTOR by about 5.4X and open rates by 13.8X.

The email benchmarks report for 2023 outlines similar metrics on a case-by-case basis for multiple industries like Retail and E-commerce, Banking and Fintech, Travel and Hospitality, Media and Entertainment, and more. Every metric across industries sees a direct correlation with sophisticated personalization strategies based on buyer journey stage or customer behavior, when compared to regular attribute-based personalization.

"Today’s customers are seeking more than just a transactional experience. With personalization, brands can make every interaction feel inherently human and authentic, enabling customers to develop a deep and meaningful connection with the brand - not just its products or services. That is precisely where an insights-led customer engagement platform with an AI-powered recommendation and optimization engine comes in, helping paint the whole picture, through a 360-degree customer view, understand customer behavior, and engage across the most preferred channel, at the right time, with the right message, thus offering hyper-personalized experiences while driving business growth," said - Raviteja Dodda, CEO, MoEngage. 

Moreover, old-school personalization methods such as those that relied only on demographics or first-name, don’t seem to be as effective any longer. What’s working is Behavior-based personalization and personalization based on the stage of the buyer journey.

Such advanced personalization tactics require a deep understanding of the customer and a reliable customer engagement tool.

Indian Consumer Behavior: Crypto Declines while Shopping, Travel, and Entertainment Witness Surge in Active Users

MoEngage Study Shows Shopping, Travel, and Entertainment Witness Surge in Active Users, Crypto Faces Declining Numbers in India

New Trends in Indian Consumer Behavior: Indians Opt for Smartphones as the Preferred Choice for Streaming, Online Shopping, and Travel Bookings

MoEngage, an insights-led Customer Engagement platform, has analyzed over 1.3 billion consumers to understand the latest consumer trends and behavior in multiple industries. The Global Consumer Trends Report 2023 aims to find patterns in consumer behavior, such as screen time, spending and consumption patterns, device preferences, and more. The results showcase the importance of personalization and omnichannel engagement for growth and fostering customer loyalty.

Here are a few key learnings from the report:

41.8% of Indians prefer to spend 2-4 hours daily on their screen apart from work

The survey revealed that most Indians spend 2-4 hours on their smartphones and laptops outside of work.

Most consumer spending by Indians is towards Entertainment and Shopping platforms.

The report showed that 49.8% of Indians spent most on Entertainment platforms, including OTT, gaming, dating, and lifestyle applications. This is followed by shopping platforms (32.4%).

68% of Indian shoppers visit a mobile app or website at least 4-5 times before making a purchase online.

Shoppers don’t convert right away. The report shows that most consumers need more than three interactions with brands before deciding to purchase online. To ensure maximum conversions, brands must create a robust customer journey that provides a seamless omnichannel experience.

71.4% of Indians prefer streaming music, videos, and movies on their smartphones.

Smartphones continue to be the primary device for Indians to stream music, videos, and movies online. Our report also shows that 65% prefer to stream videos and movies daily. Additionally, OTT platforms saw healthy growth in terms of monthly active users (MAU).

63.8% of Indians visit Banking and Fintech platforms at least 2-3 times weekly

The report shows Indians are more active and loyal to Banking and Fintech platforms than ever. We see a 10% increase in the monthly active users (MAU) for Banking platforms and an 11% growth in customer stickiness.

75% of Indians prefer to get information for travel plans and reservations from travel apps and mobile websites

The report shows that most Indians prefer travel apps to get travel information and make reservations on their smartphones, followed by social media. Online Travel Agents (OTA) platforms saw a sharp rise in the number of active users, as monthly active users (MAU) grew by 23%.

“In an ever-changing world, brands can be successful only when they deep dive into consumer preferences and understand customer expectations. Our latest report aims to empower brands in India with the latest consumer trends and insights to help them grow sustainably.” said Raviteja Dodda, CEO of MoEngage.

The MoEngage report also sheds light on :

• Leveraging customer insights to boost loyalty and increase LTV.
• Acquisition, DAU, MAU, and customer stickiness trends for different industries.
• Actionable strategies to drive sustainable growth amidst economic uncertainty.

A complimentary version of the full report is available here: The Global Consumer Trends 2023 Report.

Consumer Debt Relief Platform FREED Raises $2.8 Mn in Pre-Series A Round Led by IPV

• Launched in Aug 2020, FREED is India’s first consumer debt relief platform to settle unsecured personal loans & retail credit cards.
• The funds raised will be utilized to bolster the team across verticals, build the tech stack to roll out new and differentiated debt relief products/services to scale up customer acquisition and brand promotion initiatives
• IPV recently announced the launch of $50 million AIF Fund Physis Capital to invest in Series A and B growth stage startups
• IPV has so far invested over Rs. 385+ Cr across 118+ deals

FREED, India’s first comprehensive consumer debt relief platform has raised $2.8 mn in a Pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The round saw participation from Multiply Ventures, Chandigarh Angels Network, Lead Angels, Hyderabad Angels, The Chennai Angels, and a clutch of HNIs. The funds raised will be utilized to bolster the team across verticals, build the tech stack to roll out new and differentiated debt relief products/services to scale up customer acquisition and brand promotion initiatives.

Since FREED’s launch in August 2020, the company has enrolled over 6,500 consumers with over INR 350 crore in retail debt and settled over a thousand accounts with creditors, offering debt reduction to consumers and resolution of bad debt for creditors.

Vinay Bansal, Founder & CEO, Inflection Point Ventures says, "Debt can be stressful and create barriers for future loan requirements. However, with FREED, consumers can clear their personal loans, medical emergency loans and other debt which one may find difficult to pay due to sudden changes in their routine like loss of job, pay cuts among others. FREED is the only debt relief platform in India that enables a person to clear their debt smoothly and even reduces the payment amount with their domain expertise, thus giving the customer a chance to improve their credit rating and ultimately be debt free. IPV aims to extend their support in helping FREED strengthen their services and marketing plan.”

Ritesh Srivastava, Founder & CEO, FREED

FREED is also building a proprietary credit scoring algorithm for near prime/Alt A borrowers by leveraging data on borrower's behavior during the DSP program. FREED is disrupting & organizing the current retail debt settlement market by creating a borrower centric comprehensive platform that solves end-to-end pain points.

Ritesh Srivastava has been a serial entrepreneur for about 2 decades. Through his ventures in the Debt Relief space in the US, he has serviced and settled debts over $2 billion. His last venture was Elitify.com – an online luxe fashion retail initiative that brought in the best of fashion from around the world, for discerning Indian shoppers.

FREED’s Debt Settlement Program is a great choice for people with high levels of unsecured debt, who are struggling with financial hardship due to a job loss, pay cuts, medical emergencies, etc. It also offers personalized budgeting, spend analytics, repayment simulations using AI/ML, debt pay off strategies & credit education to help people avoid debt trap.

Ritesh Srivastava, Founder & CEO, FREED says, “FREED was founded with a vision to help debt burdened consumers resolve their debt and regain their financial freedom. The problem needed immediate action and FREED will occupy the space of Friend and Financial Resurrector… helping consumers regain normalcy and a sense of balance in their life. IPV has backed some very successful and admirable startups at a very early stage, and we are excited to partner with them in this journey.

FREED is the only consumer facing platform that is aiming to bring borrowers seeking debt resolution and lenders on a neutral platform to amicably resolve the debt given the financial hardship of such borrowers. With the growth in retail credit, mounting NPAs and low recovery rates on late-stage delinquencies, FREED is attempting to solve a $15 billion NPA problem. The current retail unsecured loan book has surpassed $160 billion and is growing at 12% + CAGR. There is a huge opportunity for debt relief in this segment starting from prevention to cure for debt burdened consumers.”

FREED, founded by Ritesh Srivastava, is India’s first consumer debt relief platform. FREED was launched in August 2020, with a vision to help consumers achieve their financial freedom by helping them eliminate their debt. Through their suite of other debt relief products, they plan to enroll over 100,000 customers in the next 2 years with an AUM of $500 million.

Inflection Point Ventures is an angel investing platform with over 6800 CXOs, HNIs and Professionals to together invest in start-ups. The firm supports new-age entrepreneurs by providing them monetary & experiential capital and connecting them with a diverse group of investors.

In Phone-based Money Scams, Banks Not Liable For Loss - Consumer Forum

If a fraudster calls you, obtains information and steals funds, banks are not liable for your loss.

Banks have been repeatedly cautioning customers of phone frauds and warning not to share their information with anyone over the phone.

Despite this, if a customer falls victim to such a fraud, banks will not be liable, argued Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at Amreli in Gujarat.

According to media reports, a retired teacher from Amreli district, Kurji Javia, fell prey to such a fraud. He got a fraud call from someone who identified himself as a State Bank of India manager. Javia shared his bank details and lost money.

Javia approached a consumer forum seeking compensation. He said that he called up SBI branch after the money was withdrawn. But got no response. He claimed that the bank could have prevented the fraud.

The consumer forum argued against this and said that the customer had not followed the cautionary messages that banks send to their customers. The fraud occurred due to the negligence of Javia.

According to Reserve Bank of India’s regulations, in cases where the loss is due to customer negligence, he / she will have to bear the entire loss until the unauthorized transaction is reported to the

If a deficiency that led to the fraudulent transaction has been found to be on part of the bank, then as a bank customer you do not need to worry at all. The entire loss will be borne by the bank and not by you. Your liability is zero in this case.

In some cases it may so happen that the fault lies within the system and neither the bank nor the customer is at fault.

The customer liability will be zero if he or she reports it to the bank within three working days of receiving the communication from the bank about the unauthorized transaction.

SOURCE - Mint

Women consumers, EdTech and Premium Products drove demand for Buy Now Pay Later in 2020: Report by ZestMoney

• 0% growth in women customer base
• Women spent more on Edtech, men splurged on fashion
• High end smartphones, laptops, fitness watches drive larger ticket transactions
• Demand for Edtech, electric vehicles, large appliances boom in 2020 

Bengaluru, January 29, 2021: ZestMoney, India’s leading AI-driven EMI financing and “Buy Now Pay Later” (“Pay Later”) platform, today revealed the findings of its annual report which outlines how Indian customers opted for BNPL solutions in 2020. Despite the challenges arising due to the pandemic, the company served customers across 18,921 pin codes last year, demonstrating a strong demand for Buy Now Pay Later solutions among Indian customers.

Categories like Edtech, high end smartphones, large appliances, Electric vehicles, fashion, and travel were most sought after by customers.

ZestMoney observed a 20% growth in its women customer base last year. EdTech, online-electronics, fashion and travel ranked among the top categories that witnessed traction among women. It was also interesting that more women opted for Edtech while men preferred to splurge on fashion.

As per the report, women from Tier I cities opted for digital EMI solutions for financing their purchases in the following categories:

• Bengaluru: Online-Electronics & Fashion
• Mumbai: Education & Travel
• Delhi NCR: Fashion & Travel
• Hyderabad: Offline-Electronics & Personal Loans
• Pune: Fashion & Education
• Chennai: Education & Offline-Electronics 

Pay Later offers shoppers the perfect flexibility to spread the cost which is sensible financial planning and helps them afford their dreams. It has been noticed that the average ticket size for BNPL is higher and it plays a crucial role in reviving consumer demand, especially for large ticket products.

Recognising that Buy Now Pay Later solutions offer greater convenience and flexibility especially while purchasing premium products, the category continued to witness great momentum in 2020. In fact, ZestMoney observed that the highest volume of premium products were purchased on Fridays. High end smartphones, laptops, large appliances, and fitness watches drove demand in the category.

Commenting on the trend, Lizzie Chapman, CEO and Co-Founder ZestMoney said, “2020 will be remembered as one of the most pivotal years in the adoption of Buy Now, Pay Later in India. We saw an increased trend of digitally savvy customers who prefer transparent financing options like BNPL over unfair and hidden fees associated with traditional products. The category is poised for massive growth this year as the consumer habit is here to stay. Consumers are clearly loving the all-digital experience for credit. We strongly feel India will emerge as the largest market for BNPL and will leapfrog credit cards entirely."

“At Zest, we made significant inroads into the offline network by expanding our Buy Now, Pay Later product to 15,000 stores nationwide. We will ramp this up to 400,000 in 2021. We continue to be available on the checkout of the largest ecommerce websites and that drove adoption of BNPL as people took to online shopping in a big way. The pandemic has made customers even more focussed on financial affairs and they realise the benefit of managing cash flows by opting for Pay Later”, added Chapman.

The company said due to the demand for professional upskilling courses, the category witnessed the highest average ticket size for transactions (~50). Women transacted 3-4X more on Edtech than any other category.

According to ZestMoney, the average Indian consumer is 34-year old. The company said 68% of their customers are based outside Tier I cities hinting at the massive demand coming from tier II and III markets.

ZestMoney recently completed five years of operations, marking a crucial milestone in its journey. It has 6 million registered users on its platform.

About ZestMoney:

Founded by Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma and Ashish Anantharaman in 2015, ZestMoney is the largest and fastest-growing EMI financing and Pay Later company in India. The fintech company is built as a platform that can meaningfully improve the lives of more than 300 million households in the country, who currently have no access to credit cards or any other formal financing options because of insufficient credit history. ZestMoney’s unique platform uses mobile technology, digital banking and Artificial Intelligence to make life more affordable to millions of Indian consumers. ZestMoney’s innovative technology and work to make affordable digital finance accessible led to their selection as a 2020 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.