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| Congratulating our Valued Counselors |
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| Dear Moneylifers, |
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| Greetings! Let me start by sharing some exciting news from this month. Consumer activist Abhay Datar, who is a Member of the Managing Committee of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) and one of our Daily Clinic guidance counselors, was awarded the M. R. Pai award for his contribution in the field of consumer movement by Padma Vibhushan Dr. Anil Kakodkar. |
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| Our regular members would know that Mr Datar along with Mr AV Shenoy holds free guidance sessions every Thursday at our Knowledge Centre. Together with their vast industry experience, they provide help with consumer issues' complaints, insurance and mediclaim, conciliation under RERA and fraudulent banking transactions. Do take advantage of this free guidance, if you have any queries, issues or concerns on any of the aforementioned subjects. |
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| Let me also mention one of our other counselors whose dedication in helping others is an inspiration to us all. Mr Shirish Shanbhag, works tirelessly online and offline to provide extremely detailed guidance on all property related matters like redevelopment, deemed conveyance, parking, maintenance etc. He conducts free guidance sessions every Tuesday and in fact, his sessions have become so popular that we have had to extend the timings from 3-7pm. Even if it goes beyond 7pm (and it often does), Mr Shanbhag has no qualms over staying late answering queries. Furthermore, not only does he spend 4-5 hours every Tuesday at Moneylife, he also answers queries that we receive through our Legal Resource Centre (LRC) and lately even those that come through Free Press Journal (FPJ). His untiring demeanour when it comes to helping people with property related issues is truly remarkable. | |
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| Every once in a while, someone who has benefitted from his work walks in to say thank you with a box of sweets (in one case an advocate) or a donation cheque. |
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| If you have any property related matters that you are having difficulty with, I would urge you to take an appointment for Mr Shanbhag's session. Be advised that his sessions are well booked in advance and you need to call ahead for an appointment. |
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| Apart from these two guidance sessions, we also have free sessions for RTI related matters, conducted by Shailesh Gandhi and a banking/credit related session conducted by DG Kale, retired CGM, Customer Services, RBI. You may have read in the newspapers about the path-breaking Supreme Court order asking the Reserve Bank of India to disclose RBI inspection reports. That order was a culmination of something that Mr Shailesh Gandhi set into motion when he was the Central Information Commissioner (CIC) and it makes us very proud. |
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| If you have queries that you would like to discuss with any of our counselors please do call (022) 4920 5000 to take an appointment. |
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 We conduct these guidance sessions free of cost and can only do so because of your donations. If you have benefited from such guidance from one of our counselors and would like to support our effort, we would request you to do so by making a small donation. |
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| Planned Programmes: |
| 11th May, 2019: "How to Maximise Rewards on Smartphone Apps" - DG Kale |
 Reward programs are certainly not new, but technology has been reinventing them. Cashback and reward apps have in essence replaced rewards cards. But are there pitfalls to such apps? A not to miss opportunity to learn from retired CGM at RBI, DG Kale. Register Here |
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| Time & Location: 4-6pm at Moneylife Foundation's Knowledge Centre |
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| Programmes this month: |
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| 3rd April, 2019: "Learn Basics of the RTI Act & How to File Effective RTI Applications" - Shailesh Gandhi |
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| Former CIC Shailesh Gandhi conducted a RTI workshop in Moneylife Foundation's Knowledge Centre for a packed audience, explaining the basics of the RTI Act and also how to file RTI applications. |
| Watch the video on our YouTube Channel here |
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| 12th April, 2019: "RTI for Investigative Journalism" - Vishwas Waghmode |
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| All journalists should understand the importance of RTI when doing an investigative story. Vishwas Waghmode from the Indian Express, who has made effective use of RTI in doing investigative stories was invited to share his experience. Vishwas Waghmode, principal correspondent at Indian Express has time and again used the RTI Act to his advantage to uncover and acquire information. He has written several investigative stories for Indian Express. Using RTI in this manner is a vital skill for all journalists, activists and even common citizens. |
| Read here |
| Watch the video on our YouTube Channel here. |
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| RTI activist Sulaiman Bhimani's guidance on using RTI for RERA, SRA, MMRDA or any other property related matters SRA always has a packed audience, even with just a day's notice. This time was no different. |
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| As always, if you are not a Mumbaikar, you can catch our events on Facebook live or watch them on our YouTube Channel. |
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| Moneylife TV |
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| The Moneylife TV has reached over 28.27 lakh views with almost 26,930 active subscribers. You can watch our videos from almost any part of the globe and enrich yourself. If you do not want to miss out on any of our videos then do subscribe to the Moneylife channel on YouTube here. |
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| Even better, become a Member of Moneylife Foundation and join 1,05,223+ others so that you receive updates to our events, their coverage as well as access to our extremely valuable Credit Helpline and Legal Resource Centre absolutely free. To join now, click here |
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| Helplines |
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| Legal Resource Centre: We have handled 1,932 queries since inception, thanks to the generous help and guidance by senior activists. |
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| Every Monday, Mumbai-based "Free Press Journal" is publishing a column "Your Housing Problems & Solutions" based on queries answered by our Experts at the LRC. So far, we have provided answers to more than 170 queries from readers of the newspaper. |
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| Our FREE Credit Helpline has answered over 3,776 cases. Spread the word, so that those with a low score can get help from us. |
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| Remember, you can benefit from our work from all over the globe through our videos and helplines (Credit Helpline and Legal Resource Centre). They are all offered free of charge, but please do reciprocate by introducing our work to at least 10 people and getting them to become members. |
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| Thank you for your support and look forward to your good wishes always. |
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| Best regards, |
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| Sucheta Dalal |
| Founder-Trustee, Moneylife Foundation |
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| Trustees: TS Krishnamurthy, Dr KC Chakrabarty, Walter Vieira, Sucheta Dalal, Debashis Basu and Dr Anupam Saraph. Special Invitee: Adv Jamshed Mistry | | | | Moneylife Foundation is registered with the Charity Commissioner of Mumbai, is an Affiliate member of OECD's International Network on Financial Education, is a Supporter Member of Consumers International, Development Partner of Advocates for International Development (A4ID), and is a winner of the 10th MR Pai Memorial Award. | | | | |  | | | | Donations are eligible for tax benefits under Sec 80G of the Income Tax 1961 (50% tax exemption) and MLF is registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. 80(G) Reg No: DIT(E)/MC/80G/685/2010-11 dated 7.2.11 effective 8.+9.2010 | FCRA Registration No: 083781387   | | | |
