1. Centre to issue norms against ‘dark patterns’ in online advertisements

The Union Consumer Affairs Ministry has urged consumers to flag such manipulative online practices on the National Consumer Helpline; asks online platforms not to engage in ‘unfair trade practices’ or manipulate consumer choice

Concerned over the increasing “dark patterns” of misleading advertisements, creating false urgency, confirm-shaming, forced action, subscription traps and nagging on online platforms, the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry has decided to issue specific guidelines to control them.

Speaking to presspersons here on Friday, Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Ministry, urged consumers to flag such manipulative online practices on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) by calling ‘1915’ or through a WhatsApp message to 8800001915. He asked online platforms to refrain from adopting ‘dark patterns’.

Mr. Singh said several governments across the globe have defined ‘dark patterns’ and brought in strict laws against them. He said the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act are enough to curb them, but said the Centre will bring specific guidelines as the menace has increased along with the expansion of the Internet.

Unfair trade practices

He said ‘dark patterns’ distort consumer autonomy using a design architecture that tricks or influences consumers to make choices not in their best interest.

Mr. Singh also wrote to all major online platforms advising them not to engage in ‘unfair trade practices’ by incorporating ‘dark patterns’ in their online interface to manipulate consumer choice and violate consumer rights as enshrined under Section 2(9) of the Consumer Protection Act.

Tactics such as false urgency which creates a sense of scarcity to pressure consumers into making a purchase or taking an action and basket sneaking, the technique to add additional products or services to the shopping cart without user consent, are used widely to lure customers. Subscription traps, the tactic that makes it easy for consumers to sign up for a service but difficult for them to cancel it, and hiding additional costs, particularly by travel and tourism websites, have also come under the Ministry’s radar.

Mr. Singh said using ‘dark patterns’ in online interfaces unfairly exploits consumers’ interest and constitutes ‘unfair trade practice’.

2. In talk with Putin, Modi calls for ‘dialogue and diplomacy’ to end war in Ukraine

Kremlin says PM expressed support for Putin’s decisive actions on Wagner mutiny, discussed SCO summit, U.S. visit, bilateral projects and trade; Russia indicates that Putin may attend the G-20 summit in September; China confirms that Xi will attend the SCO summit via video-conference

Days after his return from the United States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, calling once again for “dialogue and diplomacy” to end the Ukraine conflict, while “expressing support” for Mr. Putin’s actions during the June 24 failed mutiny in Russia.

During the conversation, which the Kremlin said had occurred “at the initiative of the Indian side”, Mr. Modi also spoke about upcoming contacts between the two leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) virtual summit on July 4, and the BRICS and G-20 summits in August and September, and informed Mr. Putin about his recent visit to Washington. On Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed they will attend the virtual summit, as will leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

“President Putin informed PM about the recent developments in Russia,” said a statement issued by the government. “While discussing the situation in Ukraine, PM reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy,” it said.

In a more detailed statement, the Kremlin said that Mr. Putin had given his assessment of the current situation in the “special military operation zone” in Ukraine, adding that he “stressed Kiev’s utter refusal to undertake political and diplomatic steps to resolve the conflict”.

“In connection with the events of June 24 in Russia, Narendra Modi expressed understanding and support for the decisive actions of the Russian leadership to protect law and order, ensure stability in the country and the security of its citizens,” said the statement issued by the Kremlin, referring to the short-lived rebellion by Wagner militia group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who had attempted a march on Moscow before calling it off and fleeing to Belarus. On Thursday, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev had spoken to National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and briefed him on the developments.

Apart from the PM’s visit to Washington, the statement said the two leaders had spoken about bilateral projects and trade, and paid “particular attention” to interactions within the SCO and the G-20, in a possible indicator that President Putin intends to travel to Delhi for the G-20 summit on September 9-10.

China’s stand

China’s Foreign Ministry on Friday confirmed Mr. Xi would attend the SCO summit via video-conference as well.

“President Xi Jinping will deliver important remarks at the meeting, and together with other participating leaders, chart the course for the future growth,“ said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a briefing in Beijing, adding that the other countries want the SCO to play a “bigger role in safeguarding regional security and promoting common development”.

Since the military stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) began in April 2020, Mr. Modi and President Xi have not spoken directly, with the exception of a brief meeting and exchange of greetings at the G-20 summit in Bali in 2022. They both also attended last year’s SCO summit in Samarkand, but did not have any public contact during the meeting, and have attended a number of virtual multilateral conferences.

Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif would also attend the summit, said the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that SCO leaders would “chart the future direction of cooperation” and would induct Iran as a new member.

3. May core sector growth pace brakes to 4.3%, from 19.3%

Tempo slackened on decline in production of crude oil, natural gas and electricity, official data show; eight core industries comprise 40.3% of weight of items in Index of Industrial Production

The pace of growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slackened to 4.3% in May on account of a decline in the production of crude oil, natural gas and electricity, according to government data.

The core sector growth stood at 19.3% in May 2022.

During April-May this fiscal, the output growth of these eight sectors slowed down to 4.3% against 14.3%, the data showed.

Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, Head – Research & Outreach, ICRA Ltd. said the growth remained broadly stable in May.

“ICRA expects the y-o-y IIP (index of industrial production) growth to print at about 4-6% in May 2023.” The industries comprise 40.3% of the weight of items included in the IIP.

The output of crude oil shrank by 1.9% in May.

Similarly, the production of natural gas and electricity dipped by 0.3% each. The growth rate of coal output declined to 7.2% y-o-y from 33.5%.

The rate of growth in the production of fertilizer, steel and cement slowed down to 9.7%, 9.2% and 15.5%, respectively, compared with 22.9%, 15.1% and 26.2%.

4. Centre invites ideas from public to curb tomato prices

Students, research scholars, teachers, industries, start-ups and professionals can participate in ‘Tomato Grand Challenge Hackathon’; govt. taking preventive steps to keep onion prices stable

The Centre announced a ‘Tomato Grand Challenge Hackathon’ here on Friday, requesting the public to suggest innovative ideas to reduce the tomato prices, surging for the past few weeks.

A similar exercise was done when onion prices increased some time ago. Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said his Ministry had then received 13 ideas on adding value and controlling the prices of onion.

Students, research scholars, teachers, industries, start-ups and professionals can participate in the new contest. Mr. Singh said the ideas could be on tomato value chain to ensure its availability to consumers at affordable prices and help farmers get value for the produce. The hackathon has been formulated by the Department of Consumer Affairs in collaboration with Education Ministry’s Innovation Cell.

“The cycle of planting and harvesting seasons and the variation across regions are primarily responsible for price seasonality in tomato. Apart from this, temporary supply chain disruptions and crop damage due to adverse weather conditions etc. often lead to sudden spikes in prices,” Mr. Singh said.

Onion availability

To ensure that onion prices do not rise during the upcoming festival season and winter, the Consumer Affairs Ministry had asked the Union Agriculture Ministry to give incentives to farmers to cultivate onion during the ongoing kharif season, Mr. Singh told reporters. “The country’s onion production is estimated at 319 lakh tonnes in 2023, slightly lower than 324 lakh tonnes in the previous year,” he said.

Adding that the Centre had procured three lakh tonnes for buffer stock, he said: “The moment onion availability is ensured throughout the calendar year, prices will fall.”

5. India backs 2016 ruling favouring the Philippines in South China Sea

As negotiations continue between China and the ASEAN bloc for a code of conduct in the South China Sea — which diplomatic sources described as a “complex exercise” involving 11 countries — India called for adherence to the 2016 arbitration decision in favour of the Philippines, which has been rejected by China.

A joint statement issued after talks between Enrique A. Manalo, the visiting Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, and his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar on Thursday said that the two leaders “underlined the need for peaceful settlement of disputes and for adherence to international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea in this regard.”

Mr. Manalo, who arrived in India on an official visit on June 27, concluded his visit on Friday.

China disagrees

The Philippines had instituted an arbitration proceeding against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration under UNCLOS on January 22, 2013. The court ruled in favour of Manila on July 12, 2016, but this was rejected by China, which had called it “null and void.” China, which claims rights to most of the resource-rich South China Sea up to the nine-dash line, has become more assertive in recent years, leading to flare-ups in the region.

On the ongoing negotiations on a code of conduct, the source said that it involved a lot of details and 11 countries. Though it has a common agenda, ASEAN does not have a common stance on all issues, given the differing views of its member nations. “It goes into a lot of details like what to do and what rules to observe when there is a collision at sea, how to deal with third parties. Also in the end, we have to agree if the code is legally binding or not, and if so who will enforce it, and if it is not legally binding, then what is its status. Negotiations are going on regularly at the technical and legal levels,” the source added.

Seeking support

Referring to the 2016 arbitral ruling, the anniversary of which is in two weeks, the source noted that China does not recognise the ruling and did not participate in the deliberations at The Hague.

On the Philippines’ ongoing tensions with China, the source said that Manila was also doing other things beyond the 2016 ruling to deal with the actual issue, which is the “presence of China in the South China Sea”. Manila is trying to send as many assets there as possible, to show that it is the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, even while stressing that it only wants to “assert its rights and protect its fishermen”.