Privacy policy
We collect only what we need to support a girl's or woman's education or training, process a donation, or register a volunteer. We do not sell your data, and you can ask to see, correct, or delete it at any time.
- Data fiduciary
- Vedicology Foundation
- We sell data
- Never
- Your rights
- Access · correct · delete
In short
This policy explains what personal information Vedicology Foundation collects, why we collect it, how we protect it, and the rights you have over it. The short version is simple. We collect only what we need to support a girl's or woman's education or training, to process a donation, or to register a volunteer. We do not sell your data. We do not share it except where it is necessary to provide our support, or where the law requires. And you can ask to see, correct, or delete your information at any time.
Who we are
Vedicology Foundation is a registered Section 8 non-profit company, with its registered office at AP 676, H Block, 15th Street, Anna Nagar, Chennai 600040. Under data protection law, the Foundation is the data fiduciary responsible for the personal data described here. That simply means we are the ones accountable for how your data is handled. If you have any question about your data, you can reach us:
What information we collect
We collect different information depending on how you interact with us:
If you apply for support
On the online application form: the programme you are applying for, your name and date of birth, your institution, course and semester, your marks, your parents' or guardian's names and occupations, a short summary of your family, your and your parent's or guardian's phone numbers, your email, your home locality, state and district, your fees, and a few lines in your own words. The form asks for no documents. As your application progresses, we ask for documents that confirm your identity, your situation, your studies and your fees, the contact details of two references, and we make notes during the home visit. Some of this is sensitive — for example, family circumstances and financial need — and we collect it only to assess and provide support.
If you ask us to call you back
Your name, phone number, email, and state (and district, for Tamil Nadu or Kerala) — these are required so that we can reach you — and your preferred way to be contacted. Optionally, your institution, department, semester, and a few lines about your situation.
If you request a guide or send us a support request
Your name, phone number, email, and state (and district, for Tamil Nadu or Kerala). Depending on the form, we also ask for your institution or organisation and your role, your skills or area of interest, or a short note on how we can help; the note on the student guide form is optional.
If you volunteer
Your name, email, phone number, and state (and district, for Tamil Nadu or Kerala); optionally your skills and how much time you can give.
If you donate
The information needed to process your gift and to issue your 80G donation certificate, handled through a secure payment provider.
If you visit our website
Basic technical information your browser shares, used to keep the site working and secure.
We ask only for what we need. We do not collect more than is necessary for the purpose you came to us for.
Why we use your information
We use your information only for clear, specific purposes:
- to assess an application and decide how we can support you;
- to check the details you give us, including through a home visit and with your institution;
- to pay tuition, hostel, exam, coaching, training and related fees directly to the institution on the student's behalf;
- to stay in touch with you about your application, your support, your volunteering, or your donation;
- to issue donation receipts and 80G certificates;
- to meet our legal, accounting, and regulatory obligations as a registered non-profit;
- to keep our website and our communications safe and working.
We do not use your information for anything you would not expect, and we do not use it to make automated decisions about you.
Children's information
Vedicology Foundation supports only girls and women aged 18 and above. We do not fund minors, and we do not knowingly collect or use a child's personal data to provide support to a beneficiary.
Sometimes records relating to a young woman's earlier years reach us — for example, from a Child Care Institution that refers a care leaver. When they do, they come to us from the institution as the proper source, and we handle them under our safeguarding standard. You can read more on our Safeguarding page. If a child's personal data ever reaches us without a lawful basis, we do not use it.
How long we keep your information
We keep personal data only for as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected, or for as long as the law requires us to.
For example, records connected to a donation or an 80G certificate are kept for the period required by tax and accounting rules. Application and support records are kept for as long as we need them to provide, review, and account for your support. When information is no longer needed, we delete it securely or remove anything that identifies you.
How we protect your information
We use reasonable measures to keep your information safe. We limit who can see it to the people who need it, we protect our systems, and we ask the providers we work with to do the same. Our online forms are protected against automated abuse. No system can promise perfect security, but we take this seriously and act quickly if anything goes wrong.
Your rights over your information
You have rights over the personal data we hold about you. You can:
- ask to see the information we hold about you;
- ask us to correct anything that is wrong or out of date;
- ask us to delete your information, where we are not required to keep it;
- withdraw your consent (see the next section);
- nominate someone to exercise your rights on your behalf, for example if you are unable to;
- raise a complaint if you are unhappy with how we have handled your data.
To exercise any of these, write to us. We will respond within the timeframe the law allows — and usually much sooner. There is no cost to you for asking.
Your consent, and how to withdraw it
When you share personal information with us — by applying, asking for a callback, requesting a guide, volunteering, or donating — you are giving your consent for us to use it. We use it only for the purposes set out in this policy. We ask for that consent clearly, and only for what we need.
You can withdraw your consent at any time, as easily as you gave it, by writing to us. If you withdraw while an application is in progress, it may mean we can no longer continue that support. We will explain what it means for you before anything changes. Withdrawing consent does not affect anything we lawfully did with your information beforehand.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time, for example if the law changes or we change how we work. When we do, we will update the date below, and significant changes will be made clear.
This policy was last updated: 03-10-2026
How to contact us about your data
For anything to do with your personal information — a question, a request, or a complaint — write to us, or by post to Vedicology Foundation, AP 676, H Block, 15th Street, Anna Nagar, Chennai 600040.
Important
Vedicology Foundation never charges any application fee, processing fee, registration fee, or documentation fee. Applying is free, at every stage. If anyone asks you for money in our name, please report it to us.
A question about your data? Just ask.
Ask to see, correct, or delete your information — there is no cost, and we usually reply quickly.
Want the fuller picture? Read our Safeguarding commitment