EFFECTIVE · 17 AUGUST 2026
1. Scope
This policy covers website visitors, applicants, members, event participants, partners, staff users and people who contact SCI. It applies to information handled through the website, member portal and related SCI operations.
2. Information collected
SCI may collect identity and contact details, application responses, professional and profile information, membership and event records, communication preferences, enquiry content, payment references, device/security data and staff audit activity. SCI does not ask users to provide card numbers, CVVs, UPI PINs or banking passwords.
3. Purposes
Information is used to respond to enquiries, review applications, provide membership, manage events and fees, publish member profiles, send requested communications, protect accounts, prevent abuse, maintain records and comply with applicable obligations.
4. Notice and consent
Forms explain their purpose and require an affirmative action where consent is appropriate. Marketing preferences are separate from transactional membership, payment, security or event messages. Consent may be withdrawn for future processing through the support enquiry pathway.
5. Public profiles
Public profiles contain professional information intended for discovery. Private contact, account, payment and operational records are not published. A member may request corrections or removal of public visibility without requiring deletion of records SCI must lawfully retain.
6. Payments
Cashfree or Razorpay hosted checkout handles payment credentials. SCI stores order, payment-status, invoice and reconciliation references needed to deliver and account for the service, but not raw card credentials.
7. Service providers and disclosures
SCI may use carefully selected providers for hosting, payments, communications, security and analytics. Information may also be disclosed when required by law, to protect people or systems, or as part of a properly managed organisational transaction. SCI does not sell personal data.
8. Retention
Information is retained only for the service, security, dispute, accounting or legal purpose for which it is needed. Different records have different periods; expired records are deleted, anonymised or securely archived under controlled access.
9. Security
Controls include encryption for sensitive submitted fields, least-privilege role access, protected sessions, input validation, rate limiting, audit records, payment-webhook verification and multi-factor authentication for privileged production accounts. No online service can guarantee absolute security.
10. Individual requests
People may request access, correction, updating, withdrawal of consent, deletion where applicable, or grievance assistance through the support enquiry form. SCI may verify identity before acting and may retain information where a legal or security obligation applies.
11. Children
Membership and commercial checkout are intended for adults. If an eligible programme involves a minor, SCI will apply an appropriate parent or guardian process before handling personal data.
12. Changes and contact
Material changes will be dated and communicated appropriately. Privacy questions and suspected account compromise should be submitted through the support enquiry form.