Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

The Global Kayastha Conference Trust ("GKC", "we", "us") is a charitable trust of the Kayastha community, registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 by Trust Deed No. 63 (Book No. 4, Volume No. 2, pages 163–184), executed on 25 January 2021 and registered at the District Registry Office, Patna. Its registered office is at B.G.-2 Royal Garden Apartment, Nageshwar Colony, Kidwaipuri, Patna, Bihar 800001, India. GKC works across India through state, district and local chapters, is not run for anyone's personal profit, and is represented for these policies by its trustee and authorised signatory, Smt Ragini Ranjan. GKC runs the websites globalkayastha.com and gkcindia.org (together, the "Site") and the GKC membership programme.

For the personal data described in this policy, GKC is the Data Fiduciary under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (the "DPDP Act") and the DPDP Rules, 2025. You, the person the data is about, are the Data Principal.

2. Scope and consent

This policy covers personal data that GKC collects through the Site, the membership form, your member dashboard, GKC emails, and GKC events and chapters where your data is recorded in our systems.

When you apply for membership we show you our Notice for Consent and ask you to read this policy, the Terms & Conditions and the Cancellation & Refund Policy, and to give your consent by ticking an "I agree" box before payment. Your consent is free, specific and informed: it covers only the purposes listed in section 4, and you can withdraw it at any time (section 10). Withdrawing consent does not affect processing done before you withdrew it. If you withdraw consent that membership depends on, we will close your membership as described in section 11.

As part of membership, GKC adds you to your state's GKC WhatsApp group, where the other members of the group can see your name and mobile number; you can leave the group at any time and your membership continues. Some uses are your choice and never a condition of membership: GKC messages (section 12) and offers from sponsors of GKC events (section 6). You can say Yes or No to each, and change your mind at any time from the "my choices" link in our emails or by writing to us. Every choice you make is recorded with the date, time and the version of this policy you saw, so that we can show what you agreed to.

Simply browsing the public pages of the Site does not require an account. In that case we only process the technical data described in section 4.4.

3. Membership is for adults (18+)

GKC membership and member accounts are open only to individuals aged 18 years or older. By applying you confirm that you are at least 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data of children (persons below 18), and we do not track, profile or target advertising at children.

Persons with a disability who have a lawful guardian: such a person joins GKC, and uses the rights in section 10, through their guardian. The guardian writes to the Grievance Officer from their own email with the guardianship order or certificate issued by a court or the designated authority under the law. GKC checks it and, within 30 days, records the guardian's consent and acts on the guardian's requests for that member. Until it is checked, GKC does not use that member's details except to keep the request.

Membership of the Trust is open to Indian citizens. People who are not Indian citizens may register free of charge as Global Associates (supporters). This policy applies to their data in the same way; GKC does not accept any payment from them.

If we learn that we hold data of a person under 18, we will close that account and delete the data without delay, except any record we must keep by law. If you believe a child has given us data, please tell the Grievance Officer (section 17).

4. What we collect and why

We collect personal data only for clear, specific purposes, and only as much as those purposes need.

4.1 Membership application and profile

4.2 Payments

Membership fees, renewals, event fees and donations are paid through Razorpay. We receive and keep the amount, date, status, Razorpay order/payment IDs and the purpose of the payment, so that we can issue receipts, renew memberships, reconcile accounts and meet accounting and tax law. We do not receive or store card numbers, CVV, UPI PINs or bank login details.

4.3 Use of member features

When you use your dashboard we record what is needed to run the feature and keep it secure, for example membership-card verification, chapter posts you publish, referrals credited to you, and (for authorised members only) member searches performed and their criteria.

4.4 Technical data

Like most websites, our servers automatically record your IP address, browser type, the pages requested, date and time, and the result. We use this to deliver the Site, prevent abuse and attacks, investigate faults and keep an audit trail of sign-ins and changes to records. We do not use it to build advertising profiles.

4.5 Events, messages, sponsors and statistics

4.6 What we do not do

• We do not place third-party advertising or tracking pixels on our Site.
• We do not give your data to anyone except as listed in section 6.
• We do not collect caste certificates, religion beyond community membership, health data, government ID numbers or bank details.

5. Legal basis

We process your personal data on the basis of your consent, given when you apply for membership or use a feature. We may also process it without separate consent where the DPDP Act allows, for example to comply with a law, a court order or a request from a lawful authority, to respond to a medical emergency or threat to safety, or to keep records we are legally required to keep (such as payment records).

6. Who we share your data with

We share your personal data only with the people and organisations listed below, only the data each one needs, and only for the purpose stated.

1. Within GKC: trustees, national, state, district and wing office bearers, committee members and authorised volunteers, for GKC work such as membership, chapter activities, events, welfare and contacting you. Administrators' sign-ins, changes and downloads are logged. Member Search is open only to members the Super Admin authorises, for a limited time, and every search is logged.
2. Other members: in your state's GKC WhatsApp group (part of membership; you can leave it at any time) or any other GKC community group you join, its members can see your name and number, and your photo if you have one. Office bearers' name, role and, where provided, phone number are shown to logged-in members; founders' personal numbers are not published.
3. The public: if you are an office bearer, award recipient, speaker or featured member, your name, photo, designation and chapter may appear on GKC's websites, app, social media and printed material. Photos and videos taken at GKC events may be published in the same places. The QR code on your membership card opens a public page that shows only your name, photograph, membership number, chapter, the month you joined and whether your membership is active — never your phone number, email or address.
4. Service providers working for GKC under contract (section 7): hosting and cloud storage; email, SMS, WhatsApp and app-notification services; payment gateways and banks; IT support and security; printing and courier; auditors, accountants and legal advisers. They act only on GKC's instructions.
5. Event partners: venues, co-organisers, event agencies, hotels and transport providers for a GKC event you register for, only the details needed for that event.
6. Sponsors and partners of GKC events and programmes: your name, mobile, email, state, city, age group and gender, so that they can tell you about their products, services and offers — only if you have said Yes to "Sponsor offers". You can say No at any time; you will not be included in any list shared after that. GKC requires every sponsor to use your data only for its own offers, never to sell it, to follow the do-not-disturb rules and to delete it within 12 months. We keep a record of which sponsor received which list and when.
7. Statistics: figures that do not identify you, such as members by state and age group, may be shared with anyone, including sponsors.
8. Government and the law: tax authorities for payment and donation reporting, regulators, courts, police and other authorities when the law requires or allows it, and anyone needed to protect a person's life or safety in an emergency.
9. A successor body: if GKC's activities pass to another trust or organisation, your data passes to it on the same terms, and we will tell you before it happens.

We do not share your data with anyone else. You can ask us at any time who has received your data; the download in your dashboard includes this list.

7. Service providers (Data Processors)

We use the following services to run the Site. They process data only on GKC's instructions and are bound to keep it secure.

Member records are stored in India. Where a provider listed above processes limited data outside India, we rely on the DPDP Act's provisions for such transfers and on the provider's own safeguards; we do not transfer data to any country restricted by the Government of India.

8. Cookies and similar technologies

We use only essential cookies: a session cookie that keeps you signed in, a security token that protects forms against forgery, and, if you use it, a "remember me" cookie. The live-chat window (tawk.to) loads, and sets its own cookies, only when you tap the chat button. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. You can block cookies in your browser, but signing in will not work without the essential ones.

9. How long we keep data

When the purpose for which we hold your data has ended and no law requires us to keep it, we delete it.

10. Your rights

Under the DPDP Act you have the right to:

• Access a summary of the personal data we hold about you, what we do with it, and who we have shared it with. Most of it is visible in your dashboard.
• Correct, complete or update your data. You can edit your profile from your dashboard, or ask us.
• Erasure. Delete your account and personal data (section 11).
• Withdraw consent for any purpose, as easily as you gave it: tap Stop in any GKC message, use the "my choices" link in our emails, or write to us.
• Nominate another person to exercise your rights if you die or become unable to do so: write to the Grievance Officer from your registered email with the nominee's name, relationship and contact details.
• Grievance redressal. Complain to our Grievance Officer (section 17). We will respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

To use these rights, sign in to your dashboard or write to the Grievance Officer from your registered email address. We may ask you to confirm your identity before acting on a request.

11. Deleting your account

You may delete your account at any time, either from your dashboard after signing in (My Profile → Delete my account) or by writing to the Grievance Officer from your registered email address.

• Your account is locked immediately and your membership card stops being valid.
• GKC deletes your personal data from its active systems within 30 days of your request.
• From the moment you ask, GKC will not send you any further communication other than a confirmation that your request was received and completed, and your data will not be used for any campaign, newsletter, recognition or any other purpose.
• We keep only a minimal, separately stored record of the deletion and the payment records that the law requires (section 9). That record is used solely to meet legal obligations and to answer lawful requests from regulators or authorities, and is protected by restricted access.
• Membership fees already paid are not refundable on deletion (see the Terms & Conditions).

12. Messages from GKC

Service messages are part of your membership and are always sent: sign-in codes, payment receipts, your membership card, renewal reminders, changes to our policies, safety alerts and replies to your requests.

GKC messages are sent until you ask us to stop: birthday wishes; festival and special-occasion greetings; invitations and reminders for events, meetings and programmes; news, newsletters and updates; campaigns, appeals and community initiatives; membership-fee, renewal and donation requests; surveys, polls and feedback requests; information about the sponsors and partners of GKC events; and other messages about GKC's work. They may come by email, SMS, WhatsApp (including GKC groups and broadcast lists), app notification, a phone call from an office bearer, or post.

To stop GKC messages: tap "Stop" in any GKC email, reply STOP to an SMS or WhatsApp message, use the "my choices" link, or write to support@gkcindia.org. We stop within 2 working days, and remove you from a WhatsApp group within 7 days if you ask. Service messages continue while you are a member.

GKC emails come from GKC's own addresses (for example no-reply@gkcindia.org) and never ask for your password, OTP or bank details.

13. Security and data breaches

We protect personal data with reasonable security safeguards, including encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS) for the Site and email, key-only administrative access to servers, firewalls and intrusion blocking, malware scanning, role-based access for administrators, audit logs of sign-ins and changes, regular backups and prompt security updates. No system is completely secure, but we work continually to keep your data safe.

If a personal data breach occurs, we will inform the Data Protection Board of India and the affected members without delay, in the manner required by the DPDP Rules, explaining what happened, the likely impact, what we are doing about it and the steps you can take. If you suspect any misuse of your account, contact us immediately.

14. Other websites

The Site may link to other websites and social-media pages. Their owners decide how they handle your data; this policy does not cover them.

15. Changes to this policy

Each version of this policy has a version number and an effective date. If we make a material change, such as a new purpose or a new kind of data, we will tell members by email and on the Site before it takes effect and, where the law requires, ask for your consent again. Before any new kind of use of your data, or sharing with a new kind of organisation, we will tell you first and ask for your consent where the law requires. Earlier versions are available on request.

16. Governing law

This policy is governed by the laws of India, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the DPDP Rules, 2025 and the Information Technology Act, 2000. Subject to your right to approach the Data Protection Board of India, the courts at Patna, Bihar have exclusive jurisdiction.

17. Grievance Officer and contact