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| Dear Members, |  | |
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| Greetings. I have two things of importance to share this month. First, we are delighted to get an incredible response to our study on Retirement Homes from Mr Pravin Pardeshi, Additional Chief Secretary to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. |
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| Our request to him was simple. We said that with a little bit of support from the State government, one could have rules that would protect the interest of senior citizens and create awareness about Retirement Homes, which are a wonderful alternative to the loneliness of old age. The trigger for our request was the horrifying story about a US Techie who came home to find his 65 year old mother's skeleton. Many of you may recall that Moneylife Foundation has done the first comprehensive report on Retirement Homes in India, with the support of Housing Development Finance Corp. |
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 Mr Pardeshi's called us for a meeting and immediately set up a working group under the Secretary, Social Justice (Mr Dinesh Waghmare) to examine what safeguards, incentives, contract terms, disclosures and amenities are required to encourage safe Retirement Homes. Ms Priya Khan (OSD, CMO) would coordinate this. We are most grateful to Mr BN Makhija, former Secretary of Government of India and Chairman Guidestar, for helping us take this forward and consenting to be a part of the solution. We also took our report to HDFC Chairman, Mr Deepak Parekh, who gave us extremely valuable guidance on how to proceed with our objective of ensuring safe and secure retirement homes for senior citizens. |
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| Watch Moneylife Videos: Allow me to draw your attention to Moneylife Foundation's videos this time. Many of you, who follow us and support us, are outside Mumbai. We would love to have you participate in our initiatives by watching through our videos. Sometime soon, we will ensure that we have you with us on Facebook Live as well. Maybe starting September, we will work on it. |
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| All our programmes can be viewed on the MoneylifeTV channel of YouTube. But if you go to our website and click Events, then you have the additional facility of looking at a quick write-up on the programme and watching the embedded video only if it meets your needs. |
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| Here are a few recent videos that are of great importance: |
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 1. We are all worked up about the disruption caused by the rains on August 29th. Everybody has loads of complaints. But did you know that the much maligned Mumbai Municipal Corporation has a revamped helpline in 1916 and a revamped information portal? RTI Activist and whistleblower Anil Galgali, who is also quick to praise what is good, did two short presentations followed by a guidance session to tell us about how both these sessions work. |
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 2. Activist Prakash Munshi had this eye-opening session to tell us all that is wrong with the Tarang Sanchar portal and the claims of the government. |
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 3. Mr Shirish Shanbhag explained how to use RTI effectively for property matters |
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 4. And for those of you who want to catch up on our modified, flagship session on being safe and smart with your money, including digital transactions – here's our latest offering for a bunch of NGOs who work closely for people with disabilities. |
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| So do watch, give us your feedback, and if you have a specific target group in Mumbai write to use for a special programme. |
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| Planned Programmes: |
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| 6 September 2017: How to use disaster management services in case of emergency by RTI activist Anil Galgali |
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| 7 September 2017: How to resolve Issues with Your Electricity Bills? By consumer activist AV Shenoy |
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| 13 September 2017: How to use RTI for resolving Mediclaim issues and Insurance Ombudsman by CA, CFP Rajesh Gada |
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| Past Events |
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 2 September 2017: "How to use RTI for Income Tax Related Matters and Refunds"
CA, CFP Rajesh Gada guided people on how to get their tax refunds by filing RTI. Although refunds are now faster, there are innumerable queries related to mismatch in filing, which can be queried through RTI when other options fail, he said. (For more click here) |
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 23 August 2017: "How to use Mumbai Municipal Corp's website to resolve grievances"
Activist Anil Galgali guided Moneylifers on how one can resolve issues through the Mumbai Municipal Corp's Online Complaint Mechanism. He said the Mumbai Municipal Corp (MCGM) website now offers an effective way to resolve issues pertaining to solid waste management, drainage, storm water drain, roads and traffic, factories, license issues, water supply, pest control, buildings and encroachment. Do check the video of this session on our YouTube channel |
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 19 August 2017: "Understanding Money Traps, Saving Safely and Ensuring Digital Security"
Moneylife Foundation conducted a special financial literacy workshop for persons with disabilities in Mumbai. This Workshop was organised for members of Nina Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis Society of India (MSSI), Able Disabled All People Together (ADAPT), Paraplegic Foundation and other NGOs working with persons with disabilities. This workshop was supported by Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) of the Reserve Bank of India. Details of the event can be read here. Do check the videos of presentations by Ms Dalal, Mr Basu and Mr Sapkale on YouTube. |
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 16 August 2017: "RTI Can Help You in all Property Matters: From Registration to Redevelopment; MHADA to RERA" by Shirish Shanbhag
Activist Shirish Shanbhag pointed out that the Right to Information (RTI) Act can be used to get information from several authorities, like municipal corporation, registrar office, building proposal department and so on, in a Moneylife Foundation event. From registration to redevelopment of a property, one can effectively use RTI to get information and documents that may not be easily available, concluded Mr Shanbhag. Do check the video of this session on our YouTube channel |
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9 August 2017: Understanding how to use the 1916 helpline of BMC
Anil Galgali conducted a Moneylife Foundation session in Hindi on understanding how to use the 1916 helpline for issues pertaining to solid waste management, drainage, storm water drain, roads & traffic, factories, license issues, water supply, pest control, buildings and encroachment. It was a practical guidance session for effective activism. Do check the video of this session on our YouTube channel |
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 2 August 2017: Guidance on filing effective RTI applications for our civic and infrastructure issues
RTI activist Anil Galgali offered guidance on filing effective RTI applications for our civic and infrastructure issues in a Moneylife Foundation session conducted in Hindi. Do check photos of this session on our Facebook page. |
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| Helplines |
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| Legal Resource Centre: We have handled 1,423 queries since inception. We are really proud of what we are able to do at the LRC with the help of senior activists and that people from Mumbra to Malabar Hill walk in for guidance and get it. |
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| Our FREE Credit Helpline has answered over 2,380 cases. We are delighted at the support from Experian Credit Information Company to keep this effort going. Spread the word, so that those with a low score can get help from us. |
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| Our Tax Helpline is going great guns. It has already answered 2,363 queries. Our grateful thanks to Mr Ameet Patel, Nikhil Vadia, Subodh V Shah, Ameya Kunte and others for their invaluable help to members. This comes to you FREE because of the support from Capital First. |
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| Remember, you can benefit from our work from all over the globe through our videos and helplines (Tax Helpline, Credit Helpline and Legal Resource Centre). There are all 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. Do write to me with your ideas and feedback. |
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| Thank you and 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, 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 Donate Online | | | |
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