The Optical Society of India (OSI) collects personal information only to administer membership, publish the Journal of Optics, and run its symposia. This policy explains what we hold, why we hold it, and how you can have it corrected or removed.
Information we collect
When you apply for membership, register for a conference, or write to the office, we collect the details you provide: name, designation, institutional affiliation, postal address, email address, telephone number, membership category, and payment references. Supporting documents you upload (identity proof, proposer forms, student certificates) are stored with your application.
- Membership records: contact details, category, joining date, dues history.
- Correspondence: enquiries sent through the website and their replies.
- Conference records: registration, abstract, and attendance details.
- Technical logs: IP address and browser type, retained briefly for security.
How we use it
Your information is used to process and maintain your membership, dispatch the Journal of Optics and other publications, issue receipts and certificates, conduct elections and award nominations, and inform you about OSI symposia and activities. We do not use member data for advertising.
Sharing and disclosure
OSI does not sell or rent member data. Limited details are shared only where necessary: with Springer Nature for Journal of Optics subscription fulfilment, with our banking and payment partners to process dues, with conference hosts for delegates who register for their event, and with statutory authorities where the law requires it. Anyone acting on our behalf is bound to use the data solely for that purpose.
Payments
Membership dues and registration fees are processed through our bank and payment gateway partners. Card numbers, UPI credentials, and net-banking passwords are never seen or stored by OSI or by this website — only the transaction reference and status are recorded against your application.
Cookies
This website uses cookies and local browser storage for essential functions only: keeping you signed in, preserving a part-completed membership form so you do not lose your work, and remembering interface preferences. No third-party advertising or cross-site tracking cookies are set. Clearing your browser storage removes them.
Retention and security
Membership records are retained for the life of the membership and thereafter in the Society’s historical register, as OSI is a permanent scientific body with life members and an archival record of its fellows. Applications that are not taken forward are deleted after two years. Access to records is restricted to the General Secretary, Treasurer, and authorised office staff.
Your rights
You may ask to see the information we hold about you, have inaccuracies corrected, withdraw consent for non-essential communications, or request deletion of records we are not obliged to retain. Write to the General Secretary at generalsecretary@osiindia.org and we will respond within thirty days.
Changes to this policy
Amendments are published on this page with a revised date. Material changes affecting members will additionally be communicated by email.