FMCG should use Hindi, regional languages on products

Ram Vilas Pawan. Pic/AFP

Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday asked the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies to write the names of their products in Hindi and other regional languages and print product details in bigger font in the interest of consumers.

Writing the names of products in Hindi and other regional languages, besides English, and in bigger font will bring about transparency and benefit consumers, Paswan said at a FICCI event here. "(Accepted that) you cannot write everything in Hindi or regional languages, but at least you can write product names. What is the problem with that?" he asked.

"Wherever there is Hindi-speaking population, label in Hindi; in Bangla in Bangla-speaking area... Similarly, in Tamil or Kannada in South." He praised Bisleri company for labelling product names in local languages.

He released at the event a FICCI-Deloitte report "Consumer LEADS" that reflects on the retail, FMCG and e-commerce sectors in India. Paswan said it is "unfortunate" that India does not have its own language, like China and Japan.

"It is unfortunate that our nation could not develop its own language even after 70 years of Independence. We haven't been able to finalise it yet," he said. Despite the industry being asked to write the MRP (minimum retail price), net weight, manufacturing and expiry dates in bigger font to bring about transparency, nothing has been done so far, rued the Minister.

"It is written in a way that we can't find it even after wearing spectacles," Paswan said. "Transparency matters most to a consumer. If there's no transparency, no one knows what is going on." He asked the industry to connect with the National Consumer Helpline so that it gets to know about issues related to product defects and late deliveries, among others.

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