Privacy policy.

LABH Federation ("we", "us") is the data fiduciary for personal data collected through this website and our programme intake. This policy describes what we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and the rights you have under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("DPDP Act").

1. Data we collect

Depending on which form you use, we may collect:

• Contact details — name, email address, mobile number, city.
• Business details — company or venture name, industry, stage, year established, brief description.
• Programme details — grant amount requested, advisory need, chapter interest, membership tier.
• Correspondence — the message you send us and our replies.
• Permanent Account Number (PAN) — only when you make a donation, and only to the extent required by Indian tax law.
• Technical logs — anonymised page views, referrer, device type. We use Plausible for analytics, which does not use cookies and does not collect IP addresses in a form that identifies you.

2. How PAN is used

PAN is collected only when it is required to issue a donation receipt under section 80G of the Income-tax Act, 1961, or to report a donation in our statutory returns. PAN is never used for marketing, never shared with programme partners, and never displayed publicly. It is retained only as long as the tax retention period applicable to donation records requires.

3. Why we collect it

• To process your membership, grant, incubation, advisory, chapter or newsletter request.
• To communicate with you about that request and, where you have opted in, about our programmes.
• To issue donation receipts and comply with statutory obligations.
• To operate, secure and improve the website.

4. Legal basis

We rely on your consent, given by ticking the consent checkbox on each form, and on certain legitimate uses recognised under section 7 of the DPDP Act (such as compliance with law).

5. Retention

• Enquiry and application data — up to 3 years from your last interaction with us, unless a longer period is required by law.
• Membership records — for the duration of membership and 7 years thereafter.
• Donation records including PAN — for 8 years from the end of the relevant assessment year, as required by Indian tax law.
• Newsletter subscription — until you unsubscribe.

6. Where it is stored

Data is stored on managed database and file infrastructure operated by our technology providers, with access restricted to authorised directors, staff and processors under written agreement. Where processing takes place outside India, we ensure it is limited to countries permitted under the DPDP Act and its rules.

7. Who it is shared with

We do not sell or rent personal data. We share it only with:

• Our auditors, bankers, payment gateways and IT service providers to the extent needed to operate the federation.
• Statutory authorities where we are required by law to disclose.
• Programme partners strictly to the extent needed to run a programme you have applied to.

8. Your rights

Under the DPDP Act you have the right to:

• Access a summary of your personal data and how it has been processed.
• Correct or update inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erase data, subject to statutory retention requirements.
• Withdraw consent at any time (this does not affect processing already carried out).
• Nominate another individual to exercise these rights in the event of your death or incapacity.
• Register a grievance and, if unresolved, complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

9. Grievance officer

For any question about this policy or to exercise the rights above, write to our grievance officer:

• Name — Saksham Agarwal
• Email — grievance@labhfederation.org

We respond to grievances within 30 days of receipt.

10. Cookies

This website does not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. We use only the strictly necessary storage required to make the site work. Our analytics provider, Plausible, does not use cookies at all.

11. Children

This website is not directed at children under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal data, contact the grievance officer above so we can delete it.

12. Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be notified on this page with a revised "last updated" date at the top.