Dear Moneylifers,

 
Greetings!
 
Greetings! The exam fever at most homes is coming to an end and the summer holidays are almost here! Isn't it time to invest in a little financial literacy? A few days ago I read how Rahul Dravid had lost crores of rupees trusting a "scheme" that offered returns of 20 to 30%. Remember, he used to be a brand ambassador for Bank of Baroda, but the high returns didn't raise any red flags. Just a couple of hours checking out Moneylife TV would have ensured he never made this mistake. If you are outside Mumbai, do explore our financial literacy videos on MoneylifeTV on YouTube. It will keep your hard earned money safe.
 

Talking about investments and earnings, we had some really special seminars in March. We started the month with the inaugural Right to Information (RTI) lecture by Justice A P Shah in Pune to a huge audience of over 500 people. His powerful speech Justice AP Shah on a wide range of current issues including freedom of speech, right to information, accountability, privacy, whistleblowers and the need for a Lokpal had Punkears give him a standing ovation!

 
We ended the financial year with two crucial seminars – one on documentation by Mr PR Balan, whose passion for filing and retrieving important documents is extraordinary. Imbibing a fraction of his skill would make us all so efficient. The second seminar by Advocate Manoj Harit is an absolute must for everyone who dreams of becoming an entrepreneur – and we are not talking about hugely funded start-ups here, with endless money to burn. Everybody else, who sets up traditional businesses need to prepare for difficult times by listening to this talk, which covers every issue you can expect to encounter.
 

Take a few hours off to watch some of our programme and if you are a Mumbaikar, this is the time to benefit from the Free Daily Clinics and seek guidance from leading activists and experts on 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 money and your life.
 
As always, you will find below a list on activities and programmes conducted in March and watch out for announcements for April by becoming a member and getting on to our mailing list.
 
Programmes Conducted
 
3 March: "Transparency and Empowerment in Decision-Making are Pillars of a Healthy Democracy" by Justice AP Shah
 
 
Read: "Right to Freedom of Speech & Expression is Under Attack. Citizens need to rise and demand accountability from government," - Justice AP ShahWatch video on our YouTube Channel
 
16th March: "RERA: Effective Complaint Filing & Compliance using RTI & How RERA Conciliation works" by Sulaiman Bhimani & Ajit V Shenoy
Sulaiman Bhimani (RTI Activist and Founder-President of Citizens Justice Forum) and Ajit V Shenoy (Consumer Activist) conducted a special workshop organised by Moneylife Foundation's RTI Centre in Mumbai. They mainly focused on explaining the usage of RTI in RERA and the newly introduced process of Conciliation in RERA.
Read:"RERA: How to file complaints and get justice using the fast track conciliation" Watch video on our YouTube Channel (Part 1:) (Part 2:)
 
17th March: "Sensible use of RTI and Alternatives" by Shailesh Gala

RTI Activist Shailesh Gala discussed the proper usage of RTI for garnering accurate results during a seminar conducted at Moneylife Foundation's RTI Centre in Mumbai. He also provided several other alternatives to achieve results such as Act 21 of 2006, Ombudsman, Regulatory Authorities, Consumer Court, Helplines, PG Portal/Aaple Sarkar and few others.

Watch the video on our YouTube Channel
 
29th March: "Sail through tax scrutinies with Watertight Documentation" by PR Balan

Documentation expert PR Balan explained ways to maintain documents that allow people to successfully sail through tax questions or any of life's eventualities. Mr Balan has mastered the art of maintaining every bit of paper, making him a successful documentation expert. Read: How to Sail Through Tax Scrutinies With Watertight Documentation

Watch the video on our YouTube Channel
 
 
30th March: "Entrepreneurs: Dealing with Contingencies and Understanding Options" By Advocate Manoj Harit

Manoj Harit spoke at a special seminar organized by Moneylife Foundation and Capital First in Mumbai. His aim was to provide entrepreneurs with knowledge about their legal liablitites and various options to deal with financial difficulties. The talk covered such topics as fundamentals of industrial finance and its implications, recognizing the first signs of incipient sickness and successfully handling recovery proceedings. He also explained the nuances involved in establishing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for the entrepreneurs in a easy to understand language.

Read: "Underfinancing is the most significant reason for MSME Failure, says Adv Manoj Harit"

Watch the video on our YouTube Channel
 

 
Moneylife TV
 
The Moneylife TV has reached over 20.66 lakh views with nearly 19,750 active subscribers. You can watch our videos from almost any part of the globe and enrich yourself. If you don't want to miss out on any of our videos then do subscribe to the Moneylife channel on YouTube here.
 
Even better, you may also become a Member of Moneylife Foundation and join over 82,100 others so that you receive updates to our events, their coverage as well as access to our extremely valuable Tax Helpline, Credit Helpline and Legal Resource Centre absolutely free. To join now, click here
 

 
Helplines
 
Legal Resource Centre: We have handled 1,592 queries since inception, thanks to the generous help and guidance by senior activists.
 
Our FREE Credit Helpline has answered over 3,167 cases. Spread the word, so that those with a low score can get help from us.
 
Our Tax Helpline is going great guns. It has already answered 3,638 queries. Our grateful thanks to CAs 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.
 
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). 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 start 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.
 
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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

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