How Long It Takes For Investment To Double

People always want to know how long it would take them to double their investment. Its a curious question because all of us want our money to multiply as soon as possible. So, here’s a simple calculation called Rule of 72, which will help you know how long it takes to double the investment amount.

If we divide 72 by the RoI [annual rate of interest], we get the time period for doubling our money.

For example: If RoI is 9%, then 72/9 = 8. So, it will take 8 years for amount to double at 9% annual interest rate; whatever be the invested amount. Lower the rate, higher the time taken for doubling.

Suppose there is a bull run and RoI is 14%, then 72/14 = 5.14. So, it will take a little over 5 years for the invested amount to double.

 

Why India Pledged $10 Billion to IMF

Earlier this week, when India announced that it would pledge $10 billion to IMF, there was a lot of hue and cry about it. All armchair activists took to Facebook and vented their anger and doubted the wisdom of India’s PM. None of these people even bothered to check what the pledge actually meant. There was the usual vitriolic statements that, India being a poor country should not indulge in such foolhardy.I too was startled by this news, but I thought that it would be prudent on my part to check for the facts first, and then harp about it. So, here’s my understanding of the issue. Sometime in April ‘2009, our PM Dr.Manmohan Singh had stated that India would consider contributing to IMF based on its quota. Every country has a quota which is based on their relative size to global economy. Also, this IMF quota decides their voting power in crucial issues. In 2009, India had a quota of 1.89% which approximated to $6.23 billion. And in 2012 that has moved up to $8.74 billion.

Here’s a quick quote from IMF statement on ths issue:
“We warmly welcome pledges by our members to increase IMF resources by over $430 billion, almost doubling our lending capacity. This signals the strong resolve of the international community to secure global financial stability and put the world economic recovery on a sounder footing. These resources are being made available for crisis prevention and resolution and to meet the potential financing needs of all IMF members. They will be drawn only if they are needed, and if drawn, will be refunded with interest”.

So, this makes it amply clear that its an interest bearing loan, and not an aid/donation/charity that has been thoughtlessly doled out. If it were an aid/donation, we wouldn’t be discussing about the amount being refunded with interest.

There is another statement which sounds the purpose of the pledged amount:
“These resources are being made available for crisis prevention and resolution and to meet the potential financing needs of all IMF members. They will be drawn only if they are needed as a second line of defense after resources already available from quota and the existing New Arrangements to Borrow are substantially used. If drawn, they will be repaid with interest. The IMF is committed to assuring our members’ interests and resources are safeguarded”.

Another important point to note is that, India is not the only country that has pledged money to IMF. Japan tops the list with a pledge of $60 billion, while India, Brazil, Russia, Mexioc have each pledged $10 billion; while UK, Saudi Arabia and Korea have pledged $15 billion.

India has been a beneficiary of the IMF donations when they needed it the most during 1991 crisis. Now that we are sitting on forex reserves of $250 billion which is acting as a cushion against the downturn in current global economy, its time we support IMF’s cause.

 

Micromax A75 … Impressive !

I was just looking around for Android phones, in general, and Samsung Galaxy Y in particular; that’s when I chanced upon Micromax A75. And I must tell you that I was mighty impressed by it.

It runs on Android 2.3 [Gingerbread], and gives you a whole lot of features. But that’s to the credit of the OS. The phone itself was of fine build quality. And the feel of the phone in the hands was pretty good. The capacitative touch-screen worked very smoothly with a single swipe of the finger. I did not have to repeat my thumb or index finger actions at any point of time.

Browsing through the photo albums was a nice breeze. Then I turned on the GPS and much to my surprise, it was great. The manner in which the maps loaded, and the smooth transition of moving north-south-east-west and all directions, left me wanting for more. The dual-touch zooming-in and zooming-out on the maps was very good. This also proved that the phone did not lose connectivity at any point of time. And it loaded the data and maps pretty fast.

The phone has a G-sensor too. The video quality was pretty nice. It has a limitation though, you cannot install any other media player. It only uses the default inbuilt media player.

Among other notable features is the front-facing camera which comes in handy for making video calls or video chat. And the screen size is good enough to browse the net and even to read a book.

Overall, a ‘superfone’ as they call it. I did not expect Micromax to catch-up with Samsung and HTC, in quality, this quickly. And that has left me impressed. I may never buy this phone or any other Micromax smartphones, but I do like the technical advancement they have made. They are no more a small brand which makes cheap phones. They are a small brand that is capable of making quality phones and would soon be giving the smaller players in Indian market, like Motorola & Sony Ericcson, a run for their money. Way to go guys!

 

5 Best Qualities Of An Effective Manager

Having worked in more than 10 IT projects under as many managers, I have come to realize that a manager has first to be a good leader. Someone whom we can look up to, whom we can respect for their knowledge, support, guidance and assistance when required. Only when we can respect an individual for who he is, we will be able to understand their vision and work together as a team for a common goal.

Based on above, here are 5 qualities that every manager should possess to be effective and get the best out of the resources:

i) Functional Knowledge : I was once working under a manager who had a MBA in marketting, but no knowledge of the automobile domain. All he could do was allocate tasks, but he neither understood the requirements nor the hindrances that we could face while developing the software. Hence, its very important for a manager to have functional knowledge, also called ‘domain knowledge’. Unless he doesn’t understand how a system works/functions, he would not be able to estimate the man-hours required to build the tool. Not just estimation, his knowledge can be of use in developing use-cases & flow diagrams.

ii) Good Communication : Several times we come across people who aren’t able to convey the message clearly. They are unable to deal with the client [just can’t say NO] and they are unable to deal with the subordinates because of messages that are lost in translation. A good verbal and written skill is very important for a manager to succeed. Unless he brings clarity in his communication, no work can be done efficiently.

iii) Motivate & Inspire : When things are going fine, even an average manager is made to look good. But the true test comes when things go wrong or haywire, that’s when you need a motivator. Someone who sits by you, talks to you about difficulties faced and inspire you. He may not be able to solve the problem, but at least if he listens to to you and tries to breakdown the problem into smaller workable pieces then half the problem is solved. That in itself becomes an inspiration to do well and complete the task. He must be able to motivate you to give your 100%. We once had a manager who would stay back late hours along with us, only to show that he is there. That really motivated us to perform to our potential.

iv) Create A Congenial Environment : Not all work places have a work culture. Some places still work in the old fashioned way where a senior indispensable resource thinks he is boos and throws attitude. Or in some places. no one is ready to take responsibility thinking that the other person would. That’s where you need someone to create an environment which is congenial for work and productive too. We need to have a work culture and define certain roles and responsibilities. If one can do this, then evereything else takes care of itself.

v) Rewards & Recognition : Most important aspect of work is the recognition for it, the right people getting credit. A manager has a key role to play in this. Its his duty to be fair and impartial, at the same time to reward the worthy and to reprimand [in private] the ones causing problem. Reward need not always be monetary, it can be in terms of benefit like compensatory leave or vacation time. Only when a resource feels recognized in the firm, will he give his best. Else, what’s the point of working hard without being appreciated!

These were the 5 broad qualities that I have identified. There are a few more other qualities like being able to delegate task, have good networking capabilities, valuing people, competency, being calm and composed under pressure, people management skills etc; but they can be covered in one of the above 5 qualities.

This post was first published on Yahoo Network