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| Greetings for the Festive Season; |
| Commencing Our Study on Public Liability Insurance |
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| Dear Moneylifers, |
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 Let me begin by first wishing you all the best for the coming festive season and the year ahead. After two years spent in the pandemic, we know that this is a time of celebration for many – a time to decorate your homes, to splurge on gifts and gather family and friends. But it is also the time when scammers and fraudsters are out in full force. Scammers know that consumers on the lookout for cheap bargains, are prone to let their guards down a bit more than usual this time of year. |
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| However, we hope that as members of Moneylife Foundation, you remain vigilant while transacting or shopping online. Please do take the time to watch and share our financial literacy videos and read our articles on how to file a grievance or consumer complaint when cheated. Remember, that as members of Moneylife Foundation you have access to many resources to remain financially literate. Keep reading for more details below and do encourage others to become members as well. |
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| A Study on Public Liability Insurance |
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 A few months ago, we had started the exercise of exploring the scope and applicability of Public Liability Insurance (PLI) in India, after coming to the realisation that hardly any public places (restaurants, banks, theatres etc) seem to have taken such a policy. Conversely, even in the rare case that a business has opted for PLI, consumers remain unaware that there may be such an option available to them, when they suffer an injury in such places. |
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| We had highlighted a couple of cases recently (Read: Perils of Visiting a Bank – When Accidents on Branch Premises Leave Customers with Huge Costs and No Compensation) about injuries suffered by customers on bank premises and our effort to help them. Now, we want to take this further. As we believe that making PLI mandatory would offer better protection to customers, without imposing a huge cost burden on commercial establishments. India needs to mandate a workable PLI, which is simple, cost-effective and easy to claim. |
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| While is the long term goal, our first step in lobbying the government and regulatory bodies would be to present a comprehensive report showcasing the need for a mandate on PLI in India. We have earnestly started work on such a report with the help of Uttara Vaid, a senior insurance industry professional with expertise in the liability market. She would be mentoring and leading the research to create a detailed report on the scope and applicability of PLI in India. |
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| If you have thoughts, suggestions or expertise in this regard, which you would like to contribute towards the report, we would love to hear from you. Do send us your feedback and suggestions at [email protected] |
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| Update on Our Books Giveaway |
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 Our grand giveaway of books ended in the first week of September. We are glad that many of you were able to take advantage of this unique opportunity to take home books on investment, trading, economics, biographies, law, business and more. Overall, we gave away over 550 books to 50 people over the period of a month. While many of the books given away were from our collection, some were also recently donated by Shailesh Gandhi, Advocate Mrinalini Deshmukh, Mr Cyrus Guzder and Mr Dinesh Kanabar. |
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| Consumer Awareness and Financial Literacy |
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| Though it may seem hard to believe, a recent survey in the US revealed that the relatively tech savvy millennial generation (24 to 34 and 35 to 44 year olds) have been found to be more vulnerable to online scams. (Read: Fraud Alert: Millennials More Vulnerable to Online Scams!). With the festive season around and scammers out hunting for an easy victim, it is important that you stay vigilant and aware of the tricks that fraudsters use, and also the ways in which you can file a grievance. |
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 Take extra precaution when using banking apps, websites or e-commerce sites while shopping, as they have been instances of fake apps and fraudulent websites masquerading as authorised ones. Read this article to know what you should do when you are cheated while shopping online and follow this how-to guide when you want to file a consumer complaint. |
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| Recently we have made efforts to present our financial literacy videos in languages other than Hindi and English. You can now learn to use credit cards safely, stay away from online frauds, learn about the fallacy of gold loans and more in Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi and Tamil, all on our YouTube channel. |
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| Do subscribe to our YouTube Channel for regular updates and notifications when a new video is released, and also encourage your friends and family to do so as well. After all, the more number of people that watch and learn from these short videos, the more financially literate we can all be. |
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| We are also happy to send them to you in the language of your choice on WhatsApp and Telegram if you share your numbers at Moneylife Foundation's WhatsApp number (+91 7045156415). This is also a good opportunity for you to join our WhatsApp broadcast list as well as our telegram channel. Join to stay in the loop about Moneylife Foundation's activities. |
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| Do send us your feedback on these and if you have benefitted from our work, please do not forget to pass it forward by introducing our videos, free helplines and membership benefit to others. Do register for a free membership and also encourage your friends and family to join as well. |
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| Programmes in September |
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 This month we had the pleasure to host former Central Information Commissioner Mr Shailesh Gandhi for two Right to Information (RTI) webinars – one introducing novice applicants to the RTI Act and another to help you counter illegal refusals for requests of information under RTI. As always in case you missed these sessions, you can watch a video recording on our YouTube Channel. If you would like a copy of the presentation made by Mr Gandhi in either of these sessions, do send us a mail at [email protected]. |
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| We were also delighted to host veteran RTI activists Mr Anand Bhandare and Mr Anil Galgali, for the launch of Mr Bhandare's "My Corporator" or "माझा नगरसेवक" app. To evaluate the performance of a particular municipal corporator in Mumbai across various parameters, Mr Bhandare and his team regularly file RTI applications and gather valuable data. This data is now available as a handy report card in the aforementioned app. Interested users can watch the video recording of this session here and download the app from the Google Play Store. This session is especially important for Mumbaikars before the upcoming BMC elections. |
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| File your RTI Applications with Expert Guidance |
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| RTI Advice App पर विस्तृत गाइड से विशिष्ट उपयोग के मामलों के लिए आरटीआई आवेदन दाखिल करने का तरीका जानें। हिंदी और मराठी भाषाओं में उपलब्ध। |
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| Many of you are already aware of our 'RTI Advice' app, which was launched for both android and iOS devices a year ago. The app helps you get expert advice on your RTI queries in any language or format (text, audio or video) and access to over 900 queries that are already asked and answered by our 14 highly regarded RTI experts. |
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| Don't worry about how to navigate the app—we now have user guides for you in English, Hindi and Marathi! Download the app or access the guides from our website here. |
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| Moneylife TV & Helplines |
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| Catch up with our financial literacy work through Moneylife TV and Moneylife News Bites. |
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| Get guidance and counselling through our Legal Helpline or Credit Helpline. |
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| Also, Moneylife Foundation is now on Telegram and Instagram, so do follow us on these channels to stay updated on our activities and events. |
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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  | | | |
