The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has issued guidelines to prevent and regulate Dark Patterns in online platforms to ensure transparency and fairness in digital transactions.
Please click on the advisory below issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs: https://qrs.ly/mvgrqom
Request members to identify and eliminate dark patterns on their platforms and ensure compliance with dark pattern guidelines. Below is a detailed presentation about the DARK PATTERNS: https://qrs.ly/x1grtfa
RAI was invited for a stakeholders meeting on the issue of dark patterns, held under the chairmanship of Sh. Pralhad Joshi, Hon’ble Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and New & Renewable Energy, Honorable Secretary- Smt Nidhi Khare and other officials from the Department on 28th May, 2025 at New Delhi.
Minister urged all the stakeholders to fully comply with the Dark pattern guidelines and integrate them into their internal governance and consumer protection mechanisms to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the digital marketplace.
The Department has identified 13 dark patterns — false urgency, basket sneaking, confirm shaming, forced action, subscription trap, interface interference, bait and switch, drip pricing, disguised advertisement, Nagging, Trick question, Saas billing, and rogue malwares.
RAI has been asked by the ministry to create awareness about dark pattern among members having digital presence.
Request members to identify and eliminate dark patterns on their platforms and ensure compliance with dark pattern guidelines.
Please click on the link below to see the guidelines:
RAI has made a formal submission to the Commis sioner of Greater Chennai Corporation regarding signage regulations for retail establishments in Tamil Nadu. The association reiterated its support for Tamil language promotion but raised practical concerns over the cost, implementation time, and ambiguity in the current policy. Key suggestions include a 5-year compliance win dow for existing stores, clarification on the term “name board”, exemptions for trademarked brand names, and guidance on interpreting the 5:3:2 font ratio rule. RAI also f lagged challenges in maintaining brand identity, espe cially for national retail chains with multiple outlets in the state. RAI requested a meeting with the Commissioner to discuss feasible solutions that honour both regulatory intent and business viability.
To strengthen the support for industry stakeholders, a dedicated Facilitation Helpdesk has been launched by the Department of Consumer Affairs. Officers from Central and State Legal Metrology Departments will be available to address queries and resolve issues of industries through Video Conferencing (VC) on every Tuesday from 4 PM to 5 PM.
VC Link for the Video Conferencing is as below:
Title: Industry Facilitation on Legal Metrology Matters
URL: https://bharatvc.nic.in/join/9854141993
Conference ID: 9854141993, Password: 439682
Program was conducted at Park Inn by Radisson, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi. The program saw participation of 35 delegates.
The presenters were Mr. Sanjay Gupta, CEO, Omega QMS Pvt Ltd; Mr. Tarun Goel, Founder & MD, Omega QMS Pvt Ltd; & Ms Nupur Dave Prasad.
Participants had a fruitful discussion with the speakers and RAI received a good feedback for the program.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade - DPIIT is undertaking an exercise to comprehensively map the testing and certification landscape for the Footwear and Leather sector. This is to make them understand the current practices, identify challenges, and formulate supportive measures for the industry.
The Department is keen to procure Information regarding testing and certification licenses required for the Footwear and Leather sector in the format below. Click Here
As per recent advisory issued by the TN govt, All signages - nameboards are to be displayed in both Tamil and other languages, with due prominence given to the Tamil language.
RAI had submitted a detailed representation in this regard to the TN Govt but no response received from the authorities. Please click here to see the representation: https://bit.ly/4cgjvy1
There was detailed deliberation made on this subject in our Chennai council meetings and it was unanimously decided that RAI should challenge the matter in the court.
Accordingly, RAI has filed a writ petition before the Hon'ble Madras High Court on 21 May 2025 (W.P. No. 18879 of 2025) seeking extension of time to change the name boards of the shops to display the name board in Tamil.
The said writ petition came up for hearing before the Madras High Court on 24.05.205. After hearing the detailed arguments of our counsel, the Honorable Court directed the Greater Chennai Corporation to dispose RAI'S representation dated 19.3.25 seeking extension of time within a period of 4 weeks and further directed the Respondents not to take any coercive steps against the members of the association till the disposal of our representation.
The Retailers Association of India (RAI) has submit ted a representation to the Hon’ble Finance Minis ter, Prime Minister, and RBI Governor, voicing con cerns about the proposed reintroduction of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI and RuPay transactions for merchants with annual turnover above Rs.40 lakh. RAI argues that such a move could reverse the prog ress made in digital payments adoption, particularly by penalising retailers who operate on thin margins. The as sociation proposes a flat fee of 25 paise per transaction regardless of transaction size, citing the minimal cost of UPI processing. In addition, RAI has recommended exploring gov ernment subsidies or tax incentives to help banks cover transaction costs—ensuring a sustainable digital pay ments ecosystem without burdening merchants.
RAI has submitted a representation to FM, PM and RBI governor to reconsider the reintroduction of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI and RuPay transactions. RAI has proposed that the:
Please click on the link below to view RAI's submission: https://bit.ly/3R1TEQM
The Retailers Association of India (RAI) organised a focused workshop on BIS Regulations and Legal Metrology in the context of the footwear business on 25th April 2025 at Park Inn by Radisson, Lajpat Nagar, Delhi. Around 30 delegates participated in the session, which featured expert presentations by Mr. Sanjay Gupta and Mr. Tarun Goel of Omega QMS Pvt Ltd, and legal in sights from Advocate Nupur Dave Prasad. The interactive format encouraged valuable discus sions between participants and speakers, with the pro gram receiving highly positive feedback from attendees.