NEW DELHI: Eight years back, a shop at one of the metro stations in Delhi was found selling ‘fake’ Bisleri bottled water, and that too at a higher price than the original.
Bisleri Vs Bilseri, was unfortunately the most innovative way adopted by the counterfeiters to fool people and make money.
It is not just the counterfeiting of money (Fake Indian Currency Notes) which threatens the country’s economy but the manufacturing of fake products, which are being regularly busted by the law enforcement agencies in Delhi and its surrounding areas, has become a cause of concern.
On Saturday, the Delhi Police busted a factory manufacturing fake auto parts for reputed brands such as Mahindra & Mahindra and Bosch. When the police conducted a raid at the said illegal factory in the Nihal Vihar area, they found a large number of brake disc pads, brake shoes, filler powder, leather biscuit die, a grinder machine and a mixer. Such counterfeit products are a serious cause of concern.
Health and Hygiene Brand, Eureka Forbes, too faced the same problem when it recently, during an in-house investigation, found that several of its products were running in the market, without them manufacturing them.
Seeking relief, the company then approached the Delhi High Court, against counterfeiters and infringers. In its plea to the court, the company mentioned that the sale of its counterfeit products also involved public interest as the products were used in water filtration and purification, leading to water-borne diseases and loss of life on account of their sub-standard quality.
The court then issued directions and raids were conducted with the help of local authorities and Delhi Police, last month, at Kotla Village Mayur Vihar, Kotla Mubarakpur, East Punjabi Bagh, West Vinod Nagar, Dwarka Mor, Shakarpur, Pul Prahladpur, Pandav Nagar, Mandawali, Chandni Chowk – Lajpat Rai market, Rohini, Malviya Nagar – Khirki Extension, Mahavir Nagar – West Delhi. Thousands of counterfeit Aquaguard spares and consumables, kits, stencils, dyes, stickers, and packaging material were seized.
A top official from Eureka Forbes said that it was not just Delhi, but, the raids were conducted across six cities, Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. Counterfeiting is a global problem affecting every industry sector globally. India is no exception, with the country suffering significant economic, health, and safety consequences due to widespread counterfeiting. Individual consumers risk their health and safety when they are duped into purchasing faulty automobile parts or unsafe medicines.
Experts told TNIE that consumers or customers should always check their products from authorized sellers, trusted outlets, genuine business partners and service technicians and never fall into a trap on the pretext of buying a product at a throwaway price.
The law takes such counterfeiting of products very seriously. In February this year, the Delhi High Court directed a Sadar Bazar trader to pay Rs 5 lakh to luxury brand Louis Vuitton for selling duplicate products despite judicial directions restraining him from doing so.
According to a joint report by Crisil, and the Authentication Solution Providers Association almost 25-30% of all products sold in the country are spurious with counterfeiting being most prevalent in apparel and FMCG sectors, followed by pharmaceutical, automotive, and consumer durables.
The survey also revealed that almost 89% of consumers acknowledge the presence of fake products in the market and are often compelled to buy counterfeits for reasons such as sensitivity to price, demand-supply gap, and desire to buy luxury brands, peer pressure, and social motivations. However, nearly 27% of the consumers were unaware that the product was counterfeit at the time of purchase.