Contemporary Issue on Chit Funds -“The Invincible”

An contemporary issue report on CHIT FUNDS â€Å"THE INVICIBLE† 2013-2014 Made by : Fakhruddin Badshah PREFACE This document sketches the the meaning, introduction, overview,its working,online chit funds, I threw some light on latest news about this sector and also tried to cover the latest upsteram and downsteam aspects of this sector (chit fund companies). My aim of writing on this issue is who will going to stop the fraudulant activities being done by this companies. I chose this segemnt for my contemporay because this is going very common among the people in today’s time.So I thought lets give away the the detail of this segment to the people. With the help of this document people will come to know what exactly going on in this domain. This sector is expanding rapidly like anything. This developments has become a catalyst for the growth of vigourous chit fund companies in all over India. So what provisions should be made to curb the alleged false practices done by t hese companies or segment. Thus it is the to think and act on it to protect the interest of small investors and their hard earned incomes. Index Introduction| 5-7| Overview of chit fund| 8|How chit fund works| 9-11| 2012-2013 Highlighted News about chit-fund| 12-13| Who will stop chit funds? | 14-18| Report of MCA| 18-21| Benefits| 21-22| Drawbacks| 23| Safety from Chit funds| 24| CHIT FUNDS – â€Å"The Invincible† Introduction: A chit fund is a type of savings scheme practiced in India, besides other forms of savings scheme offered by various public and private sector banks, post offices, insurance corporations etc. Chit Funds are indigenous financial institutions in India that cater to the financial needs of the low-income households, which have been excluded from the formal financial system. Chit†, in the legal purview, 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 number of persons that every one of them shall subscribe a certain sum of money (or a certain quantity of grain instead in the case of villages) 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.In simple words, A chit fund is a savings-borrowing scheme, in which a group of people enter into an agreement to contribute fixed amounts periodically, for a specified period of time. The amount so collected (or the chit value) is distributed among each of the persons in turns, which is determined by way of lots or an auction. Chit funds provide an opportunity to save excess cash on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, and give an easy access to it in case of emergency. Chit funds are the Indian equivalent of the Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCA) that are famous thr oughout the world.ROSCAs are a means to â€Å"save and borrow† simultaneously. It is considered one of the best instruments to cater to the needs of the poor. It enables poor people to convert their small savings into lump sums. The concept of chit funds originated more than 1000 years ago. Initially it was in the form of an informal association of traders and households within communities, wherein the members contributed some money in return for an accumulated sum at the end of the tenure. Participation in Chit funds was mainly for the purpose of purchasing some property or, in other words, for â€Å"consumption† purposes.However, in recent times, there have been tremendous alterations in the constitution and functioning of Chit funds. While in most places ROSCAs are user-owned and organized informally, in India, chit funds have been formally institutionalized as well. Legally recognized firms provide a variety of chit schemes. A Chit Fund can either be legally regist ered or unregistered. Registered Chit Funds, as the name suggests are being regulated under the various Chit Fund acts. While unregistered Chit Funds are unorganized and mostly run by the close friends, relatives or family members of the investor.Unregistered Chit Funds which exceed 100 ($2) in value are illegal in India, although it is very well known that unregistered Chit Fund industry is very popular in India, mainly in the rural and semi-urban area, where people have very little access to the banking services and where financial illiteracy is more. The regulation of the Chit Fund industry was put in place by the Government of India to address the problem of misuse of informal Chit Funds by unscrupulous promoters and founders running away with the participant’s funds, leaving the members with little recourse to retrieve their money back.Chit funds in India are governed by various state or central laws. Organized chit fund schemes are required to register with the Registra r or Firms, Societies and Chits. Various Chit Fund Acts governing the industry in India are as under: * Union Government – Chit Funds Act 1982 (Except the State of Jammu and Kashmir) * Kerala – Kerala Chitties Act 1975 * Tamil Nadu – Tamil Nadu Chit Funds Act, 1961 * Karnataka: The Chit Funds (Karnataka) Rules, 1983 * Andhra Pradesh – The Andhra Pradesh Chit Funds Act, 1971 * New Delhi- The Chit Funds Act,1982 and Delhi Chit Funds Rules, 2007 * Maharashtra – Maharashtra Chit Fund Act 1975 Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh Chit Funds Act, 1975 * Goa, Daman & Diu: The Goa, Daman and Diu Chit Funds Act, 1973 * Pudducherry/Pondicherry: The Pondicherry Chit Funds Act, 1966. An overview of chit funds: The economic development of a country depends upon the availability of resources. The main activities that contribute to the growth are production and employment. Production depends upon the inputs of the factors such as finance, raw materials, labor etc. The mo st important here bring finance, which is the chief mobilized of all the factors of production.In a money economy, finance for development initially comes from private savings. These private savings give to the secondary deposits; this is where the financial institutions come into picture. Financial institutions occupy a central place in mobilizing savings from the people and make it available to the trade, commerce and industries either as a capital or loans. The non banking sector comprises of money lenders, indigenous bankers, pawn brokers, nidhis, â€Å"chit funds† etc.The origin of chit funds can be traced way back to the 17th century when the economic wizards of state of Malabar (now known as the state of Kerala) started this activity. Those were the people who actually founded this financial institution. It became so popular and numerous that people started adopting this activity as a profession by the 18th century all over. As the chit industry grew the number of peop le involved in this industry also grew. This gave rise to many misconceptions, frauds, mismanagement etc. , in this industry.To prevent this State Government of Travancore took the first initiative and introduced the first Chit Fund Regulation being the Chit Fund Act 1914. One important regulation introduced by this act was that of a commission payable to the foreman. The Act brought about a ceiling limit on the commission payable to the foreman that is 5% maximum which is still the same even to this date. How chit funds works: Chit funds which are popular from a very long time but still some people don’t know how exactly this chit fund works and invest their money illogically.This can be understood by the following procedure: Let’s say there are 20 people who come together and form a group. Each one will contribute Rs 1,000 per month and this will continue for next 20 months (equal to number of people in the group). In this group there will be one organizer, who will take the pain of fixing the meetings, collecting money from each other and then doing other procedures. So each month all these 20 people will meet on a particular day and deposit Rs 1,000 each. That will make a total of Rs 20,000 every month.Now there will be a bid on who will take this money. Naturally there will be few people who are in need of big amount because of some reason like some big expenses, liquidity crunch, business problem, Beti ki Shaadi etc etc Out of all the people who are in need of money, someone will bid the lowest amount, depending on how desperate he is for this money. The person who bids for the lowest amount wins the bid. Suppose out of total 3 people who bid for 18,000, 17,000 and Rs 16,000, the one who bids the lowest will win.In this case it’s the person who has bid Rs 16,000. There will also be â€Å"organizer charges† which are around 5% (standard) of the total amount, so in this case its 5% of Rs 20,000, which is Rs 1,000. So out of the total 16,000 which this winner was going to get, Rs 1,000 will be deducted and the winner will get only Rs 15,000, Rs 1,000 will be organizer charges and Rs 4,000 is the profit, which will be shared by each and every member (all 20 people), it comes out to be Rs 200 per person, and it will be given back to all 20 members.So here you can see that the main winner took a big loss because of his desperate need of getting the money and others benefitted by it. So each person actually paid just 800, not 1,000 in this case (they got 200 back). Note that when a person takes the money after bidding, he can’t bid from next time, only 19 people will be eligible for bidding. Now next month the same thing happens and suppose the best bid was Rs 18,000 , then winner will get 17,000 (after deducting the organizer fees) and the rest 2,000 will be divided back to people (Rs 100 each) . So each person is paying effectively Rs 900.This way each month all the people contribute the money, someone takes the money by bidding lowest, organizer gets his charges and the rest money is divided back to members. You will realize that the person who takes the money at the end will get all the money except organizer fee, as there is no one else to bid now. So the person will get around Rs 19,000 in the end, if you try to find out the returns which he got out of the whole deal, it will depend on two things, how much lower bids were each month and the fees paid to organizer, if bids and charges are very low, then a person will make more money at the cost of other situations.So this is pretty much how a chit fund works, there are various versions of chit funds and how they work , but the idea was to communicate the basic model and how it works. | Online Chit Funds is also running with pace of E-commerce With the advent of ecommerce in India, Chit funds have also started going online. Online chit funds conduct auctions online and subscribers can pay their monthly dues and receive prize am ount online through online transactions including electronic fund transfers. Each member will have an online account through which they can manage their chit funds. 2012-2013 Highlighted News about chit-fund: . Cunning strict approaches adopted by RBI to protect the investors from delusive acts of chit fund companies. 2. Last year in the month of December, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) warned all the state governments about the mushrooming of chit funds and also written to them to take appropriate actions against them for duping depositors. 3. RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said, â€Å"The responsibility for checking the chit funds and for prosecuting the violation of law is of the state government. We have written to all the state governments to be vigilant about this and to take appropriate action†. . D Subbarao also called for greater awareness among police and the general public for checking the proliferation of the chit funds in the country. 5. On 6th December 2012, Min ister of State for Corporate Affairs RPN Singh said that 87 companies have come under the scanner for alleged irregularities related to chit fund schemes and money circulation in the garb of multi-level marketing. The Registrar of Companies (RoC) and its Regional Directors have been asked to scrutinize the balance sheets and inspect the books of accounts and other records of these 87 companies. . India's market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had banned companies such as Rose Valley and MPS Greenery Developers from accepting deposits from the public. 7. The former chief minister also pointed it out that small savings through post offices and co-operatives has suffered a lot as many people are depositing their money to these chit funds expecting huge return. 8. In Bhubneshwar, The crime branch told that they are making a short documentary to sensitize people about illegal non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).The film will feature a host of financial manage ment companies like Seashore, Ashore and Saffex, whose irregularities were exposed recently. The Economic offences wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch has registered at least 30 cases against several fraud companies in the past six months for embezzling public deposits after giving them false promise of high return. Senior functionaries (Head) of the companies were arrested and their bank accounts being ceased. 9. EOW also making plan to start a toll free number to protect people from fraudulent activities done by chit fund companies. 10.Government making steps towards the projection of model; rules to check chit fund and MLM (Multi-level Marketing) frauds. The central government will soon make stringent provisions in place, like hefty financial penalty, jail terms, de-listing from the registrar of companies (RoC) roster, among others. Who will stop chit funds In October 2012, a women and her elder daughter were running a chit fund, committed suicide by consuming acid in Puthur in Trichy as they were unable to repay their investors. These women had started a Diwali chit fund in the year 2011 and attracted around 300 investors in the area.They had collected around `9lakh from the investors. As per norms, the chit fund company should have repaid the money with interest or given assured gifts to the investors before Diwali of the year 2012. When the investors pressurize the women, they decided to end their lives and consumed poison. Investors are helpless. This is not the only case there are numerous. Most chit fund investors are the rural poor and or small investors. Neither the victimized investors nor the police bring to book the persons responsible. Only the poor agents remain in place from whom the money cannot be recovered.According to Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), there are 4256 listed or registered chit fund companies which are running their business in the country while India chit-fund association estimates that the country has in total 15000 (register ed and unregistered) companies which manage billions of rupees worth of funds. ShriRam Capital, one of the largest players, operates in four southern states and manages over USD 800 million. Some hope that recent hiccups in India’s once-booming microfinance sector, whose rise was led by microcredit, could bring even more business their way.One can imagine how big the business is all over India. Too many regulators could not stop irregularities in chit funds. Everybody agrees that irregularities need to be stopped because these are causing harm to a lot of small investors. But the question is; who will stop it? In 1978, when the RBI banned chit funds, it came under the ministry of corporate affairs as a collective investment scheme. Another way these companies work is through private placement of the non-convertible debentures or collective investment scheme. In this case, SEBI has the power to regulate it.Sahara and many other big names are in on it. Any debenture or private placement cannot be done by more than 50 people. In contrast, these kinds of companies collect money from thousands of investors. If the number of investors of share and debenture is more than 50, it needs to be registered in the market and the SEBI would control it. RBI wants the state government to take steps: In this context, RBI has a different take. Subbarao, Governor, RBI, has advised the state governments to make their law stronger to save common investors from the chit fund trap.It has written letters to the states to develop a definite action plan to take step against these multi levels marketing player. Subbarao explained that RBI has no power to regulate chit funds. So, it has asked state government to take the initiative to prevent the mushrooming of money market agencies. RBI can train police and other legal bodies about chit funds but cannot instruct the police to do so. It is a state subject to plan and executes the prevention process of chit funds. Corporate Affairs ministry looking into it:Union corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot has said that the central government is looking into the issue of some chit funds and the Ponzi scheme that allegedly dupe small investors by using legal loopholes. It would also encourage state government to take necessary action against these firms. These firms are now misusing the loopholes, pilot added. Furthermore he added, â€Å"Our main objective is to protect small investors from these companies, who are taking their (investors) hard earned money. † As many as 87 companies have come under the scanner for alleged irregularities related to chit fund schemes and money circulations.Minister of State for corporate Affairs R. P. N. Singh has informed the Rajya Sabha that the directions have been issued on the basis of specific complaints received by the ministry against these companies, which are â€Å"alleged to be carrying on activities related to prize chit fund and money circulation in the garb of m ulti-level marketing. Legislative hodgepodge: Singh further said that SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) has recommended setting up of a specific central regulatory agency for the implementation of the prize chit and money circulation scheme (Banning) act, 1978.The act is administered by the Department of Financial services (DFS) which has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Group consisting of representatives from DFS, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), RBI, Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Department of Consumer Affairs and Central. Report of Ministry of Corporate Affairs: List of Companies not registered but found doing Chit Business Beware of these Companies. Never join them. M/s. P. V. R. Chits (P) Ltd. , B-50, Flatted Factories, Okhla Phase-III, N. Delhi-20. | M/s. Narmal Chits (P) Ltd. , 1427, Gurudwara Road, Kotla Mubarakpur,N.Delhi-3. | M/s. Sahara Chits (P) Ltd. , WZ/A-49, Krishna Park Extension, N. Delhi-18. | M/s. Twenty Second Century Chit Fund (P) Ltd . , 4205-4206, Sant Nagar, Main Road, Rani Bagh, Delhi-34. | M/s. Skylla Chits (P) Ltd. , D-223/115, Laxmi Chambers, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-92. | M/s. Hari Vimal Chits (P) Ltd. , Shop No. 8, M. R. Market, Rangpuri, N. Delhi-70. | M/s. Merchant Chits (P) Ltd. , CA-24/2, Tagore Garden, N. Delhi-27. | M/s. Mehar Chits (P) Ltd. , IIIrd Floor, 528, Krishna Gali, Katra Neel, Chandni Chowk, Delhi-6| M/s. Vinamar Chits (P) Ltd. , 170-E, Kamla Nagar, Delhi-7. | M/s.Vinamar Chits (P) Ltd. , 272, Hakikat Nagar, Mall Road, Delhi-9. | M/s. Well King Chits (P) Ltd. , C-47, Acharya Niketan, Mayur Vihar, Phase-I,Delhi-91. | M/s. Aegis Chit Fund (P) Ltd. , E-484, Greater Kailash-II, New Delhi-48. | List of Companies which have been debarred from doing any Chit Fund business in Delhi   NAME| ADDRESS| A. G. CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | ARJIT CHITS PVT. LTD. | | BHAGMAL CHITS PVT. LTD. | | CHOJI PRITAM CHITS PVT. LTD. | | DISHTI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | DIRECTOR: Sh. Ajay Pandon| DISHTI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | DIRECTOR: Sh. Sudarshan Kapoor| EK-ONKAAR CHIT FUND PVT.LTD. | | EROS FIN. ; CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | GIRDHAR CHITS PVT. LTD. | | GOLDEN BENEFIT CHITS PVT. LTD. | | J. KRISHNA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | J. V. CHITS PVT. LTD. | | KADS CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | KHAJANA CHITSPVT. LTD. | | LEAN CHITS PVT. LTD. | | MINCO CHITS PVT. LTD. | | NIKETAN CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PARVATI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PARVEEN CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | POMA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PROSPER CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | RITESH CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | ROHTGI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | ROYAL CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | RUHANI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | S. T. S. CHIT FUND PVT.LTD. | | SAFAL CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SATSANGI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SIMPLICITY CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SUBHASH NAGAR CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | TRI NAGAR CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | VEDANTA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | YOG MAYA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | PARVARISH LEASING ; FIN. (P) LTD| Shop No. 6, Mafare Garden, New Delhi| M. V. A. CHIT FUND (P) LTD. | Shop No. 10, Krishna Mkt. ,Lajpat Nagar,N. Delhi. | HONOUR CHITS (P) LTD. | 2352, Sevak Bhawan,IIIrd Floor, Shop No. 9,Beadon Pura,Karol Bagh, N. Delhi. | * Source Ministry of corporate AffairsBenefits of Chit funds: Chit Fund is an attractive Investment Option which caters to people from all walks of life. It is specifically beneficial to the Salaried Class, Professionals, Businessmen and Self Employed. The uniqueness of Chit Fund as a method of Financial Planning stems from the fact that, it is both a tool for saving and borrowing. In other words, it serves the dual purpose of being an investment for your savings and in times of need the Subscriber can bid for the Prize Amount in order to meet any unexpected expenditure. The benefits of Investing in Chit Fund are numerous. You can choose how much you want to save per month. Chit funds companies offers chits of various denominations and monthly subscriptions amount ranges from Rs 2500/=(Chit value Rs 1 lakh) to monthly subscription of Rs 1,25,000. * The rate of return is very high compared to other Investment Options and it is also secure form of Investment. * Your Monthly payments will be the Chit Subscription Amount minus the Dividend. The details of the Dividend entitled for Deduction and the Balance Amount payable shall be informed every month, which is mandatory. It inculcates the habit of saving and setting apart a particular amount every month towards investment for a rainy day. * It is good for the Housewife to keep or save their small savings in Chit funds as they will get the money at the time of utmost financial need for household purposes. * It is generally used by housewives, employees of same company, peer groups, friends, and family members or some associations. * If it is used in proper or genuine way then it is makes a worth to invest in chit funds (Organized or unorganized). Drawbacks: Chit-funds do not offer any pre-determined or fixed returns. * Higher returns are earned when there are more nu mber of members in the group or if the duration of the scheme is longer. * One would earn more, when more members need emergency funds. Thus returns cannot be calculated and decided when one joins the scheme. * No security in unregistered chit fund companies. So there are more chances of getting hoax by these fraud companies. * Organizer gets benefited more from your savings. * No guarantee if fixed returns. * In chits interest earnings are lower than Fixed deposits (FD). High degree of risk is associated with chits, so relying on chit funds for saving could be more dangerous. * Chit does not make money; it is just a mechanism for liquidity and emergency funds. * Many chit fund owners are collecting huge volume of money from the common people by making false promises to them. Many poor people of our state are being allured by these chit fund owners and depositing their hard-earned money. But the people are not getting back returns for their investments How to be a Safe investor in C hit Funds:With the plethora of chit fund companies around, the safety of a chit fund lies in choosing the right one. In a registered chit fund company, under legal binding, the activities are regulated and institutionalized by the Chit Fund Act. And hence could be considered safe. However, other unregistered companies operating informally do exist. It has been also seen that depositors are being lured by chit funds companies or firms with higher returns than what banks offer them. These companies are also flourishing in the rural belts where banking penetration is low.One should carefully analyze the pros and cons before making investment in chit funds. Therefore one needs to exercise caution while choosing where he desires to invest. Chit funds definitely are an attractive option for regular saving. It inculcates a disciplined approach to financial planning. It has the added advantage of bringing a combination of savings as well as hassle free borrowing. This dual purpose investmen t tool could be a friend in need at times of unexpected financial emergencies. Thence BE SAFE AND BE SELECTIVE while going for any chit fund schemes. Contemporary Issue on Chit Funds -â€Å"The Invincible† An contemporary issue report on CHIT FUNDS â€Å"THE INVICIBLE† 2013-2014 Made by : Fakhruddin Badshah PREFACE This document sketches the the meaning, introduction, overview,its working,online chit funds, I threw some light on latest news about this sector and also tried to cover the latest upsteram and downsteam aspects of this sector (chit fund companies). My aim of writing on this issue is who will going to stop the fraudulant activities being done by this companies. I chose this segemnt for my contemporay because this is going very common among the people in today’s time.So I thought lets give away the the detail of this segment to the people. With the help of this document people will come to know what exactly going on in this domain. This sector is expanding rapidly like anything. This developments has become a catalyst for the growth of vigourous chit fund companies in all over India. So what provisions should be made to curb the alleged false practices done by t hese companies or segment. Thus it is the to think and act on it to protect the interest of small investors and their hard earned incomes. Index Introduction| 5-7| Overview of chit fund| 8|How chit fund works| 9-11| 2012-2013 Highlighted News about chit-fund| 12-13| Who will stop chit funds? | 14-18| Report of MCA| 18-21| Benefits| 21-22| Drawbacks| 23| Safety from Chit funds| 24| CHIT FUNDS – â€Å"The Invincible† Introduction: A chit fund is a type of savings scheme practiced in India, besides other forms of savings scheme offered by various public and private sector banks, post offices, insurance corporations etc. Chit Funds are indigenous financial institutions in India that cater to the financial needs of the low-income households, which have been excluded from the formal financial system. Chit†, in the legal purview, 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 number of persons that every one of them shall subscribe a certain sum of money (or a certain quantity of grain instead in the case of villages) 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.In simple words, A chit fund is a savings-borrowing scheme, in which a group of people enter into an agreement to contribute fixed amounts periodically, for a specified period of time. The amount so collected (or the chit value) is distributed among each of the persons in turns, which is determined by way of lots or an auction. Chit funds provide an opportunity to save excess cash on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, and give an easy access to it in case of emergency. Chit funds are the Indian equivalent of the Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCA) that are famous thr oughout the world.ROSCAs are a means to â€Å"save and borrow† simultaneously. It is considered one of the best instruments to cater to the needs of the poor. It enables poor people to convert their small savings into lump sums. The concept of chit funds originated more than 1000 years ago. Initially it was in the form of an informal association of traders and households within communities, wherein the members contributed some money in return for an accumulated sum at the end of the tenure. Participation in Chit funds was mainly for the purpose of purchasing some property or, in other words, for â€Å"consumption† purposes.However, in recent times, there have been tremendous alterations in the constitution and functioning of Chit funds. While in most places ROSCAs are user-owned and organized informally, in India, chit funds have been formally institutionalized as well. Legally recognized firms provide a variety of chit schemes. A Chit Fund can either be legally regist ered or unregistered. Registered Chit Funds, as the name suggests are being regulated under the various Chit Fund acts. While unregistered Chit Funds are unorganized and mostly run by the close friends, relatives or family members of the investor.Unregistered Chit Funds which exceed 100 ($2) in value are illegal in India, although it is very well known that unregistered Chit Fund industry is very popular in India, mainly in the rural and semi-urban area, where people have very little access to the banking services and where financial illiteracy is more. The regulation of the Chit Fund industry was put in place by the Government of India to address the problem of misuse of informal Chit Funds by unscrupulous promoters and founders running away with the participant’s funds, leaving the members with little recourse to retrieve their money back.Chit funds in India are governed by various state or central laws. Organized chit fund schemes are required to register with the Registra r or Firms, Societies and Chits. Various Chit Fund Acts governing the industry in India are as under: * Union Government – Chit Funds Act 1982 (Except the State of Jammu and Kashmir) * Kerala – Kerala Chitties Act 1975 * Tamil Nadu – Tamil Nadu Chit Funds Act, 1961 * Karnataka: The Chit Funds (Karnataka) Rules, 1983 * Andhra Pradesh – The Andhra Pradesh Chit Funds Act, 1971 * New Delhi- The Chit Funds Act,1982 and Delhi Chit Funds Rules, 2007 * Maharashtra – Maharashtra Chit Fund Act 1975 Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh Chit Funds Act, 1975 * Goa, Daman & Diu: The Goa, Daman and Diu Chit Funds Act, 1973 * Pudducherry/Pondicherry: The Pondicherry Chit Funds Act, 1966. An overview of chit funds: The economic development of a country depends upon the availability of resources. The main activities that contribute to the growth are production and employment. Production depends upon the inputs of the factors such as finance, raw materials, labor etc. The mo st important here bring finance, which is the chief mobilized of all the factors of production.In a money economy, finance for development initially comes from private savings. These private savings give to the secondary deposits; this is where the financial institutions come into picture. Financial institutions occupy a central place in mobilizing savings from the people and make it available to the trade, commerce and industries either as a capital or loans. The non banking sector comprises of money lenders, indigenous bankers, pawn brokers, nidhis, â€Å"chit funds† etc.The origin of chit funds can be traced way back to the 17th century when the economic wizards of state of Malabar (now known as the state of Kerala) started this activity. Those were the people who actually founded this financial institution. It became so popular and numerous that people started adopting this activity as a profession by the 18th century all over. As the chit industry grew the number of peop le involved in this industry also grew. This gave rise to many misconceptions, frauds, mismanagement etc. , in this industry.To prevent this State Government of Travancore took the first initiative and introduced the first Chit Fund Regulation being the Chit Fund Act 1914. One important regulation introduced by this act was that of a commission payable to the foreman. The Act brought about a ceiling limit on the commission payable to the foreman that is 5% maximum which is still the same even to this date. How chit funds works: Chit funds which are popular from a very long time but still some people don’t know how exactly this chit fund works and invest their money illogically.This can be understood by the following procedure: Let’s say there are 20 people who come together and form a group. Each one will contribute Rs 1,000 per month and this will continue for next 20 months (equal to number of people in the group). In this group there will be one organizer, who will take the pain of fixing the meetings, collecting money from each other and then doing other procedures. So each month all these 20 people will meet on a particular day and deposit Rs 1,000 each. That will make a total of Rs 20,000 every month.Now there will be a bid on who will take this money. Naturally there will be few people who are in need of big amount because of some reason like some big expenses, liquidity crunch, business problem, Beti ki Shaadi etc etc Out of all the people who are in need of money, someone will bid the lowest amount, depending on how desperate he is for this money. The person who bids for the lowest amount wins the bid. Suppose out of total 3 people who bid for 18,000, 17,000 and Rs 16,000, the one who bids the lowest will win.In this case it’s the person who has bid Rs 16,000. There will also be â€Å"organizer charges† which are around 5% (standard) of the total amount, so in this case its 5% of Rs 20,000, which is Rs 1,000. So out of the total 16,000 which this winner was going to get, Rs 1,000 will be deducted and the winner will get only Rs 15,000, Rs 1,000 will be organizer charges and Rs 4,000 is the profit, which will be shared by each and every member (all 20 people), it comes out to be Rs 200 per person, and it will be given back to all 20 members.So here you can see that the main winner took a big loss because of his desperate need of getting the money and others benefitted by it. So each person actually paid just 800, not 1,000 in this case (they got 200 back). Note that when a person takes the money after bidding, he can’t bid from next time, only 19 people will be eligible for bidding. Now next month the same thing happens and suppose the best bid was Rs 18,000 , then winner will get 17,000 (after deducting the organizer fees) and the rest 2,000 will be divided back to people (Rs 100 each) . So each person is paying effectively Rs 900.This way each month all the people contribute the money, someone takes the money by bidding lowest, organizer gets his charges and the rest money is divided back to members. You will realize that the person who takes the money at the end will get all the money except organizer fee, as there is no one else to bid now. So the person will get around Rs 19,000 in the end, if you try to find out the returns which he got out of the whole deal, it will depend on two things, how much lower bids were each month and the fees paid to organizer, if bids and charges are very low, then a person will make more money at the cost of other situations.So this is pretty much how a chit fund works, there are various versions of chit funds and how they work , but the idea was to communicate the basic model and how it works. | Online Chit Funds is also running with pace of E-commerce With the advent of ecommerce in India, Chit funds have also started going online. Online chit funds conduct auctions online and subscribers can pay their monthly dues and receive prize am ount online through online transactions including electronic fund transfers. Each member will have an online account through which they can manage their chit funds. 2012-2013 Highlighted News about chit-fund: . Cunning strict approaches adopted by RBI to protect the investors from delusive acts of chit fund companies. 2. Last year in the month of December, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) warned all the state governments about the mushrooming of chit funds and also written to them to take appropriate actions against them for duping depositors. 3. RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said, â€Å"The responsibility for checking the chit funds and for prosecuting the violation of law is of the state government. We have written to all the state governments to be vigilant about this and to take appropriate action†. . D Subbarao also called for greater awareness among police and the general public for checking the proliferation of the chit funds in the country. 5. On 6th December 2012, Min ister of State for Corporate Affairs RPN Singh said that 87 companies have come under the scanner for alleged irregularities related to chit fund schemes and money circulation in the garb of multi-level marketing. The Registrar of Companies (RoC) and its Regional Directors have been asked to scrutinize the balance sheets and inspect the books of accounts and other records of these 87 companies. . India's market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had banned companies such as Rose Valley and MPS Greenery Developers from accepting deposits from the public. 7. The former chief minister also pointed it out that small savings through post offices and co-operatives has suffered a lot as many people are depositing their money to these chit funds expecting huge return. 8. In Bhubneshwar, The crime branch told that they are making a short documentary to sensitize people about illegal non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).The film will feature a host of financial manage ment companies like Seashore, Ashore and Saffex, whose irregularities were exposed recently. The Economic offences wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch has registered at least 30 cases against several fraud companies in the past six months for embezzling public deposits after giving them false promise of high return. Senior functionaries (Head) of the companies were arrested and their bank accounts being ceased. 9. EOW also making plan to start a toll free number to protect people from fraudulent activities done by chit fund companies. 10.Government making steps towards the projection of model; rules to check chit fund and MLM (Multi-level Marketing) frauds. The central government will soon make stringent provisions in place, like hefty financial penalty, jail terms, de-listing from the registrar of companies (RoC) roster, among others. Who will stop chit funds In October 2012, a women and her elder daughter were running a chit fund, committed suicide by consuming acid in Puthur in Trichy as they were unable to repay their investors. These women had started a Diwali chit fund in the year 2011 and attracted around 300 investors in the area.They had collected around `9lakh from the investors. As per norms, the chit fund company should have repaid the money with interest or given assured gifts to the investors before Diwali of the year 2012. When the investors pressurize the women, they decided to end their lives and consumed poison. Investors are helpless. This is not the only case there are numerous. Most chit fund investors are the rural poor and or small investors. Neither the victimized investors nor the police bring to book the persons responsible. Only the poor agents remain in place from whom the money cannot be recovered.According to Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), there are 4256 listed or registered chit fund companies which are running their business in the country while India chit-fund association estimates that the country has in total 15000 (register ed and unregistered) companies which manage billions of rupees worth of funds. ShriRam Capital, one of the largest players, operates in four southern states and manages over USD 800 million. Some hope that recent hiccups in India’s once-booming microfinance sector, whose rise was led by microcredit, could bring even more business their way.One can imagine how big the business is all over India. Too many regulators could not stop irregularities in chit funds. Everybody agrees that irregularities need to be stopped because these are causing harm to a lot of small investors. But the question is; who will stop it? In 1978, when the RBI banned chit funds, it came under the ministry of corporate affairs as a collective investment scheme. Another way these companies work is through private placement of the non-convertible debentures or collective investment scheme. In this case, SEBI has the power to regulate it.Sahara and many other big names are in on it. Any debenture or private placement cannot be done by more than 50 people. In contrast, these kinds of companies collect money from thousands of investors. If the number of investors of share and debenture is more than 50, it needs to be registered in the market and the SEBI would control it. RBI wants the state government to take steps: In this context, RBI has a different take. Subbarao, Governor, RBI, has advised the state governments to make their law stronger to save common investors from the chit fund trap.It has written letters to the states to develop a definite action plan to take step against these multi levels marketing player. Subbarao explained that RBI has no power to regulate chit funds. So, it has asked state government to take the initiative to prevent the mushrooming of money market agencies. RBI can train police and other legal bodies about chit funds but cannot instruct the police to do so. It is a state subject to plan and executes the prevention process of chit funds. Corporate Affairs ministry looking into it:Union corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot has said that the central government is looking into the issue of some chit funds and the Ponzi scheme that allegedly dupe small investors by using legal loopholes. It would also encourage state government to take necessary action against these firms. These firms are now misusing the loopholes, pilot added. Furthermore he added, â€Å"Our main objective is to protect small investors from these companies, who are taking their (investors) hard earned money. † As many as 87 companies have come under the scanner for alleged irregularities related to chit fund schemes and money circulations.Minister of State for corporate Affairs R. P. N. Singh has informed the Rajya Sabha that the directions have been issued on the basis of specific complaints received by the ministry against these companies, which are â€Å"alleged to be carrying on activities related to prize chit fund and money circulation in the garb of m ulti-level marketing. Legislative hodgepodge: Singh further said that SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) has recommended setting up of a specific central regulatory agency for the implementation of the prize chit and money circulation scheme (Banning) act, 1978.The act is administered by the Department of Financial services (DFS) which has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Group consisting of representatives from DFS, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), RBI, Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Department of Consumer Affairs and Central. Report of Ministry of Corporate Affairs: List of Companies not registered but found doing Chit Business Beware of these Companies. Never join them. M/s. P. V. R. Chits (P) Ltd. , B-50, Flatted Factories, Okhla Phase-III, N. Delhi-20. | M/s. Narmal Chits (P) Ltd. , 1427, Gurudwara Road, Kotla Mubarakpur,N.Delhi-3. | M/s. Sahara Chits (P) Ltd. , WZ/A-49, Krishna Park Extension, N. Delhi-18. | M/s. Twenty Second Century Chit Fund (P) Ltd . , 4205-4206, Sant Nagar, Main Road, Rani Bagh, Delhi-34. | M/s. Skylla Chits (P) Ltd. , D-223/115, Laxmi Chambers, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-92. | M/s. Hari Vimal Chits (P) Ltd. , Shop No. 8, M. R. Market, Rangpuri, N. Delhi-70. | M/s. Merchant Chits (P) Ltd. , CA-24/2, Tagore Garden, N. Delhi-27. | M/s. Mehar Chits (P) Ltd. , IIIrd Floor, 528, Krishna Gali, Katra Neel, Chandni Chowk, Delhi-6| M/s. Vinamar Chits (P) Ltd. , 170-E, Kamla Nagar, Delhi-7. | M/s.Vinamar Chits (P) Ltd. , 272, Hakikat Nagar, Mall Road, Delhi-9. | M/s. Well King Chits (P) Ltd. , C-47, Acharya Niketan, Mayur Vihar, Phase-I,Delhi-91. | M/s. Aegis Chit Fund (P) Ltd. , E-484, Greater Kailash-II, New Delhi-48. | List of Companies which have been debarred from doing any Chit Fund business in Delhi   NAME| ADDRESS| A. G. CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | ARJIT CHITS PVT. LTD. | | BHAGMAL CHITS PVT. LTD. | | CHOJI PRITAM CHITS PVT. LTD. | | DISHTI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | DIRECTOR: Sh. Ajay Pandon| DISHTI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | DIRECTOR: Sh. Sudarshan Kapoor| EK-ONKAAR CHIT FUND PVT.LTD. | | EROS FIN. ; CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | GIRDHAR CHITS PVT. LTD. | | GOLDEN BENEFIT CHITS PVT. LTD. | | J. KRISHNA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | J. V. CHITS PVT. LTD. | | KADS CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | KHAJANA CHITSPVT. LTD. | | LEAN CHITS PVT. LTD. | | MINCO CHITS PVT. LTD. | | NIKETAN CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PARVATI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PARVEEN CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | POMA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PROSPER CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | RITESH CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | ROHTGI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | ROYAL CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | RUHANI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | S. T. S. CHIT FUND PVT.LTD. | | SAFAL CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SATSANGI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SIMPLICITY CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SUBHASH NAGAR CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | TRI NAGAR CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | VEDANTA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | YOG MAYA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | PARVARISH LEASING ; FIN. (P) LTD| Shop No. 6, Mafare Garden, New Delhi| M. V. A. CHIT FUND (P) LTD. | Shop No. 10, Krishna Mkt. ,Lajpat Nagar,N. Delhi. | HONOUR CHITS (P) LTD. | 2352, Sevak Bhawan,IIIrd Floor, Shop No. 9,Beadon Pura,Karol Bagh, N. Delhi. | * Source Ministry of corporate AffairsBenefits of Chit funds: Chit Fund is an attractive Investment Option which caters to people from all walks of life. It is specifically beneficial to the Salaried Class, Professionals, Businessmen and Self Employed. The uniqueness of Chit Fund as a method of Financial Planning stems from the fact that, it is both a tool for saving and borrowing. In other words, it serves the dual purpose of being an investment for your savings and in times of need the Subscriber can bid for the Prize Amount in order to meet any unexpected expenditure. The benefits of Investing in Chit Fund are numerous. You can choose how much you want to save per month. Chit funds companies offers chits of various denominations and monthly subscriptions amount ranges from Rs 2500/=(Chit value Rs 1 lakh) to monthly subscription of Rs 1,25,000. * The rate of return is very high compared to other Investment Options and it is also secure form of Investment. * Your Monthly payments will be the Chit Subscription Amount minus the Dividend. The details of the Dividend entitled for Deduction and the Balance Amount payable shall be informed every month, which is mandatory. It inculcates the habit of saving and setting apart a particular amount every month towards investment for a rainy day. * It is good for the Housewife to keep or save their small savings in Chit funds as they will get the money at the time of utmost financial need for household purposes. * It is generally used by housewives, employees of same company, peer groups, friends, and family members or some associations. * If it is used in proper or genuine way then it is makes a worth to invest in chit funds (Organized or unorganized). Drawbacks: Chit-funds do not offer any pre-determined or fixed returns. * Higher returns are earned when there are more nu mber of members in the group or if the duration of the scheme is longer. * One would earn more, when more members need emergency funds. Thus returns cannot be calculated and decided when one joins the scheme. * No security in unregistered chit fund companies. So there are more chances of getting hoax by these fraud companies. * Organizer gets benefited more from your savings. * No guarantee if fixed returns. * In chits interest earnings are lower than Fixed deposits (FD). High degree of risk is associated with chits, so relying on chit funds for saving could be more dangerous. * Chit does not make money; it is just a mechanism for liquidity and emergency funds. * Many chit fund owners are collecting huge volume of money from the common people by making false promises to them. Many poor people of our state are being allured by these chit fund owners and depositing their hard-earned money. But the people are not getting back returns for their investments How to be a Safe investor in C hit Funds:With the plethora of chit fund companies around, the safety of a chit fund lies in choosing the right one. In a registered chit fund company, under legal binding, the activities are regulated and institutionalized by the Chit Fund Act. And hence could be considered safe. However, other unregistered companies operating informally do exist. It has been also seen that depositors are being lured by chit funds companies or firms with higher returns than what banks offer them. These companies are also flourishing in the rural belts where banking penetration is low.One should carefully analyze the pros and cons before making investment in chit funds. Therefore one needs to exercise caution while choosing where he desires to invest. Chit funds definitely are an attractive option for regular saving. It inculcates a disciplined approach to financial planning. It has the added advantage of bringing a combination of savings as well as hassle free borrowing. This dual purpose investmen t tool could be a friend in need at times of unexpected financial emergencies. Thence BE SAFE AND BE SELECTIVE while going for any chit fund schemes.