Indore: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Indore in Madhya Pradesh has issued an order against a staffer of ed-tech firm Byju’s and film superstar Shah Rukh Khan for alleged “fraudulent behaviour” and “unfair trade practice” on the complaint of a woman who enrolled for coaching to become an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.
In its order passed on Wednesday, the commission said Rs 1.08 lakh in fees deposited by complainant Priyanka Dixit at the time of admission in 2021 must be returned along with 12 per cent annual interest, while Rs 5,000 must be given to her as litigation cost and Rs 50,000 as compensation for financial and mental agony.
The commission said the local manager of Byju’s and actor Khan must pay the amount “jointly or severally” to Dixit. The term ‘jointly and severally’ refers to a partnership in which each party involved is equally liable with respect to liability.
“Since the respondents (Byju’s manager and actor Shah Rukh Khan) remained absent even after notices were served in the case and no reply was submitted on their behalf, unilateral action was taken against them,” the commission said in the order.
“The woman complainant was encouraged to take admission in Byju’s coaching (course) by placing false and misleading online advertisements on behalf of the opposition parties. No coaching facility was provided after receiving the fee and despite assurance of refund of the amount, the fee was not refunded, which in itself is fraudulent behaviour and shows unfair trade practice,” the commission’s order said.
Dixit had named Shah Rukh Khan as one of the respondents after claiming she had enrolled for the firm’s coaching course in order to prepare for the Union Public Service Commission’s civic exams after being influenced by its advertisement issued on January 13, 2021.
In her complaint, Dixit alleged the firm had assured her of coaching by good teachers and that her classes would start from January 14, 2021, which did not happen.
She said in her complaint she had asked the firm to refund her fees and cancel her admission on January 27, 2021.
Despite repeated requests, the firm did not refund her fees, Dixit’s complaint alleged.
As per provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, a person can file a complaint against a company for errors in services as well as against those advertising it, Dixit’s lawyer Suresh Kanga told PTI.
“We filed a complaint against Byju’s and Khan under these provisions as Khan featured in the advertisement of the company, which prompted my client to take admission in the said coach course,” Kanga said.
Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs.50 thousand against a popular shopping mall in Hyderabad for collecting parking fees illegally.
The shopping mall, ‘My Home Tycoon,’ located in the city, had charged a parking fee of Rs. 10 from a resident of Secunderabad, Jeetender Surana, on March 28, which prompted him to raise a complaint on Twitter.
GHMC’s swift action
Surana shared the parking fee bill and tweeted, ‘2dy paid for parking at My home tycoon lifestyle building begumpet illegally collecting parking fee initiate action.’
Please submit a complaint letter along with the Parking ticket & Shopping bill to this Whatsapp No. 9154114998, so as to take further necessary action.
— Central Enforcement Cell, GHMC (@CEC_EVDM) March 29, 2023
Following the complaint, the Central Enforcement Cell of GHMC responded promptly and instructed Surana to submit a complaint letter along with the parking ticket and shopping bill to a designated WhatsApp number. The cell then took necessary action and imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 against the shopping mall for violating the rules.
The GHMC’s swift action against the shopping mall sets an example for others and sends a message that the authorities will not tolerate any violation of rules and regulations.
Rules for parking fees at shopping malls in Hyderabad
In order to regulate parking fees in shopping malls and other commercial establishments in Hyderabad, the government has issued the following rules:
No fee should be collected if the duration of the parking is less than 30 minutes.
A fee can be collected if the duration of parking is more than 30 minutes. However, if the vehicle owner produces a bill of any amount as proof of having done shopping in the commercial establishment, no fee must be collected for the first hour.
If the bill or movie ticket of an amount more than the parking fee is produced, no fee must be collected for any duration of the parking.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that beginning April 1, an interchange charge of up to 1.1% would be levied on merchant UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions.
According to a recent circular from the NPCI, utilising Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) for UPI transactions would incur an interchange fee. If the transaction exceeds 2,000, fees will be applied.
The interchange charge varies depending on the kind of retailer. It ranges from 0.5% to 1.1%, with a limit in place in specific areas.
According to a statement released today by NPCI, the new charge is exclusively applicable to merchant transactions done using prepaid payment instruments. The payments authority stressed that there will be no costs charged on conventional UPI transfers, dubbed “bank account-to-bank account based UPI payments.”
The interchange charge for telecom, education, and utilities/post office is 0.7%, while the fee for supermarkets is 0.9% of the transaction amount. Insurance, government, mutual funds, and railways will be charged 1%, fuel 0.5%, and agricultural 0.7.
The charges will be applicable from April 1.
In the event of peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-peer-merchant (P2PM) transactions, exchange will not be used. PPP issuers will be asked to pay a wallet-loading charge of 15 basis points (bps) to the remitter bank for transactions above 2,000.
The NPCI will evaluate the price on or before September 30, 2023.
In August of last year, the Finance Ministry announced that UPI is a digital public benefit and that no fees will be levied on transactions done through it.
“UPI is a digital public good with immense convenience for the public & productivity gains for the economy. There is no consideration in Govt to levy any charges for UPI services. The concerns of the service providers for cost recovery have to be met through other means,” the ministry tweeted.
The Govt had provided financial support for #DigitalPayment ecosystem last year and has announced the same this year as well to encourage further adoption of #DigitalPayments and promotion of payment platforms that are economical and user-friendly. (2/2)
The announcement came after the RBI released a discussion paper in which it stated that UPI, as a fund transfer system, is similar to IMPS (Immediate Payment Service), and so costs in UPI might be equivalent to those paid on IMPS fund transfers.
Srinagar, Mar 25: The School Education Department (SED) has warned private schools of Valley’s North and Central Kashmir districts of strict action for unilateral hike in tuition fees and other charges collected from the parents under different heads.
As per the circular instructions issued by the Joint director Central and North Kashmir districts, the private schools have been warned to refrain from giving unilateral hike in fees and remain careful in future, while going for a revision or hike In fees.
“Parents of students studying in Private Schools of Central and North Kashmir districts are openly coming in Social Media, Print and Electronic Media to express their anger and grievances with regard to overcharging of various fees like Admission fee ,Tuition fee and Bus fees collected by the Private Institutions from the students in Brazen violation of rules and regulations and cannons prescribed by the (FFRC) Fee Fixation Review Committee established by the Govt of Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory,” the circular reads, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
The move as per the department circular, has been viewed “very seriously” by the higher authorities and the stakeholders.
“Parents of the students who have to bear the brunt of the onslaught of this unilateral hike of fees by the unbridled School Managements, who are always in search of opportunities to give a hike to the fee in any Head/Sector without any plausible justification and slap this Hukum-I-Tughlak to the parents through WhatsApp/SMS/Telephonic-Calls,” the circular reads.
The department has observed that the private school managements have become so arrogant that they withhold the results of the students who don’t pay advance fees of the current month which is yet to finish.
“They don’t bother or feel it necessary to consult the Parent Body, Working Committee or any official machinery to get the hike of charges examined, discussed, justified, and finally accepted by one and all,” the circular reads.
The joint director has warned the Private School Managements to remain careful in future, while going for a revision or hike in fees and shall immediately consult the Chief Education Officers or Zonal Education Officers concerned and the Parents Body of that school and move a proposal for any such hike.
“With this, the menace of overcharging of fees, exorbitant admission fees are streamlined as per standard of school, the facilities provided by school, quality of education, transport facilities, playground,” the circular reads.
The Joint Director has issued instructions to all the Chief Education Officers and Zonal Education Officers of all the six districts including
Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal, Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara to mobilize themselves and re-activate their institutions.
“Make surprise visits to your school jurisdictions and take cognizance of complaints received in this behalf and take a strong notice of violations to curb this menace with Iron hard and restore confidence and faith of General Public, Parents and students in the law of the land and law enforcing agencies,” the circular reads—(KNO)
Mumbai: Telugu actor Ghanta Naveen Babu aka Nani is one of the popular South actors. From the movie ‘Nenu Local’, Nani rose to fame and his followers increased by double fold. As Telugu cinema has gained popularity all over India in the past few years, it is reported that Nani has hiked his remuneration. The actor will be seen next in ‘Dasara’ and it is reported that he took around Rs 15 crore from the film’s producers. As per the latest buzz, Nani has now hiked his remuneration and will be charging around Rs 22cr from his next project.
Meanwhile, let’s quickly have a look at the remunerations of other Tollywood actors. Scroll down and check how much Allu Arjun, Prabhas, Mahesh Babu and others are charging per movie.
Abu Dhabi: Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) announced on Friday that private schools can increase tuition fees for the next academic year.
Tuition fees for private schools in Dubai were frozen for the last three consecutive academic years.
“Taking into account the current economic and academic situation in Dubai, the approved rate for fee increase at Dubai private schools for the 2023-24 academic year is set at 3 percent,” KHDA tweeted.
The rate by which fees can be hiked is tied to each school’s most recent inspection rating from the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau.
Methodology outlined by KHDA to increase school fees
Private schools that maintain the same inspection rating will be allowed to increase their fees by 3 percent
Schools that improve their rating from “weak” to “acceptable” and from “acceptable” to “good” can increase fees by up to 6 percent
Schools that move from “good” to “very good” can increase fees by 5.25 percent
Schools that improve from “very good” to “outstanding” can apply a 4.5 percent rise
Schools that fall lower in the annual rankings will not be eligible for any fee increase
The rate by which schools can increase their fees is tied to their most recent inspections rating. Under the School Fees Framework, private schools whose ratings have dropped will not be eligible to increase their fees
— KHDA | هيئة المعرفة والتنمية البشرية بدبي (@KHDA) March 10, 2023
Dubai-based private school giant GEMS announced on Friday that it will increase the salaries of faculty members. “We are pleased to confirm also today that we will be implementing teacher salary increases in April for our Indian curriculum schools and in September for our International schools,” Dino Varkey, Group CEO of GEMS Education told Arabian Business.
Students from Telangana Modal School Samsthan Narayanapur (Facebook)
Hyderabad: The last date for payment of fees and submission of online applications for admission to Class VI (100 seats) and for vacant seats of classes VIII to X in state model schools has been extended till March 1.
In a press release from the Director of School Education here on Tuesday, the admission fee for SC (Scheduled Caste), ST (Scheduled Tribe), BC (Backward Class), PHC (Primary Health Center) an EWS (Economically Weaker Section) is Rs 125/- while for OC (Other Category), it is Rs 200/-
The release also said that the total number of online applications received to date is 57,358.
For more information, you can visit the website here.
Hyderabad: The Director of Telangana Open School Society (TOSS) announced on Monday that the TOSS, SSC and Intermediate Public Examination (IPE) will be held in April/May 2023.
Candidates can pay the examination fee from February 1 to 10 without a fine, from February 11 to 16 with a fine of Rs 25 per paper, and from February 17 to 22 with a late fee of Rs 50 per subject.
According to the notification, the payments need to be made through the official website, or Meeseva/Telangana state online centres in the state.
The challan and demand draft payments will not be accepted. If any of the examination fee remittance dates is declared a holiday, the immediate next working day is to be reckoned as the remittance date, the notification clarified.
If you want to get fit, joining a gym is often the starting point but the financial pressures caused by the cost of living crisis mean that for many Britons, committing to another big monthly expense is simply not an option.
Indeed, a study issued this month found that more than a third of consumers have given up fitness memberships for money reasons. Generation Z and millennials were hardest hit, with half of 25- to 34-year-olds cancelling memberships, rising to 56% for 18- to 24-year-olds, according to the poll by the workspace firm IWG.
But the appetite for getting fit and participating in activities is still there: in December, sports and outdoor retailers had their strongest month since last March, with sales of gear and equipment up 3.5%, according to Barclays data published this week.
The Barclays report says almost a third of those seeking cost-effective ways to start new resolutions are looking to take up “free” forms of exercise, such as running or following YouTube workouts. Here, we look at how to get fit at no or low cost.
Look to your council
Councils offer people low-cost access to sports clubs and facilities. A lot of what’s available is not means-tested. Some of these services will be free, or have a minimal charge. For example, Southwark council in London allows residents to sign up for a free swim pass that can be used at many leisure centres in the borough on Fridays and at weekends. Sign-up is usually required before attending, as new members will have to provide proof of address.
Certain groups will also be entitled to additional classes and clubs. For instance, in Northern Ireland, Mid Ulster’s “active lifestyle programme” is running £1 classes, including yoga, water aerobics and strength and balance. Some sessions are open to everyone but they primarily focus on children and young people with disabilities, new mothers and older people.
Welsh councils, including Conwy, Swansea and Wrexham, have a 60+ active leisure scheme providing cheap access to local facilities for the over-60s. This includes a free initial period.
Seek out initiatives
If you are set on taking up a specific sport, it is worth searching for initiatives funded by Sport England, Sportscotland, Sport Wales and Sport Northern Ireland.
Tennis clubs are particularly keen on helping new members into the sport. Tennis For Free offers sessions nationwide with all equipment provided (in most cases, classes will be starting up again in the spring). Clubs are also worth approaching directly.
Meanwhile, Skate Nottingham runs free weekly skateboarding classes for those aged seven to 14.
Does your child want to learn skateboard skills? Photograph: Lenscap/Alamy
Some commercial brands also run free sessions. Sweaty Betty offers classes in-store, including yoga, barre and Hiit (high-intensity interval training), although you will need to sign up for a free Sweaty Betty membership. Locations include Islington, Brighton, York and Bluewater in Kent.
Brave the outdoors
Wrap up warm and head to your local green space for some free, or low-cost, exercise.
Keep an eye out for public table tennis setups and outdoor gyms, as well as basketball and tennis courts. These are often free to use, although with some there may be a small fee, usually via the council’s website. You will typically have to take your own equipment.
If you are bold enough to give open water swimming a go, you could save a fortune in swim passes all year. Swimming on the coast, or in swimming ponds, is largely free, although some of the famous ponds, such as Hampstead in north London, charge a small fee (£4.25 or £2.55 for concessions in the case of Hampstead). Outdoor swimming groups and free information can be found at the Outdoor Swimming Society.
“Swimming is so cheap,” confirms Kate Rew, the society’s founder. “You don’t need any gear – it’s perfectly acceptable to jump in wearing a T-shirt and pants. You can move on to more gear – but none of it is necessary.”
The not-for-profit sports organisation Our Parks is also offering free classes at various parks around the country. Sessions include yoga, dance, pilates and fitness. However, if you are not able to get to the park, they also have a variety of live online sessions.
A wild swimming women’s group take a dip at Hampstead Heath ponds. Photograph: Hollie Fernando/Getty Images
Another option is parkrun, which hosts a free weekly 5km run on Saturday mornings at lots of UK parks. There’s also a 2km junior parkrun for children aged four to 14 on Sunday mornings.
For those wanting to go at a slower pace, the Ramblers has hundreds of free walking routes across the country, and also hosts free Wellbeing Walks.
Go virtual
Virtual classes via apps, YouTube and fitness platforms are probably the most cost-efficient option, depending on how much space and self-motivation you have.
The free NHS Couch to 5K running podcast is a popular option. NHS Fitness Studio also has free exercise videos for pilates and yoga, strength and resistance, and aerobics.
Gyms often offer free trials at the start of a year. Photograph: Sergio Azenha/Alamy
YouTube has a plethora of free-access sports coaching videos and exercise sessions to get involved in, regardless of whether you are hoping to take up boxercise, Hiit or Zumba.
The Better at Home app also provides 600 virtual free exercise classes.
Take up gym trials
There is often increased interest in gyms in January, and, consequently, gyms often offer free trials at the start of the year. Use this time to think about whether you really will commit to regularly doing weight training and cardio, or attending classes. Some gyms also offer a free personal training session.
If you can’t see a free trial advertised, contact the team and ask if you can try before buying. If that fails, ask friends if they have a referral, or a free pass to a nearby gym.
If you do pursue a membership, check the contract carefully to ensure you are not locked into an unaffordable long-term commitment. Remember that local leisure centres will often be cheaper, although they may have fewer facilities.
Meanwhile, if you have a health condition, you may be entitled to a free pass. For instance, Everyone Active offers a free gym pass to anyone with Parkinson’s.
Get the gear
Avoid investing in expensive gear if you feel that your commitment to a new fitness regime could waver.
In the short-term, ask friends and family if they have old equipment, such as footballs, weights and badminton rackets, that you could borrow. The chances are someone you know invested in some, motivated by new year goals, and never used them again.
The ball manufacturer Alive and Kicking has scores of “football libraries” across the country that enable locals to borrow footballs for free.
Sites such as eBay, Vinted and Preloved Sports offer secondhand sportswear and equipment. In many cases the items will have never been worn.
However, be cautious about buying certain items. For instance, it may be dangerous to buy a secondhand horse-riding helmet or other protective gear.
If you are in Scotland, your child could be entitled to sports gear via the nationwide Kit for All scheme. In Aberdeen, for example, you can apply for sportswear via Aberdeen city schools.
For those after bigger purchases, such as a bike or an e-bike, there may be payment schemes to help. The nationwide salary sacrifice scheme Bike2Work saves on tax by enabling you to pay via your employer. There’s a calculator on its website to work out how much you could save.
Certain people may also be entitled to an equipment grant.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
