Editorial - September 2011

Hello All,

Everybody encounters some inexpressible moments. Offering you the Anniversary issue of our Envision is one of those moments. 

When everybody around was busy preparing for ‘Ganapati Festival’ celebrations, our newsletter team was filled with the thought of presenting you a very dear gift in the form of this Anniversary issue. 

One has to struggle, work against obstructions to reach to the desired height! But once you are on that height all obstructions start working for you; the height itself solves the problem. Envision was a journey filled with many ups and down in last one year.

Throughout this year we were experimenting. We published our first issue in PDF and then we moved to online version. Later, we moved on to full-fledged blogging system. And today you are reading the first print copy of it. The journey from 10 pages ‘pre-release’ PDF issue to full volume print issue of 60 pages is learning, ameliorating and feting experience. I promise you on the behalf of the Envision team that with every upcoming issue we will keep improving so as to build a great reading experience for you. If you have missed Envision in last one year; we have Best of Envision from all issues of last year. 

I will not write much in this editorial as you have many other things to relish in this issue. 

But before I sign off I would like to thank the management of Decos for giving us the opportunity to publish the first print edition of Anniversary issue of Envision. And BIG thanks to all Decosians who have been reading every single article and providing us valuable feedback's from time to time which helped us improve!

I expect a continued support from all of you.

Regards,

Subodh Patil

From Management Team’s desks

We had started Envision a year ago to build a common platform/medium which provides insight about Decos with respect to celebrations, events, achievements, rewards & recognitions and more over provide a platform to us to share our thoughts in the form of technical and non-technical articles, white papers and case studies etc. Past one year has been a successful year in achieving these goals. If we see recent Envision edition, we believe we could achieve more than what we thought. . .We also achieved some milestone where we moved from first issue of the newsletter in PDF format to an online issue each month with online surveys. One very positive outcome is, knowing Decosians can write nice and knowledge rich articles.

We would like to thank, you all readers for giving overwhelmed response and encouraging to Envision team, all who contributed to Envision by writing articles and Envision team members who put lot of effort in pushing people for writing articles, collecting them and composing and presenting them wonderfully. 

Last week, we were discussing with one of the newsletter team member as what more can be added to this magazine for greater participation from all of us and quickly identified few areas that can be included in future issues. Some of these are like brain teasers, invite viewpoints (In favor or opposed to) on selected topics; share photographs taken by us, sketches drawn by us, something good that we read and want to share it (using link). We need to be careful about intellectual property and not share something in our name that is not created by us. We are sure, we can come up with few more ideas and with our contributions, we can make this newsletter more interesting and something to look forward to each month. Let’s promise ourselves to contribute as much as we can to take this thought to the next level.

However, we still think it is just a beginning. Though it was a great beginning, now we should think and take it to the next level and my dear friends, we don’t think that it is possible without your support.

Last and most important, let us thank and express our gratitude to the newsletter team for their efforts and contributions beyond their roles and responsibilities and also for ensuring that each month “Envision” is published in time. Congratulations on 1^st anniversary of Envision.

Once again congratulations and thanks to all Decosians.

Flashback

For Decos the last year has been with full of memories which cannot be vanished easily! 

It started big by visit of Dutch Consulate General Team; where they interacted with us; understood our problems; cultural issue we face with software delivery. 

We had a customer’s relationship day at Decos NL in the End of Year 2010. 

For me what makes Decos special is that you feel like in family and make this feeling stronger we celebrated the Family day in Start of this calendar year. Celebration continued and continues! 

And how can we forget Decos Dashers, a cricket match between two internal Decos teams – Decos Challengers and Decos Lions played in February.

Expanding this sports spirit from Decos to whole Pune we conducted the first ever online ‘Virtual Chess Tournament’- A grand success! This was a good advert for Decos and a good brand building exercise.

And again in last month we had our internal carom tournament which was with massive response! 

In general we have been very successful in event organization and improving brand value of Decos.

An award has always been a good way in Decos to recognize good things. We have good awards and recognition system.  Some of us were lucky to get these awards from hands of Paul! Yes Paul was there in one of the award ceremony. We also had something different with awards like Mr. and Miss Decos.

In last we had continued our attempt to work on our cultural values. 

We conducted the out bound training for Decos leaders - Quest; being part of Quest I can say that leadership values at Decos will improve to a great extent and you can see the change in coming year.

Independence Day – In our Decosians Style!

- Praveena Sail

Independence…. The word might mean different things to different people. But the importance of the word remains highest for everyone. We realise this in everything we do, say, hear & feel. And who better than us would know what Independence means? We are a country who had to fight probably the longest battle in the history of the world to gain our independence. Hence, our independence day is the most special day of the year for all of us across the country. 

Every year, the thought of how do we celebrate our independence day is bound to come up when Independence Day is round the corner. Of course, the patriotic feeling and love for the nation is always there but is never really expressed in our day-to-day lives. So this year, we thought of coming up with some way of expressing this patriotic feeling and love for the nation. And needless to say we have this huge advantage of being a multi-cultural nation. So many different cultures living harmoniously with the same feeling of being Indians.

This became our theme for this year. And of course there was competition, all teams were asked to choose a culture/state that they would like to represent in its various forms.  There were certain parameters defined for the judges so that they could eventually choose a winner. The parameters were, the representation in terms of the culture chosen, costumes/outfits worn, decoration of the workplace etc. Vaishnavi & Charu were to judge the competition. Apart from this, our very own band named, Square One got reorganised & reformed to make a big comeback!! We auditioned a large chunk of Decosians & chose quite a few to join the band. The Band had grown in size & whoever had said the more the merrier seemed really right. Along with the merry also came the chaos. The Band had very little time & a lot to do. 

Keeping up with the spirit of the Band, the members very soon began taking their positions in the band & came up with new ideas considering the theme of Independence Day. 

And thus we began.

When the competition was announced, we assumed that we may not have too many participants. The main reason being rigid deadlines for deliveries. 

Our hopes began rising two days before the actual competition, when people began having secret discussions about their themes. We overheard conversations about costume vendors, searching for information etc. Please note that this is when we as a team geared up for the competition too!! The secrets were being strongly guarded & amidst work pressures finally came the Day.

Square One put in a lot of efforts managing work along with the practice sessions, choosing appropriate songs, co-ordinating the music, ensuring everyone got a chance, everyone did it right etc. For the Square One members, things were even more stressful. They had to co-ordinate with their band & with their own teams!! But they managed it beautifully.

We saw people with colourful, well chosen costumes & decorated workplaces. One look at this & I knew we were in for a tough competition!!! It was overwhelming to see that people had managed to take out time, put in extra efforts to choose a culture & dress accordingly. The workplaces had been converted into beautiful enclosures & now looked like structures telling their own stories. People were not only dressed in specific outfits but also decided to live up to the competition spirit & roamed around with their teams, ensuring that others got their messages right. It really felt special. 

We saw Kashmiris in their traditional outfits, also bringing out the social aspect of Kashmir. The team also chose to confront the issues like terrorism in the area. Not to miss, the snow & chilly wind around their workplaces. We saw Goans, with their happy-go-lucky outlook & colourful modern outfits. A small replica of a beach side, made Goa come alive! We also saw another set of Kashmiris dressed in bright Kashmiri outfits. One of the teams came up with an idea of representing multiple cultures. We also saw a mix of cultures, like Bengali, South Indian, Goan etc within a single workplace. How relevant, after all this is how we live right? In my team, we chose Rajasthan as our theme & tried to make sure that we represented the culture to the fullest.

The day began unfolding the hidden talents of these techies, who were now completely into their respective characters. Healthy competition can do wonders. We saw people walking & talking in their specific styles. They did not give up being who they were being, even for a minute.. I am sure this made it even more difficult for Charu & Vaishnavi to judge. Finally the time came for the judges to make their rounds.

The judges began visiting the teams, observing & asking them questions. The judges made sure that the teams knew what they were doing. On the other hand the teams came up with unique ways of impressing the judges. The team of Kashmiris even managed to kill both the terrorists & ensuring that Kashmir remained safe & sound. The team with the mixed culture also brought along sweets specific to the cultures that they were representing. When the judges came to visit my team, get set go came the instructions & then we began. Of course, pleasing the judges seemed difficult especially with all the competition around.

Everyone managed to digest the excitement of the day along with their routine work. And now came the time for the real celebrations. The most awaited performance by Square One began. The songs chosen were very relevant & the efforts put in by the band showed clearly. I am sure any band would’ve felt threatened by this performance. The singers & the musicians were equally enjoying their performance & the joy spread around. We all enjoyed the performance & were pleasantly surprised to see the result of just over a week of practice.

The performance ended with the National Anthem. We, a proud set of Indians sang the National Anthem with all the respect & love. This was followed by the prize given away for the Best Dressed Team. The ‘Kashmiri Team’ won the prize for the complete representation of the Kashmiri culture that was very well deserved. So this is how we celebrated our Independence Day. This was our very own way of feeling more close to our Country & celebrating the sense of freedom that it has given us. We have every reason to be proud of our country! Also, there’s something more that we all here at Decos are proud of. We are proud to be a part of this entity called Decos Technology Group, because like our country, Decos gives us the sense of freedom & we have every reason to be proud of it.

A thought which ought to be shared

- Amol Ashtaputre

 

Good morning to y’all!

Why good morning? Because I think morning represents freshness! A fresh day, fresh air and a fresh start! Well, this is for the first time I am writing something that others would read (hopefully!). I am no writer, no philosopher … in fact no one! But when I was asked to write, I really did not know what I am going to write, but I said YES! Because I think I am one of you guys and did not want to miss on the opportunity to share and chat with y’all!

I recently saw this movie, again! “The Pursuit of Happyness”. Will Smith’s character says to his son “You got a dream... You gotta protect it.” And I started thinking……..!

Remember the moment when all of us were faced by this question for the first time?... What would you like to become when you’re all grown up? When our age was dragging us towards the play grounds, cartoons and our toys… when we were not prepared to answer a question which may decide our lives, our fates… probably we didn’t even know that a question has a power to change someone’s life! At that same time, we were caught off-guard by one of our uncles or retired neighbors or sometimes even by our parents.

We just took lollypops out of our mouths or without looking away from cartoon series on TV we said the first thing that came into our minds. We just said, what our heart really wanted us to say.

None of us said that I would like to become a clerk in a bank or a developer in an IT company or an ayurvedic medicines sales man! Whatever happened to that free spirit that could lead us to the life we really wanted? Seriously what changed? OR What went wrong?

Some of us might say, “Life Happened”. Some will say, “Nothing happened, that’s what happened!”

I know it is really hard to be able to live your dreams, especially when you have to survive the race. Race when we were in schools, when we were in colleges, when we started our jobs, when we started a family! While, we were busy running continuously to make our teachers, bosses, family members happy we simply chose to give up on our dreams and do whatever it takes to win the survival battles. We did it because that was the supposed best thing at that time.

I am just thinking, when I will be resting in my deathbed, thinking, I have won all the battles, but have I really won the war? I have everything I want… But do I have everything I need? I don’t know what answer my sub-conscious mind will give me at that time.

So, why don’t we take a break from this gut wrenching race, just for a day and live our dream once! While, we are running away from what we love most, why can’t we smile once at our dreams? And most importantly, why don’t we create an environment for our next gen wherein they don’t have to give up on their dreams!

And lastly, why can’t we look at it as a ‘good morning’! A fresh day, fresh air and …………….a fresh start!!!!

I will just leave you with this thought….!

AULI - Seventh Heaven

- Nimisha Tatke

Auli, I visited this place sometime back and was awestruck by the beauty of this place. I would like to share this wonderful experience and bring it in light since it is less known to all. 

Auli, located in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, has now become a leading tourist spot. It is a sylvan ski destination frequented by skiing enthusiasts from all over the world. While its slopes beckon daring and gallant skiing enthusiasts, its pristine natural beauty and its alpine atmosphere lure many tourists. Considered among the world’s top skiing destinations, Auli is nestled in the Garhwal Himalayan ranges, at an average altitude of 2800 meters above sea level.

It is a lesser known hill station when compared to its counterparts - Shimla, Gulmarg and Manali. It has gained prominence in the tourist map of India only after the formation of Uttarakhand in the year 2000.

We reached Auli by 20 minutes of a ropeway ride from Joshimath, which is on the way to the famous Kedarnath (A pilgrim in India). Joshimath is 16 hours drive from Delhi. One can also reach Roorkee, Rishikesh or Hardwar by train, and then catch a bus/cab to Joshimath. (Any flights that you know!)

When we reached Auli, It was a clear day with sunrays warming our bodies that had gone numb due to the chill in air. High snow clad peaks bordered with Golden Oak, with deep blue sky, welcomed us to Auli. A single look at the place and all our tiredness of long journey through dangerous zigzag roads and landslides vanished in seconds.

Our total stay in Auli was for 5 days in a private resort called Clifftop Club. The first impression of/at the moment as we got out from the cable car was of a pure bliss and serenity. We were surrounded by snowcapped hills all sides. We could see Trishul series, Nandadevi peak, Indo-Tibet border from our resort. It felt like Indo-Tibet border was just a walking distance.

We tried our hand at skiing the very first day. It was indeed a scary experience for me but fortunately managed to escape with some minor injuries. We then had some small treks around Auli where they taught us how to trek in snow.

 We visited Tapovan, which is a small village on the Joshimath road where there are many natural hot-water springs. They are hot water fountains where the water is almost at boiling point.  This water and the mud is supposed to be medicinal since it contains Sulphur (supposed to be good for skin). We filled a couple of bags with mud to take back home :)

- Tapovan

Auli has the world's highest man-made lake and it was just next to our resort. The government has developed this in view of creating artificial snow on the new ski slopes in the event of low snow fall. The water from this lake is used to feed the snow guns stationed along the ski slopes and thus provide a good skiing surface to extend the ski season if required.

- Artifial Lake

Every evening we used to take chairs out and get treated by a great view of snow clad mountains as they kept changing colors every minute with the sunset.

It was freezing cold at nights. It was impossible to sleep without room heaters and hot water bags. Pipelines used to freeze every night due to the severe cold as such we could not get much running water.We used to get hot water for 1-2 hours only in the morning. 

As our stay proceeded, the weather was not supportive towards the end. Heavy snowfall began and all the routes were closed. Hence we were not able to move out and visit other places as planned.

It was an awesome experience sitting in the room and watch the snowfall all day. The resort had some indoor activities which kept us engaged. Every night we used to have bonfire and many other interesting activities. We were told not to go out of the resort after evening since leopards, foxes were frequent visitors.

There are other interesting tourist attractions in and around Auli which we were not able to cover due to the bad weather and short stay.

All these experiences were new and refreshing for us. After experiencing the quietness, the beauty, proximity to the nature and the spiritual awakening,  I understood why saints prefer to stay in Himalayas. The feeling of solitude and oneness with god will do wonders to your mind and have a positive effect on your body. You will get something which no money can buy and that is "Peace of Mind".

Origami as a Hobby

- Srinivas Vishnubhotla

Immediately after promising that I would write an article for our Envision magazine, I was a bit lost on the topic. I mean, I hadn’t written anything more than 140 characters after I left college (save for Technical documents and Test cases).

There I was sitting in my chair, pondering over the subject, grazing my eyes in search of a good theme. And what do I see in front of me… something I loved to do since childhood and something that is very creative - Origami.

Hence in this article and I would like to share some history, facts, experiences and links about Origami.

Origami is an ancient idea that began in the early 1600's. This activity began in either Chinaor Japan. The exact location is still unknown. However Japan is recognized for its highly developed origami art.

It is derived from two words ‘ori’ which means folding and ‘kami’ which means paper. Origami involves making a given number of folds and creases in a single piece of paper. This can be achieved in basic origami projects such as a paper airplane or demonstrated in complex origami projects such as flora and fauna.

For me it started in my 3rd grade, in an S.U.P.W. class. We were taught simple origami – planes, boats, balls, etc. I kind of lost touch during my more “serious” study years, but started it again in my college and haven’t stopped since.

 

The main purpose of origami is to create various shapes using geometric folds and crease patterns with or without the help of gluing or cutting paper. Only small numbers of folds are used in origami but they can be combined in various ways to make elaborate designs.

I am no origami expert, but following are some points I learnt (and bookmarked) about origami when I started pursuing it more as a hobby.

Start Simple

Beginners can begin with projects that include a small number of folds. Instructions for most projects use a series of symbols to help you follow the required steps. There are tons of origami enthusiasts out there that will be happy to help you with your first projects, sharing their work and tips learned through sometimes years of practice. Watching someone assemble and even disassemble an origami creation will give you insight into how to get past those first few confusing steps.

Another popular medium for your projects is cloth. A folded cloth napkin is a simple form of fabric origami. For your next fancy dinner, romantic or just some friends dropping by, fold each of your napkins to create a bird of paradise!

Paper Selection

You can use plain white craft paper for your projects but you will quickly find that colored paper adds depth and dimension to your creation. One of the most fun papers to work with is your old gift wrap paper. The designs and colors in used gift wrapping makes for some very interesting effects. Thinner paper is fun to work with as it is easier to fold and much more forgiving if you happen to make a mistake. Recycling magazines and junk mail can also be a great source of paper for your projects.

More than a hobby

“Paperfolders” are a diverse group of people ranging from artists to scientists to therapists. Artists and craftspeople use origami as a way to express themselves creatively. Scientists, architects, and mathematicians explore the geometry of origami for its own beauty and for practical applications. Therapists and teachers use origami as a tool to help their patients recover from illness or to help their students learn. Many people fold paper simply because it is fun.

A few links

The Internet is, as for any subject, a vast collection of resources for origami. Below are a few links I found useful and interesting:

http://www.origami-resource-center.com/stars.html

http://www.happyfolding.com/

http://ori500.free.fr/

http://ultimateorigami.net/

Final thoughts

Origami is a great hobby which will give you hours of relaxing and rewarding activity. Choose your projects carefully in the beginning so you don’t become frustrated. As your skill grows you can begin to design your own creations, increasing your excitement over this hobby even more. As hobbies go, this is about the lowest cost of all of them and if you use recycled paper and fabrics, you are adding to your ability to live green. Enjoy this hobby and have fun!

A small tutorial

Below is an image of a tutorial of one of my favorite Origami models – Peace Crane

Bringing Minds Together

- Abhijit Shinde

Writing for “Bringing minds together” is as exciting as it can be writing an innovative code.  I am working with DSD India since December 2009 and since Feb 2010 my journey has started with Munro project. It’s not only a challenge but also a lot of fun to be a technical lead.

Munro Tailoring BV is one of the fastest growing organizations in European fashion industry located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Working with this project gave me an opportunity to travel to Amsterdam twice for 3 weeks each.  First I visited Amsterdam office during Feb. 2011 and recently in Jul. 2011.

I travelled to Amsterdam on 4^th Feb. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon my journey started with a nice and comfortable cab drive to Mumbai Airport. I reached at least 3.5 hours before my flight schedule.  Somehow there was a wrong perception about Indian Airport authorities which vanished in no time, within 30 minutes I was done with boarding pass, immigration and security.  Rest 3 hours I could use to observe and absorb the environment.

With lots of leisure and comfort reached Vienna, Austria in time, and continued on connecting journey to Amsterdam. Hannane (Munro, Secretariaat) and entire Amsterdam was ready to welcome me along with some drizzle from sky. 

I had a choice to go to Apartment and have some rest but I choose to visit Munro office, 14 hours journey could not stop my excitement to visit office. A small session of introduction with all and welcome messages ended with some nice dark coffee.

As expected first week at office was lot busy with meetings and scheduled work. Then came the weekend, it was snowing all week, temperatures were around -2°C making it difficult to handle. On Saturday I worked from a Data Center in Deventer for a new server installation, which got extended till Sunday afternoon. 

Deventer gave me a lifetime experience of driving a Renault Megane Sports car and I could end my Deventer weekend on a great note, though I had been working through the weekend.

Staying close to Amsterdam center gave me an opportunity to explore true Dutch culture; I did not need to visit any museums, all things were placed around my apartment and office.  Every now and then people in office will talk with me on food and Indian culture. I realized some aspects 

·         Dutch people adopts various cuisines and they have a special liking for Indian/Asian food

·         They are more than eager to learn about other cultures and absorb best that suits them. For example Hannane was very quick to learn “Namaste” and “Aap kaise ho?”

A most awaited day come when we visited Decos Headquarters at Noordwijk. Needless to say it was an exceptional experience to see the structure which I was following on webcam since a long time. 

I don’t know why, but time was flying a little faster than usual and suddenly I realized next day I need to catch a flight back home. Those were a little complex feelings, happy going home and sad to leave Amsterdam.This journey gave lot of new positive dimensions to my thoughts, attitude and professionalism. 

I wanted to end my journey with something special; partying all night with my new Dutch friends on a Friday, along the streets of Amsterdam was a lifetime experience. People who have been to these streets would know what I mean. ;) 

One should visit Europe at least once!

Let your money work for you!!

Investment Instruments - Insurance

- Nishant Patel & Bhushan Patil

I hope you have been reading about finances in this series in Envision for last couple of months. First piece of writing of this series shed a light on financial planning and discipline. Second one provided in depth details about mutual funds. Next piece will enable you with various investment avenues which are considered safe like fixed deposit, NSC, PPF, NPS, etc.

This time we will take a peek into insurance, its various types, returns, benefits, etc.

Insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss.

Many would have noticed that many financial planners/advisors recommend that investment and insurance needs must be kept separate. The purpose of the investment is to earn handsome returns and that of insurance is to enable one with hedge for the contingency.

There are various insurances that one can go for based on various needs. One’s life can be insured under life insurance. Homes can be insured for fire, burglary, etc. Vehicles can be insured under auto insurance.

In India insurance policies are governed by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). It is a national agency of Government of India. Mission of IRDA as stated in the act (IRDA Act 1999) is "to protect the interests of the policyholders, to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto."

Life Insurance:

This type of insurance cover one’s life, like in case of death of the person insured the insurance company pays the sum assured to the nominee or heir(s). Life insurance can be classified further into term plans, ULIP and whole life plans.

Term plans:

It is the best and the cheapest form of insurance. Here, one is insured for a fixed amount for which person insured pay a premium. Should the insured die, then the person nominated will get the money.

Since term insurance is the cheapest form of insurance, you can get a reasonably high insurance cover at a fairly low premium as compared to the other insurance products.

These insurance is for a period like 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years, 30 years, etc

People who have taken home loans might be asked by their banks to take term insurance equivalent to the home loan. This is to ensure that in unfortunate event owner passes away then his/her family members/heirs should be burdened by huge loan.

Unit Linked Insurance Plans:

ULIPs help one to get returns on the money paid to the insurer along with insurance cover.

These are the expensive type of insurance, here a person insured pays a hefty premium for a very less cover and most part of the premium ends up as investment assets and the cash value varies according to the net asset value (NAV). ULIPs are for a term in years.

One can enjoy handsome returns and insurance provided person insured stay invested for longer terms.

It is recommended that thorough analysis and study of the policy should be taken up or an advice should be sought from financial planner/advisors. One thing that one should be aware of is that agents would try to sell this type of insurance policies since they earn good commission on this than other policies.

Whole life plans – insurance:

Whole Life Insurance is a life insurance policy that remains in force for the insured's whole life and requires (in most cases) premiums to be paid every year into the policy.

Health insurance:

Health insurance cover cost of the medical treatments. Health insurance is a contract for a period of one year.They should be renewed every year without break to get maximum benefits out of the policy. This type of insurance is generally based on medical history and longevity of the relationship.

Health insurance now-a-days cover various ailments that need hospitalization and many day care procedures. Also some offer pre-hospitalization as well as post-hospitalization benefits. Many of the insurers in this category have started to offer maternity cover and cover for new baby.

People with advanced age are asked to go through a series of medical tests before they are covered under a policy. People with existing ailments may have to shell out extra premium.

Also, young people suffering from ailments should disclose this in advance, so that claim settlement is not a problem. Although, one may have to pay extra money to get these ailments covered. Also one should check the waiting period for covering expenses for the pre-existing ailments. Some policies have 4 years waiting period, some have 2 years and some do not have at all.

Group insurance:

This type of insurance is generally taken by employers for their employees and their immediate family. In this type of insurance premium based on number of people and not based on their risk. This type of insurance is generally sought for health reasons.

It is advised that although one’s organization provides this benefit one should opt for individual health cover.

General insurance

This is non-life insurance. People generally seek this for their homes, vehicles, documents, etc.

Vehicle insurance covers damages to the vehicle in case of accident and in some cases the driver as well.Everyone here might have taken this type of insurance for their vehicle, since this is mandatory under the law.

Homes can be insured for burglary, fire, terrorist attacks, etc. This is not common in India; very few people opt for this type of cover.

Riders:

Riders are like additional benefit that can be availed at a premium. Typically riders are like critical illness, accidental death, terrorism cover, suicide, etc. Riders do come with all types of insurance policies.

Critical illness rider provides a hedge against the various critical diseases like cancer, open heart surgery, etc.

Accidental death rider comes into picture when death has been caused by an accident. Generally life insurance covers natural death, so one should verify what kind of insurance cover is provided by the chosen plan and accordingly choose the rider.

Terrorism cover rider is a newest kid on the block. This offers cover to the loss arising from terrorist attacks.

Choosing right insurance:

Insurance is not an investment; one should assess the need for insurance before opting for insurance – let it be of any type.

IRDA publishes the data on claim repudiation by each insurer operating in India. These data can be referred before choosing an insurer, since some of the insurers are not good at claim settlement.

Disclosing details about health is very important; it is advised that you do not hold back any information about medical history. If insurer discovers that some of the information was withheld then insurer has the right to dishonor the claim.

Term plans are cheaper and provide more sum assured than ULIPs. Opt for the riders based on the need.

Signing off note:

However everyone who has dependent should opt for insurance so that near and dear ones are not left high and dry on loss. Although the loosing someone dear is a huge loss and cannot be compensated by any means, but this is little help that be extended to dependents. I would borrow the statement from LIC to drive my point home – Zindagi ke sath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi.

Disclaimer: Insurance is subject matter of solicitation.

Testimonials

“I have been employed by Decos since 2005. I feel fortunate to be part of such a wonderful organization. Decos has given me many opportunities in life. The ability to experience different jobs within the Company is a huge benefit. The camaraderie between the management and employees just makes it a great place to work.” 

– Mitesh Kadvani

“It has been a privileged experience working with Decos for last seven years. The way Decos has provided an open working culture and opportunities for growth is admirable.

Company’s focused approach towards quality and the freedom provided to the employees to innovate is truly remarkable.” 

– Parashar Smart

I have been part of Decos family since last 6 years, and when I look back through this while journey I find it more like rollercoaster ride, full of challenges, energy and fulfillment. Each milestone throughout my career in Decos has been unique and challenging. Best thing I found about Decos is openness for creativity and pursuing your own interest areas. This open minded environment makes work interesting and energizing. Apart from regular project work, everyone have freedom to work with innovative ideas for the future, so you won’t find a single workday here with any boredom. 

– Prashant Mandhare

Decos is the first company that I have worked with. It gave me opportunity to learn different technologies. It has been great working on a team with people from different cultures and different generations because I learn a lot from my co-workers. The best thing about Decos I found is empowerment to do the Job. 

– Balbir Singh

I have been working in DECOS for the last six years as a Senior Accounts Executive. It’s been a very good experience because I have got several opportunities to improve my corporate skills, adjust with changing situations at work and give my best efforts in terms of productivity and efficiency, I have always had opportunities and challenges beyond the current role and my career progression has been quite impressive. I’ve learnt a lot in terms of professionalism as well.

-Sunil Chauhan

“It’s almost more than ten years I am working with Decos. In this period I got opportunity to work on latest technologies which helped me to improve my technical capabilities. Also right from my first project, I used to do communication with clients for the projects I worked, from requirement gathering to delivery of the product/solution and involving myself in SDLC, communicating with clients always give me good feeling inside me. I think this is very much applicable to every engineer working in the organization. The open culture and free environment and assigning tasks according to each individual preference is really great. I hope Decos will continue the same in future also.” 

– Rajesh Patil

“I have been working at Decos since 4.5 years. Most of the time people ask me why do I stick to same company for so long and my answer to them is I don’t find any reason to look for another employer since Decos satisfies all my needs and expectations. The work environment is like 2^nd home. There is no hierarchy or bossism. You can communicate to anybody without any hesitation, even with MD of Decos India. At Decos everybody is asked for individual work preference. At Decos your designation or role does not restrict your work area. Your views, comments, suggestions will always be heard and noted. There are no words like subordinate, peer and superior but only one word Decosion. While working at Decos I have grown professionally as well as personally….truly enriching experience.” 

– Sudhir Badgujar

Directly after college I was looking for an organization that understood the importance of supporting and investing in their people. When I found out that Decos had an internal career advising process to help me set and achieve my career goals I was sold. I started my career @ Decos as intern and every day I have the opportunity to work with experienced and talented people across many industries in a working environment that emphasizes teamwork and collaboration. After 4 years of experience I feel what separates Decos from the rest is it allows you to really create your own career path and pursue your passions, while still providing a fun and supportive atmosphere.

– Dharmesh Makwana

"As one of the first members of the Decos family, I happened to see and experience various aspects of the organizations growth. Two important entities for any organization to exist are its Employees and its Customers. And as a company Decos recognizes this fact very well.

What I noticed was that a lot of importance is given by Decos to its employees from career and growth perspective. Equal opportunities are given to those who are motivated. Those who have the will and the skill to prove themselves and take up additional responsibilities are always encouraged. All that's required from an individual is the initiative. After all, a company's growth is determined by the growth of its individuals.

In the past it was easy to be transparent with a small headcount, when were merely around a dozen employees. However, even with a growth of 100+ employees I found that over the years, Decos has ensured that a lot of transparency is still maintained.

Onsite opportunities at Decos, gave me the experience to deal with end-users and understand customer needs more closely. I could share these experiences with teams I worked with.

Lastly it has made me believe in the true definition of a company i.e. a group of people working TOGETHER for a common goal...(Check it out in the Oxford pocket dictionary ;-)). So in short it's you and I together, who form Decos."

-Yogesh Choudhary