Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Policy

At Pratham Books, we respect your privacy. We want to ensure that you get
the information, content, and experiences that matter most to you. We are
committed to protecting the privacy of our members, customers,
volunteers, and other supporters.

This document is a written agreement and  an electronic record and valid and enforceable electronic agreement / contract under Information Technology Act, 2000 (as applicable in Republic of India) and rules there under as applicable and the amended provisions pertaining to electronic records in various statutes under applicable Indian laws. This electronic record is generated by a computer system and does not require any physical or digital signatures. Your usage of the website shall be your deemed acceptance of this Privacy Policy and all the modifications and updates thereto.

Introduction

We do not publish, sell or rent your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes without your consent, which includes your acceptance of this Privacy Policy. Please read this privacy policy carefully, to learn more about the ways in which we use and protect your personal information. If you do not agree with the contents of this policy, please do not use or access our website.

This Privacy Policy covers the information, PRATHAM BOOKS (“Platform” and/or “We”) collects from the user(s) (“User(s)” and/or “You”) of whether or not registered with www.prathambooks.org (“Website” including any successor website) and includes the Services – the term as defined in the Terms and Conditions). This Privacy Policy should be read in conjunction and together with the Terms and Conditions of the website.

Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to all personal data processed by full-time and part-time employees, volunteers when acting on behalf of Pratham Books, contractors and partners doing business on behalf of Pratham Books, as well as all legal entities, all operating locations in all countries, and all business processes conducted by Pratham Books.

What information we collect

During your registration or usage of the website, you may provide and/or we may access, capture or store various sensitive personal information, personal information or general information or data with respect to your activities or usage on the website. We may install cookies or other similar data collection software in your computer system for such purposes and you hereby consent to the same.

For donors and buyers of our products, information we collect may include your email, full name, address, mobile number, PAN number, user identification (for accessing the e-store), password (associated with the aforementioned user identification), and billing information which we are lawfully required to collect in order to do a business transaction with you. Your email address and billing / shipping address are collected so we can send you the requested product / communications.

For subscribers of our newsletter, we only collect your first name and your email address after you have successfully subscribed to our list and confirmed your subscription to make sure it’s really you.

Correct, current and updated information

You represent to us that the information or data you provide to us on the website from time to time is and shall be correct, current and updated and you have all the rights, permissions and consents to provide such information or data to us. Your providing the information or data to us and our consequent storage, collection, usage, transfer, access or processing of the same shall not be in violation of any third party agreement, laws, charter documents, judgments, orders and decrees.

Information for which we are not responsible

While using the website, you may provide sensitive personal information, or other general information about yourself or in connection with yourself to third parties. The website may have webpages, cookies, files, software, data or other information or communication links that are originated, created or posted by third parties (including advertisers, content or other partners or users) that can or has the capabilities of collecting, storing or using your data / information. We are not responsible for such data or information collected, stored or used by third parties even if such third parties uses the website to collect, store or use such data or information.

How we protect your information

We use reasonable security measures, at the minimum, those mandated under the Information Technology Act, 2000, as amended and read with Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, to safeguard and protect your data and information. However, you may note that we may collect, store and process your information or data in computer resource, computer system or computer network which may not be owned or controlled by us and may be situated outside the Republic of India. You acknowledge that governmental or law enforcement authorities in the countries where your data or information is stored may have the right to decrypt, collect, monitor or access your data or information whose actions are completely out of our control. We don’t take any responsibilities for such actions.

We utilise up-to-date security measures and policies for the protection of our website and to help avoid unauthorised access or corruption. Unfortunately, it is not possible to guarantee total security of information held and data and information transmitted via the internet may not be secure, may be routed incorrectly and/or is susceptible to interception by unauthorised parties. Therefore, the confidentiality and security of data and information provided by electronic means cannot be guaranteed and personal or sensitive information should not be provided unless you can satisfy yourself that you are using tried and tested encryption or secure communications software. However, every reasonable effort will be made to keep our website secure and to avoid unauthorised access or corruption. Use of the internet is not wholly secure and data and information provided via the internet can end up in the hands of unauthorised third parties despite best efforts to ensure security at all times. In providing any data or information to us by electronic means, you are agreeing to the transfer, storing and processing of information which could unknowingly be intercepted by an unauthorised person.

Our website may, from time to time, contain links to and from other websites. If you follow a link to any of those websites, please note that you do so entirely at your own sole risk and responsibility. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for, nor do we make any representation in respect of, or endorse the content or material of, the external websites in any links provided. We would strongly urge you to exercise caution before you submit any personal data to or information to any of those websites.

Use of information

The data we collect is only used for the following:

a) To process transactions |  We use personal information such as name, physical address, telephone number, email address, and company/institution to engage in interactions with you, including contacting you about your order, donation, subscription, event participation, or membership. We use financial/credit card and payment information to process your order and take the utmost care to safeguard the information and do not share it with any third parties.

b) To provide support or other services |  We may use your personal information to provide you with support or other services that you have ordered or requested. We may also use your personal information to respond directly to your requests for information, including registrations for newsletters or other specific requests, or pass your contact information to the appropriate Pratham Books contact for further follow-up related to your interests.

c) To provide information based on your needs and respond to your requests | We may use your personal information to provide you with notices of new product releases and service developments.

d) To administer products | We may contact you if you purchase products to confirm certain information about your order (for example, that you did not experience problems in the download process). We may also use this information to confirm compliance with licensing and other Terms and Conditions and may share it with your company/institution, as applicable.

e) To select content, improve quality, and facilitate use of the website | We may use your personal information, including the information gathered as a result of site navigation and electronic protocols and cookies (including third-party cookies), to help create and personalize website content, improve website quality, evaluate page response rates, conduct usability testing, and facilitate your use of the websites (for example, to facilitate navigation and the login process, avoid duplicate data entry, enhance security, keep track of shopping cart additions, and preserve order information between sessions).

f) To assess usage of Pratham Books’ products and services | We may track your usage of its products and services to determine your level of usage, and those usage statistics may be made available to Pratham Books’ content licensors and your company/institution, as and if applicable.

g) To protect Pratham Books content and services | We may use your information to prevent potentially illegal activities and to enforce our Terms and Conditions. We also use a variety of technological systems to detect and address anomalous activity and to screen content to prevent abuse, such as spam. These efforts may, on occasion, result in a temporary or permanent suspension or termination of some functions for some users.

h) To get feedback or input from you | In order to deliver products and services of the most interest to our registered  users and customers, from time to time, we may ask members, customers, volunteers, and website visitors to provide us input and feedback (for example through surveys, usability studies, focus groups).

i) To engage with third parties | We may use third parties that we refer to as internal service providers to facilitate or outsource one or more aspects of  service operations that we provide to you on the website (e.g., search technology, discussion boards, technical service providers, affiliate) and therefore, we may provide some of your information or data directly to these internal service providers. These internal service providers are subject to confidentiality agreements with us and other legal restrictions that prohibit their use of the information we provide them for any other purpose except to facilitate the specific website-related operations. In some instances, the internal service provider may collect information directly from you (such as for website surveys or for co-branded services). In these cases, you will be notified of the involvement of the internal service provider, and all additional information you provide them and their additional uses will be strictly up to you. If you provide additional information to an internal service provider directly, then their use of your personal information is governed by their applicable privacy policy, if any.

Retention and Withdrawal

You can control the information we have about you and how we use it in several ways.

For customers / donors: We retain your personal information only for contractual and legal reasons (for example, we are legally required to keep certain information on record for tax reasons). If you are a registered user, you can review, revise and correct the personal data that you have provided to us by contacting [email protected].

For newsletter subscriber: We only retain your name and email address as long as your subscription with us is active. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Age of consent

Pratham Books does not knowingly collect data from or about children under 16 without the permission of parent(s)/guardian(s). If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 16, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a child under age 16, please contact us.

Confidentiality

Please rest assured that we treat your personal information and data as strictly confidential.

Data security

We use a variety of methods such as firewalls, intrusion detection software and manual security procedures to secure your data against loss or damage and to help protect the accuracy and security of Personal Data and to prevent unauthorized access or improper use.

If you think that the Website or any Personal Data is not secure or that there has been unauthorized access to the website or your personal data, please contact [email protected] immediately.

Data storage

Your information or data will primarily be stored in electronic form; however, certain data can also be stored in physical form. We may store, collect, process and use your data in countries other than the Republic of India but under full compliance with applicable laws. We may enter into agreement with third parties (in or outside of India) to store your information or data. These third parties may have their own security standards to safeguard your information or data and we will on a commercial, reasonable basis require such third parties to adopt reasonable security standards to safeguard your information / data.

Compliance with laws & law enforcement

Pratham Books reserves the right to share your information to respond to duly authorized information requests of governmental authorities or where required by law.

In the event of bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, reorganization or sale of assets, your information may be sold or transferred as part of that transaction. The promises in this Privacy Policy will apply to your information as transferred to the new entity.

Your European Union Privacy Rights

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation EU 2016/679) (also known as GDPR), if you are an individual protected by the GDPR, you may have certain rights as a data subject. To request information about or avail yourself of those rights, please send an email to [email protected] with “GDPR Request” in the subject line. In the email please describe with specificity, the GDPR right you are requesting assistance with.  Please note additional information may be requested prior to initiation of a request and that Pratham Books reserves the right to charge a fee with respect to certain requests. Upon Pratham Book’s completion of its review, you will be notified if your request has been granted, denied, or exemptions apply.

Your Rights

1) To request details of the information we hold about you or if you have provided us with your personal information, but decide at a later date that you no longer want to receive information from us, or if you wish to update us that your contact details have changed or change your preferences, please let us know.

2) Information for persons in the EU, EEA or EU citizens:

Users in the EU or EU citizens are granted a number of additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation. These include:

(a) The right to rectification;

(b) The right to erasure;

(c) The right to restrict processing;

(d) The right to data portability;

(e) The right to object;

(f) Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.

3) For more information on these rights please read the relevant guidance issued by the ICO: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/overview-of-the-gdpr/

4) If you are unhappy with the way we have processed your personal data, please contact us at [email protected].

If you remain unhappy with how your complaint is dealt with, you should contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (https://ico.org.uk/). Alternatively, you are entitled to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office without first referring your complaint to us.

Communication policies

We may use your information or data for various communications to you. You have full control regarding which of these communications you want to receive. If you decide at any time that you no longer wish to receive such communications from us, please follow the unsubscribe instructions provided in any of the communications. Please note that once we receive your request, it may take an additional period of time for your opt-out to become effective.

Deleting your information

If you wish to have the information or data that you have provided to us deleted, you can always do so by sending a request to [email protected]. You may note that deletion of certain information or data may lead to cancellation of your registration with the website and your access to certain features of the website. You also agree and acknowledge that certain data or information cannot be deleted or prohibited to be deleted as required under any applicable law, law enforcement requests or under any judicial proceedings.

Changes

From time to time, we may update or modify this Privacy Policy. Your continued use of the website constitutes an acceptance of the then-current Privacy Policy so we encourage you to visit this page periodically to review any changes.

Governing Law

This Agreement has been executed and delivered in India, and its interpretations, validity and performance shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of India, and shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the COURTS IN BANGALORE.

Disclaimer

Users’ access to the website is at their own risk. This website is provided by Pratham Books on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the full extent permissible by applicable law, cyber site disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.

Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of the website or your dealings with the website, you can contact us at [email protected].