NEW DELHI: Apart from mega scandals, consumer dissatisfaction, particularly among the middle and lower middle classes, over issues of price rise and inefficient delivery was one of the big reasons for BJP’s return to power. Now to address its voters, the BJP government is turning its focus on consumer grievances across the country in a big way, planning an Inter-Ministerial Group on Consumer Advocacy ( IMGCA ).The government has realised that the Department of Consumer Affairs can’t do much when, “the response apparatus is fragmented across several line departments. Price monitoring and interventions to moderate market forces to stabilise prices in commodities of common consumption is a case in point”. A note was circulated last week for the Committee of Secretaries, which will soon meet to set up the IMGCA.The attempt is to make the government responsive towards consumers’ concerns and not dump the myriad issues with DCA . The government has identified six key sectors — agriculture, food, healthcare, housing, financial services and transport — and will bring the secretaries of the concerned departments together in IMGCA to ensure a “consumer-centric focus”.The civil aviation and railway sectors may also be brought into IMGCA’s ambit, but there is no immediate proposal. Code of conduct for ethical behaviour for companies, standardising contracts to ensure they are not unfair to consumers, simple, speedy and affordable grievance redress window and consumer awareness are some of the tools envisaged in the strategy.The Cabinet Secretary will chair the group and the Consumer Affairs Secretary will be its member secretary. “The terms of reference of the committee will be to facilitate policy coherence and coordinated action on consumer advocacy for the six key sectors,” says the note