Privacy Statement

# Privacy Statement

**SLRD-YesEarth** — an initiative by the **School of Livelihood and Rural Development**, supported by **YesEarth Eco Consulting Private Limited**

**Website:** https://www.yesearth.org (and sub-sites such as meandmyearth.yesearth.org)
**Effective date:** April 1, 2026
**Last updated:** March 31, 2027

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## 1. About this statement

SLRD-YesEarth is an environmental initiative by the **School of Livelihood and Rural Development (“SLRD”)**, supported by **YesEarth Eco Consulting Private Limited**. We work on climate resilience, ecological restoration, agroforestry, sustainable agriculture, clean cooking, biodiversity and community livelihoods across India. We respect your privacy and are committed to handling your personal data lawfully, fairly and transparently.

This Privacy Statement explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and the rights you have. It is framed in line with the **Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”)** and the **Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (“DPDP Rules”)**, read with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and applicable rules.

For the purposes of the DPDP Act, the **School of Livelihood and Rural Development** (operating the SLRD-YesEarth initiative), together with **YesEarth Eco Consulting Private Limited** where it processes data in support of the initiative, is the **Data Fiduciary** that determines the purpose and means of processing your personal data. You are the **Data Principal**. In this statement, “we”, “us”, and “YesEarth” refer to this initiative.

## 2. Who we are and how to contact us

– **Initiative:** SLRD-YesEarth
– **Lead organisation (Data Fiduciary):** School of Livelihood and Rural Development
– **Supported by:** YesEarth Eco Consulting Private Limited
– **Registered office:** [Insert full registered address]
– **General email:** contact@yesearth.org
– **Grievance / Data Protection contact:** see Section 13.

## 3. Scope

This statement applies to personal data we process when you:

– visit or interact with our websites and sub-sites;
– fill in a contact form, sign up for our newsletter, or register for an event or challenge (for example, the World Environment Day “A Day in My Life” challenge);
– apply to join us as a volunteer, intern, member, or partner;
– use our online tools (for example, the Carbon & Canopy footprint tool or the QR e-visiting-card generator);
– participate in our field programmes as a community member, farmer, or member of a Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) or partner group; or
– otherwise communicate with us by email, phone, social media, or in person.

This statement does not cover the practices of third-party websites or platforms that we link to. Please review their own privacy policies.

## 4. The personal data we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

**Information you provide directly**
– Identity and contact details: name, email address, phone number, postal address, organisation or institution.
– Registration and participation details: event entries, uploaded photos or video reels, and any details you choose to submit when joining a campaign or programme.
– Volunteer, internship, membership, or partnership details: background, areas of interest, and supporting information you share.
– Programme and field data: information collected from community members, farmers, and FPOs participating in our interventions (for example, village, landholding, or crop information relevant to a project). [Adjust to match the actual data your field teams collect.]
– Any other content you share when you contact us or respond to a survey.

**Information collected automatically**
– Device and usage data: IP address, browser type, device identifiers, pages visited, and interaction data, collected through cookies and similar technologies (see Section 8).
– Statistical and analytics data via tools such as Google services. [Confirm the specific analytics/marketing tools in use.]

**Information from third parties**
– Information from partner organisations, government bodies, or platforms where you have engaged with a joint programme, subject to their permissions and lawful basis. [List categories if applicable.]

We do **not** intentionally collect sensitive financial information such as full card numbers through our website. Where donations or payments are processed, these are handled by [insert payment gateway/processor], whose own privacy terms apply.

## 5. How and why we use your personal data

We process your personal data only for lawful purposes and, where required, on the basis of your **consent** or for **certain legitimate uses** permitted under the DPDP Act. Our purposes include:

We will not use your personal data for a new, incompatible purpose without informing you and, where required, obtaining fresh consent.

## 6. Consent and your choices

Where we rely on consent, you have given it freely and it is specific, informed, unconditional, and unambiguous, with a clear affirmative action. Our consent requests are presented separately and in clear language, and you may receive this notice in English or in Hindi or another language listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India on request.

**You can withdraw your consent at any time.** Withdrawing consent is as easy as giving it. To withdraw, contact us using the details in Section 13, or use the unsubscribe link in our emails. Withdrawal does not affect processing already carried out lawfully before withdrawal, and some consequences (for example, no longer receiving updates) may follow.

## 7. Children’s data and persons with disabilities

We engage with young people through campus and youth programmes, so we take particular care with children’s data. Under the DPDP Act, a “child” is anyone **under 18 years of age**.

– Before processing the personal data of a child, we obtain **verifiable consent from a parent or lawful guardian**. [Describe your verification method.]
– We do **not** carry out tracking, behavioural monitoring, or targeted advertising directed at children.
– We do not undertake processing likely to cause a detrimental effect on the well-being of a child.
– For a person with a disability who has a lawful guardian, we obtain consent from that guardian.

If you believe we have collected a child’s data without appropriate consent, please contact us and we will take prompt corrective action.

## 8. Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the site, remember your preferences, and gather statistics. We categorise them as:

– **Functional / strictly necessary** – required for the site to work.
– **Preferences** – remember your settings.
– **Statistics / analytics** – help us understand usage, often in aggregated or anonymised form.
– **Marketing** – used to build profiles or measure campaigns. [Remove if not used.]

When you first visit, our consent banner lets you accept, deny, or manage non-essential cookies, and you can change your choice at any time through the cookie settings. Strictly necessary cookies do not require consent.

## 9. Sharing and disclosure of personal data

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only as needed and with appropriate safeguards, with:

– **YesEarth Eco Consulting Private Limited**, which supports the SLRD-YesEarth initiative and may process personal data on our behalf or jointly with us for the purposes described in this statement, under appropriate confidentiality and data-protection arrangements.
– **Service providers (Data Processors)** acting on our instructions under contract — for example, website hosting, email delivery, analytics, and form or survey tools. [List key processors.]
– **Programme partners and funders**, where necessary to deliver or report on a joint programme, on a need-to-know basis and subject to confidentiality. [Specify.]
– **Government, regulators, or law enforcement**, where required by law or to respond to a valid legal request.
– **Professional advisers** such as auditors, where necessary and confidential.

We require our processors to protect your data and to use it only for the purposes we specify.

## 10. Cross-border transfer

We primarily store and process personal data in India. If any processor or partner is located outside India, such transfer will be carried out only as permitted under the DPDP Act and applicable rules, and not to any country or territory restricted by the Central Government. [Update once you confirm whether any processors host data outside India.]

## 11. How long we keep your data

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out above, or as required by law, grant agreements, or audit obligations. When data is no longer needed, we delete or anonymise it. Indicative retention periods:

– Contact-form enquiries: [e.g., 12–24 months]
– Newsletter subscriptions: until you unsubscribe
– Event/campaign entries: [e.g., duration of the campaign + 1 year]
– Volunteer/partner records: [e.g., relationship + X years]
– Programme/field records: as required by funder and statutory obligations

[Replace the bracketed periods with your actual retention schedule.]

## 12. How we protect your data

We implement reasonable security safeguards to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration, or disclosure, including [access controls, encryption in transit, restricted staff access, secure hosting, periodic reviews — adjust to your actual measures]. In the event of a personal data breach, we will take remedial steps and notify the affected Data Principals and the Data Protection Board of India as required under the DPDP Rules.

## 13. Your rights as a Data Principal

Under the DPDP Act, you have the right to:

– **Access** a summary of the personal data we process about you and of our processing activities;
– **Correction, completion, or updating** of inaccurate or incomplete data;
– **Erasure** of your personal data where it is no longer required for the purpose, unless retention is required by law;
– **Withdraw consent** at any time (see Section 6);
– **Grievance redressal** — a readily available means to raise concerns with us;
– **Nominate** another individual to exercise your rights in the event of death or incapacity.

You also have a duty under the DPDP Act not to file false or frivolous complaints and to provide accurate information.

**To exercise any right or to withdraw consent, contact our Grievance Officer:**

– **Grievance / Data Protection Officer:** [Insert name or designation]
– **Email:** [Insert dedicated email, e.g., privacy@yesearth.org]
– **Postal address:** [Insert address]

We will respond within a reasonable period and within timelines prescribed under applicable law. [Insert your stated response window, e.g., “within 30 days”.]

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may escalate your complaint to the **Data Protection Board of India** in the manner prescribed under the DPDP Act and Rules.

## 14. Third-party links

Our websites and communications may contain links to external sites and platforms (for example, social media, partner sites, or our sub-site meandmyearth.yesearth.org). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties, and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.

## 15. Changes to this statement

We may update this Privacy Statement from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or the law. We will post the revised version here with a new “Last updated” date, and where changes are significant, we will take reasonable steps to notify you.

## 16. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement or how we handle your personal data, contact us at **contact@yesearth.org** or at the address in Section 2.