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| Some Must-Attend Events for the New Year: |
| Health Insurance, MSMEs and More |
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| Dear Moneylifers, |
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| Greetings and wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year. Moneylife Foundation turns 15 in less than a month and we are all set to kick off this important, square year with seminars on key issues that really matter to you. The response we have already received indicates we are on the right path! |
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| The first is on health insurance and we have none other than Jehangir Gai, one of India’s best-known consumer activist to deliver this talk. We buy health insurance as a safety net and to be at peace about the cost of medical emergencies. Yet, when claims are rejected, policyholders are left feeling stranded, powerless and unsure about how to proceed. Navigating this complex system requires clarity, preparation and an understanding of your rights and we hope to provide some answers. |
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 You can register for Health Insurance: Decode Claim Rejections and Fight Back! on Thursday, 23 January 2025, from 5 PM to 7 PM at the Indian Merchant’s Chamber Building in Churchgate, Mumbai at https://www.moneylife.in/events/healthinsurance_23125/index.html |
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| Please remember this is not for solving individual issues. For those you can always use Moneylife Foundation’s free helplines and counselling. |
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 On 7th March we have a very important session for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) who face a harrowing time from lenders. Once more, Advocate Manoj Harit, who practices at the Bombay High Court and specialises in helping businesses navigate recovery actions, has generously offered his time to entrepreneur stay safe. If you know aspiring entrepreneurs or those who are starting a new business, please tell them about this session titled: ‘Challenges for MSMEs: Tackling Unfair Practices and Pitfalls’. This session is also at the Indian Merchant’s Chamber Building, Mumbai from 5-7pm. More details will follow soon, please do spread the word and register! If you know associations of entrepreneurs, do share this opportunity to hear Advocate Harit with them. |
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| If you have missed our past events – especially the one on cyber crime, please read on. This is something you cannot afford to be ignorant about! |
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| Event Highlights: Unmasking the Threat of Cyber Crime |
| We recently hosted a thought-provoking seminar titled 'Unmasking the Threat of Cyber Crime,' where experts delved into the growing menace of cyber crimes, their evolving nature and the need for stringent legal frameworks to tackle them effectively. |
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| Nandkumar Saravade, former IPS officer, highlighted the cross-border nature of cyber crimes and called for the application of law such as the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) to address organised cyber crime syndicates. Advocate (Dr) Prashant Mali supported this view, citing the success of the Goonda Act in Telangana, which allows authorities to impose non-bailable detentions on repeat offenders. |
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| Yogesh Sapkale, deptuy editor Moneylife, shared alarming data from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, showing over Rs11,000 crore lost to cyber crimes in 2024 alone. He highlighted the rise of organised gangs in cyber crime, which operate with sophisticated tools including artificial intelligence, for targeted scams. He also emphasises the importance of vigilance and early reporting to law enforcement to prevent further damage. |
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| During the seminar, practical advice on avoiding scams, such as sextortion and phishing, was shared. Experts recommended using gamification techniques for educating people and encouraged reporting suspicious activity on social media to combat online fraud. You can read more about the event here: Unmasking the Threat of Cyber Crime. For those who missed the event, a full video recordings are available on our YouTube Channel: |
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| Counselling and Helplines |
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| Advocate Avinash Phatak has been anchoring counselling sessions on housing society matters in the absence of Mr Shirish Shanbhag and his sessions have become immensely popular. In fact, due to additional demand Adv Phatak has graciously extended his timings for the session and has offered to provide counseling from morning 11:30 am onwards on fortnightly Thursdays. |
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| As you know, we now offer regular counselling sessions on the following days: Tuesdays for banking, consumer and insurance matters with Mr. Abhay Datar; and Thursdays for housing society, property matters, Mhada, Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), cessed buildings, as well as criminal and consumer litigation with Adv. Avinash Phatak. |
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| Counselling is available both in-person and via video conferencing through Zoom by prior appointment. To schedule, please call 022-35131664 or 35036925, or submit your query through our legal helpline. |
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| Please also make an effort to visit and share the links to our website, where you can read more about cases of mis-selling, fraud alerts, consumer cases and also solutions to housing society problems. |
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| Join us on WhatsApp and Telegram |
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| We realise that most members find it easier to access information on WhatsApp /Telegram etc. If you are not already on our lists, please click on this link to join – https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone= 917045156415&text= Hi%21+Please+add+me+to+your+broadcast+ lists+and+make+me+a+member.&app_absent=0 and follow our Telegram channel here – https://telegram.me/moneylife_foundation. |
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| Check our Free Helplines and Guides or Templates as well as our YouTube Channel, where you will find a wide repository of videos on various topics. |
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| Video recordings of all our webinars are available on our YouTube channel and will come to your inbox regularly if you hit the subscribe button. But if you want to be notified about future events through our mailing list, you do need to be a member. |
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| Moneylife TV & Helplines |
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| Financial Literacy Videos in Indian Languages: |
- Credit cards
- Online frauds
- Fallacy of gold loans and more in Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi and Tamil, all on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/moneylifetv).
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| Get guidance and counselling through our Legal Helpline or Credit Helpline. |
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| Sucheta Dalal |
| Founder-Trustee, Moneylife Foundation |
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| Trustees: TS Krishnamurthy, Walter Vieira, Sucheta Dalal, Debashis Basu. | | | | 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: 08378138  | | | |
