 |
| |
| Dear Moneylifers, |  | |
| |
| Greetings! Let me begin by wishing all of you a very happy and prosperous Diwali. We have a lot to celebrate this festive season and allow me to tell you about it. |
| |
| Moneylife Foundation filed its first Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court of India over unfair practices adopted by banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), in providing lower rates to new borrowers and not reducing interest rates for existing borrowers even after RBI reduces the policy rates. Our PIL came up for a hearing on 9 October 2018. |
| |
| Here is what happened. The bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice SK Kaul and Justice KM Joseph, said, "Having heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and having considered the matter, we are of the view that, at this stage, the RBI should be directed to communicate its decision in the matter covered by the representation or letter of the petitioner dated 12 October 2017 to the petitioner within a period of six weeks from today. Thereafter the petitioners, if still aggrieved, will be at liberty to approach this Court once again." | |
| | |
| We now wait for the RBI to respond to us. We are most grateful to the wonderful Sr Counsel Shyam Divan for being such a supporter of our cause and Advocate Jatin Zaveri for providing his services as advocate, pro bono. Thanks also to Adv Govind Manoharan, who helped us with the painstaking process of putting together this petition. | |
| | |
| We have also made a lot of headway in the lawsuit we are planning for Jeevan Saral policy holders who put their trust in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Our thanks to Advocate Jamshed Mistry and Advocate Omprakash Parihar for all their help in taking this project forward. |
| |
| Meanwhile, the insurance regulator (IRDAI) has now written to LIC asking it to "submit a comprehensive response on 'serious' allegations made by Moneylife Foundation in a memorandum on how the Jeevan Saral policy has rampantly been mis-sold." |
| |
| The finance ministry has also acknowledged our memorandum and has asked LIC to respond to us. LIC chairman VK Sharma has written a one line letter to say: "We appreciate the concerns raised by you in your letter dated 1 October 2018. It will be dutifully looked into." |
| |
 Hence, we have paused taking further steps in our lawsuit against LIC. We are hopeful that LIC will initiate corrective action and we will not need to go to court. Here are the details of the Memorandum.
If you have a Jeevan Saral policy and are over 50 years of age, make it a point to read our cover story and follow what we have been doing on your behalf about the mis-selling by LIC. (Read: Life Insurance: LIC Jeevan Saral: A Toxic Product ) |
| |
| Meanwhile we have been continuing our usual activities and our Daily Clinics. Some of our regulars are amused at the new venues we have discovered while our offices are undergoing much needed renovation. |
| |
| Do remember, that Moneylife Foundation takes up issues that affect all of us. We are able to retain our fierce independence and take up these issues because of your donations and support. Help us in helping you, by donating for a cause, https://www.moneylife.in/donation.html |
| |
|
| |
| Recent Events: |
| |
| This month, we organised a fascinating session on the effective use of Social Media with Ms Sunchika Pandey, who consults for the team handling the Mumbai Police twitter handle. As we all know, Mumbai Police has done an outstanding job reaching out to the public through twitter with quick responses and handling of complaints. The event was well attended by activists, senior citizens and other interested members who were keen to learn how social media could be used to find support for their social cause or to resolve issues of public concern. You can read about the event here: https://www.moneylife.in/article/how-to-use-social-media-for-public-good/55493.html and also watch the video of the same here: https://youtu.be/ceD-KZviQQk. |
| |
| As our regular daily clinic sessions were interrupted due to renovations, we had a few RTI guidance sessions at a temporary venue in Qtube Cafe, Bandra. These sessions were conducted by activist Sulaiman Bhimani, who is well versed in the RTI Act and provides guidance on RERA, SRA, MMRDA related issues. Mr Bhimani also conducted a workshop on using RTI applications effectively to acquire information from these organisations. |
| |
| Apart from RTI sessions, we also managed to conduct separate sessions for our CHS and banking related issues. As you would be aware, we are strictly restricting these sessions on an appointment/urgent basis due to the nature of the temporary venue. |
| |
| No Daily Clinics during Diwali Week |
| |
 On another important note, due to Diwali next week, our working days are shortened and we have thus decided to not have any daily clinic sessions during that week. We deeply regret any inconvenience this might cause and rest assured we will continue with the sessions a week later.
As always, if you are not a Mumbaikar, you can catch our events on Facebook live (https://www.facebook.com/moneylifedailyclinics/) or watch them on our YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/MoneylifeTV/videos). |
| |
| If you reside in Mumbai, you can also benefit from our Free Daily Clinic guidance sessions to resolve your issues relating to Housing, Cooperative Housing Societies, Lok Adalats, RERA, Right to Information (RTI), banking and consumer complaints and many other issues that affect your daily life. |
| |
| You will find a list of activities and programmes conducted in September below. Also, feel free to write to us if you have suggestions for other future workshops or want a repeat of any of those conducted earlier – if there is a lot of interest, we will surely arrange another session. Watch out for announcements in November by becoming a member and getting on to our mailing list. |
| |
|
| |
| Planned Programmes: |
| |
 14th November: "Filing RTI applications under SRA" - Sulaiman Bhimani
Activist Sulaiman Bhimani will be conducting a workshop at Qtube Cafe, Bandra to talk about Slum Rehabilitation Authority projects and filing RTI applications to acquire information under the same. |
| |
|
| |
| Programmes Conducted |
| |
| 5th October: "How To Use Social Media For Public Good" - Sunchika Pandey |
| |
 |
| |
| In an invigorating session for activists and citizens alike, Ms Sunchika Pandey talked about the effective use of Social Media for furthering your cause and for doing public good. |
| Read: How To Use Social Media for Public Good |
| |
| Watch the video on our YouTube Channel here |
| |
| 8th October: "RTI Session for Law Students at Mumbai University" |
| |
 |
| |
| Shailesh Gandhi led a session for students to impart his vast knowledge about the RTI act and its effective use, in collaboration with Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT). |
| Watch the video on our YouTube Channel |
| |
| 13th October: "How RTI empowers democracy and transparency" - CIC Sridhar Acharyulu, Pune |
| |
 |
| |
| On the 13th Anniversary of the RTI act, CIC Sridhar Acharyulu was available in Pune to give a talk on the unrecognized power of the RTI act in promoting transparency in governance. The event was held in collaboration with Pune Shramik Patrakar Sangh. |
| Read: "Giving Information is Good Governance; Asking for it is Good Citizenry" |
| |
| Watch the video on our YouTube Channel |
| |
| 31st October: "Using RTI to Get Information Under RERA, SRA, MMRDA etc" - Sulaiman Bhimani |
| |
 |
| |
| Sulaiman Bhimani conducted an insightful session to talk about using effective RTI applications to get information under RERA, SRA and other projects to find a solution in a grievance or complaint. |
| |
|
| |
| Moneylife TV |
| |
| The Moneylife TV has reached over 25.20 lakh views with almost 24,000 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. |
| |
| Even better, become a Member of Moneylife Foundation and join nearly 93,000 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 |
| |
|
| |
| Helplines |
| |
| Legal Resource Centre: We have handled 1,784 queries since inception, thanks to the generous help and guidance by senior activists. |
| |
| 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 50 queries from readers of the newspaper. |
| |
| Our FREE Credit Helpline has answered over 3,543 cases. Spread the word, so that those with a low score can get help from us. |
| |
| 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. |
| |
| Help Your Cause: A good way to the second half of 2018 may be by donating to a cause that takes up issues that affect you, as we do in Moneylife Foundation. Or you can join our efforts by helping create awareness, researching issues or getting people to take advantage of all that we offer. |
| |
| Donate Online |
| |
| Thank you for your support and look forward to your good wishes always. |
| |
| Best regards, |
| |
| Sucheta Dalal |
| Founder-Trustee, Moneylife Foundation |
| |
| |
| 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 Donate Online | | | |
| |
