The Union government is preparing to bring a more stringent consumer protection law that has provisions to safeguard consumers' interests against misleading advertisements among other things, Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday. The current Consumer Protection Act was enforced in 1986, and over the years with changing technology, market landscape and consumer aspirations the law has lost its effectiveness.

The Narendra Modi government had introduced a new consumer protection Bill in the Lok Sabha in August 2015 but it was referred to a Standing Committee after discussion. Responding to the issue of misleading advertisements and adulteration in edibles raised by the members in the Rajya Sabha, Paswan told the House that the government has reworked the Bill keeping in mind "all the suggestions and reports of the Standing Committee" and the Cabinet has also cleared the new draft last week.