CHIT FUNDS explained...

-Vaishali Sethi

A Chit fund is a kind of savings scheme practiced in India. They are savings plans conducted by a group of people who contribute to the fund and thereby benefit from it. So, simply put, chit funds are just like the ‘kitty parties’ that women organize at their homes. They collect some amount of money every month and the entire amount goes to one person each month. This continues till each person has got an opportunity to keep (and use) the amount atleast once.

The Chit Funds Act, 1982 governs the functioning of Chit funds in India. According to Section 2(b) of the Chit Fund Act, 1982, "Chit means a transaction whether called chit, chit fund, chitty, kuri or by any other name by or under which a person enters into an agreement with a specified of persons that every one of them shall subscribe a certain sum of money (or a certain quantity of grain instead) by way of periodical installments over a definite period and that each such subscriber shall, in his turn, as determined by lot or by auction or by tender or in such other manner as may be specified in the chit agreement, be entitled to the prize amount".

People who contribute to the chit funds are called subscribers.  The person or company who organizes and manages the fund is called the Foreman. Foreman has to be a subscriber also. He/She/The company  just receives a small fees for the services that they have provided.

The chit funds system basically works in this way. A small group of people get together for mutual savings and loan requirements. All the members pool in their money. (Usually the maximum amount to be contributed is fixed). Then there can be a draw of lots every month regarding who shall be pocketing the money during the month. Later on this member is expected to keep taking part in the savings process, but he/she will not get the money again. Normally, the duration of the chit funds scheme is the number of months as the number of members.

For those with no credit background, those with an unstable collateral base, it is a simple and self-help way to organize funds during crises or as and when need arises and also, as a saving scheme during normal and stable times. So, chit funds are just another, but if implemented properly, then excellent microfinance instruments. It has the capability of pulling people out of years of debt and drudgery.

But hardly anything in this world comes without a disclaimer. For so many successful chit funds that go unsung and unpraised, there are some people who con others by talking them into fake chit funds and thus robbing them of their hard earned money. So, never miss the word of caution!

MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM MY MOM’S KITCHEN

- Vaishali Sethi

Being an Indian make me a part of the culture where the kitchen is the most happening place in the house. It is one place where some work is usually happening at almost all times during the day. 

Kitchen work generally forms the most important engagement of the home makers and provides employment as well, be it to the lady who comes to clean the dishes or be it the cook or others in similar professions. 

Here are a few very striking pointers I came across while my hanging around outside the kitchen at home:

Ü One must have the right knowledge of the task undertaken. 

      Imagine a cook who has no knowledge of what is to be cooked and how. All we can expect from such a person is to come up with either a brilliant new invention (rarely so) or just some disastrous, inedible attempted replication of some existing recipe. Remember the age old joke of people having discovered sugar in place of salt and vice versa in the dishes they were eating? Imperfect knowledge can only, most likely, lead to a catastrophe and be extremely bad and harmful for life in general.

Ü Right ingredients in the right quantity and at the right time. 

     All of us are well aware of what might happen if the ingredients of a dish were not added in the right quantity and proportion. We might just end up having a turmeric and pepper laced ‘halwa’ too sugary or chapatti smeared with peanut butter. Yuck! In real life also, it is of significant importance that we add the right components in perfect or near perfect proportions to get the desired results.

Ü It is all about group work. 

      We must assess our abilities well in advance and work accordingly. Just as a single grain of rice or a single gram seed cannot make an entire meal, it is possible that we are a part of a task that we cannot humanly bring about alone. Here comes the importance of team work. A bowl full of rice grains can definitely make a decent meal. A lot many of the tasks which cannot be accomplished alone can be, by a group.

Ü Ghee-Makhan Laga ke. 

     Have you ever seen how nasty it smells when the butter at home is boiled to make Ghee? Butter is tasty, but Ghee has its own place of pride. It is one thing that is used in the pious rituals like hawans, is a symbol of prosperity and affluence, and, no doubt, makes the food super tasty. Is this not due to the tough transformation it has to go through. Rephrasing the age old proverb, ‘Test of heat makes fine ghee’!

Ü Difficulties mustn’t enslave us. 

      It is the difficult time that makes a man what he is. Tasting is fine, but can we actually eat the raw batter of a cake? Not even 1 spoonful, I can bet on it. When the eggs are beaten, and added to a number of other things and the whole thing is made to shift bowls and finally made to endure the hardship of 180^o C of the oven, what come out is the sweet smelling cake. The rising of the batter is a sign of triumph over all the difficulties that all the ingredients have had to face in their run to be the cake. None of the ingredients has its original entity intact now, but the awesome unified mass is what makes all of them the equal kings.

Ü Flexibility is the key. 

     Rigidity is the aspect that can sure bring upon the downfall of even the mightiest. Those who wish to survive in the long run must inculcate flexibility. Just as a whole big bottle gourd or a big round pumpkin cannot be cooked and eaten as a whole and have to be cut into smaller pieces, it is of paramount importance, that at times we must be willing to let go of our pride and rigidity to accomplish great goals of life.

(The article was published in a local newspaper, THE MAYUR INFOMAIL, MAY 1-15, 2013)

Confluence'13: Events

MIC, in association with FICCI CASCADE, is organizing Confluence’13 on 4^th March, 2013, in Patelchest Auditorium, North Campus. The Theme of the event is ‘Anti-Smuggling and Couterfeiting’.

The Welcome Address would be given by Dr. Arbind Prasad, Director General, FICCI.

The Inaugural Address would be by Shri Ajay Maken, Union Cabinet Minister, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. This would be followed by an Overview on our them by Mr. PC Jha, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE.

There would be different management games conducted throughout the day, the details of which are as follows:

·         PRUDENT PLANNERS

Get set to find your way through the maze of counterfeit! This is a case study competition where you would be given a case related to the theme of counterfeiting. The First Round would be of a Preliminary Questionnaire where participants would be shown a presentation of questions and they need to write the answers on sheets provided to them. Top eight teams would proceed to the next round of presentations.

The qualifying teams would then be given the Case Study and one hour of preparation time, at the end of which the presentations would begin. The presentations have to be verbal and at the end of the solution presentation, there would be a round of Q&A by the judges and the audience.

Time: Prelims- 10:50 am- 11:20 am

Presentations: 11:30 a.m.- 1:30 a.m

Participation in Teams of 3. Prizes for top two teams.

·         BID2WIN

Bid to Win, the adrenaline pumping bidding will have everyone scratching their grey cells to strategize their buys in the most optimum and profitable manner. A set amount of money will be provided to our participants and regular bidding of utilities will take place. In the end however, some utilities purposefully set as smuggled/counterfeited products will be removed from all amounts. The winner will be the team with the highest total thereafter.

Prelims: 11: 30 a.m.- 1:30 a.m.

Bidding: 2:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.

Participation in Teams of 3. Prizes for top two.

·         BOARDWALK EMPIRE

Get set to trade your way the international way as we get your pulse racing in Boardwalk Empire. Six teams will be selected on first come first serve basis. Every country will be given the resources of Oil, Gold, Nuclear Weapons, Army and Cash in certain amounts. The objective is to gain the maximum amount of that resource which the country lacks and to offload the resource which it least requires, in this quiz based game. Every resource would have weightage attached to it, which would be different for different countries. Of course, there would be a twist to it! The country with the most optimum set of resources would be the winner.

First Round: 11: 40 a.m.- 1: 30 p.m.

Second Round: 2:00 p.m.- 3:50 p.m.

Participation in Teams of 3. Prizes for the top country from each round.

·         THE ULTIMATE LEADER

Get set to unleash your prowess as we get ready to find ‘The Ultimate Leader’, where your management acumen will come to the forefront. This power-packed devil of a game will test your business finesses with your intellectual astuteness. Panel Discussion in the preliminary round followed by stress interview in the final round would reveal to us the person who would from then on will be crowned ‘The Ultimate Leader’.

Prelims: 2:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m.

Final Round: : 3:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.

Individual Participation. Only the best candidate wins.

·         T-SHIRT DESIGNING AND POSTER MAKING COMPETITION

Your creative energies need to be balanced with your logical dexterity. This completion lets your designing abilities come to the foray. T-Shirt and Posters and basic designing and colouring material would be provided by us. The theme of these competitions is ‘Anti-Smuggling and Counterfeiting’.

10:50 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Walk-Ins throughout the day.

Individual participation. Most creative person from each competition wins.

Visit our Facebook Event page to Register Now:

https://www.facebook.com/events/340938052673367/

Limited On the Spot Registrations, On First Come First Serve Basis.

Exciting Cash Prizes, FICCI Certificates and Trophies for all Winners!!

Refreshments and Goodies for all!

See you all there!!

For further details regarding events, Contact:

Apoorva Goel: 91 9810056877

Sonali Banerje: 91 9811526804

CONFLUENCE'13