India losing Rs 1 trillion due to fake products

New Delhi : According to a FICCI Cascade report the Indian economy loses Rs 1.17 lakh crore due to smuggling and counterfeiting in five prominent sectors including Capital Goods (Machinery and Parts) and Consumer (Electronics) Durables. The goods sales from counterfeiting is expected to double up globally to Rs 119.7 lakh crore by 2022. India has been no exception to the menace.

FICCI Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) in its latest report said that "key to curb this menace is to educate the customer and spread awareness in the market about easy identification of genuine products based on product attributes and provide easy access to brand's authorized sales and service channel."

The problem has become especially acute in the past few years with uncertified players from neighbouring developing countries trying to set up base here locally.

In India, prominent ports like Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi that act like a feeder market have become a hub for unscrupulous peddlers to crack bulk deals for supplying fake goods and cheap imitation of genuine products.

As per the FICCI Cascade Report, trade in smuggling, contraband, counterfeit and pirated goods has risen steadily in the last few years and now stands at 3.3 per cent of global trade. A spiralling trend of spurious products has been a cause of concern for various consumer activists and law enforcers too.

Among others, Honda India Power Products (HIPP), a reputed and leading company in the field of power products in India for over 35 years, is leading the fight against this menace.

HIPP has launched its 'Know your Honda' campaign to educate its valued customers and through its IP Cell is also actively monitoring online and offline sales platforms to flag any unscrupulous activity enabling it to take stringent action against law breakers.

Commenting on the menace around counterfeiting, Bejon Kumar Misra, renowned consumer acvitist said: "Counterfeiting is a global problem of enormous scale, impacting virtually every industry sector around the world including India. Such malpractices directly impact health, economy, education and society.