CUTS International, or the Consumer Unity & Trust Society, is a global public policy think- and action-tank and a leading non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on economic policy research, advocacy, and networking. Its core mission is to achieve "Consumer sovereignty in the framework of social justice, economic equality and environmental balance, within and across borders".
The institution was established in 1983 in Rajasthan, India, beginning as a rural development communication initiative. Its origin was rooted in solving the problem of lack of information access for rural populations, which it addressed by launching a monthly wall newspaper called 'Gram Gadar' (Village Revolution). A significant early driver for its work was the 1984 amendment to the Monopolies & Restrictive Trade Practices Act (MRTPA), 1969, which expanded the law to cover unfair trade practices and consumer protection issues.
CUTS International operates through a mechanism known as the RANC approach—Research, Advocacy, Networking, and Capacity-building. Its work is structured around three main verticals: Rules-based Trade, Effective Regulation, and Good Governance. For instance, it was instrumental in advocating for the replacement of the old Indian competition law with a modern one. At the grassroots level, it empowers citizens to use tools like the RTI Act to monitor governmental welfare schemes.
The organization connects to major global bodies, cooperating with the World Bank, United Nations, UNCTAD, and the OECD. It has expanded its footprint from India, where it has centers in Jaipur, New Delhi, and Kolkata, to international resource centers in Geneva, Hanoi, Nairobi, Lusaka, Accra, and Washington DC. Recently, its work has evolved from ex post consumer protection to upfront policy work, with an organic expansion into new areas like the digital economy and e-commerce. It also established the CUTS Institute for Regulation and Competition in New Delhi in 2008.