The Association of Professional Detectives and Investigators (APDI) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, apprising him of substandard and counterfeit products being sold to “innocent” people amid coronavirus lockdown.
These spurious products, the association said, pose serious health and safety challenges for the country.
“I am writing to bring to your notice the danger of substandard counterfeit products flooding our markets during the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond, potentially causing a mammoth health and safety challenge,” APDI chairman K Vikram Singh said in a letter to Modi.
The letter stressed that these challenging times are being used as a potential opportunity by fraudsters, “especially counterfeiters who indulge in manufacturing and selling spurious products to our innocent and unassuming fellow citizens”.
As per industry estimates, counterfeiting causes a loss of over Rs 1 lakh crore annually to the Indian economy. Every single successful brand is suffering from this menace including pharmaceuticals, FMCG, automotive, liquor, cement, electronics, etc. Actions of these counterfeiters directly pose as a health, safety and security risk to Indians.
