Privacy Policy

Gyan Institute of Higher Studies ("Gyan Institute", "we", "us", "our") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect when you use our website, call us, or take our admission facilitation services, how we use and protect it, and the choices and rights you have. It is prepared in line with the Information Technology Act, 2000, the IT (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), as applicable.

By sharing your information with us or proceeding with the admission process, you consent to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please do not use our services.

Gyan Institute is an admission facilitation, coordination and support service provider. We are not a University and do not conduct classes, examinations or issue degrees. For the personal data you give us for the purpose of your admission, we act as the "Data Fiduciary" (the party deciding how and why the data is used).

Personal and identity information

• Full name, parent/guardian name, date of birth, gender, nationality
• Mobile number, email address, residential and correspondence address
• Photograph and signature

Academic and admission documents

• Marksheets, certificates, transfer/migration certificates and ABC ID details
• Government ID proofs (such as Aadhaar, PAN, passport or voter ID) as required by the University
• Course, specialisation and University preferences, enrolment/application numbers, admit card and examination details

Payment information

• Payment amount, date, mode and transaction reference/receipt details

We do not store your full card number, CVV, UPI PIN or net-banking credentials. Payments are processed by the University's or our authorised payment gateway partners.

Communication and technical information

• Records of calls, messages, WhatsApp chats, OTP confirmations and emails exchanged with you, including call recordings made for training and quality purposes
• Website data such as IP address, browser and device type, pages visited, and cookie information

• To counsel you and assess the course and University that suit you
• To complete, file and submit your admission form and documents to the University on your authorisation
• To deposit the University Fee, but only after your explicit confirmation by call or OTP
• To coordinate with the University on admission status, verification, examination notifications, fee updates, University ID, enrolment number and admit card
• To guide you on assignments, exam-form submission and re-registration when you request it
• To send service updates, reminders, receipts and, where permitted, information about relevant programmes
• To handle refund, cancellation, grievance and support requests
• To maintain call quality, train our team, prevent fraud and comply with legal obligations
• To improve our website and services

We process your personal data on the basis of your consent, given when you fill in a form, speak with our counsellors, share documents or proceed with admission, and for legitimate uses permitted by law such as fulfilling a service you requested, complying with legal obligations and protecting against fraud.

You can withdraw your consent at any time as explained in Section 11. Withdrawal does not affect processing already done, and it may mean we can no longer provide the related service.

We do not sell or rent your personal data. We share it only as follows:

• With the University you are applying to, and its authorised portals and officials, for admission, examination and certification purposes
• With payment gateways and banks to process payments
• With service providers who help us run our business (for example CRM, telephony, SMS/WhatsApp, cloud storage and IT support), under confidentiality obligations
• With government, regulators or courts where required by law or a lawful order
• To protect our rights, prevent fraud or enforce our Terms & Conditions
• With your explicit consent in any other case

We keep your personal data only as long as needed for the purposes above, for the duration of your course and a reasonable period afterwards to handle queries, disputes, accounting and legal requirements. When no longer needed, data is deleted or anonymised, unless the law requires us to keep it.

We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards, including access controls limited to authorised staff, secure storage and encrypted transmission where available, to protect your data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or alteration.

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to remember preferences, understand how visitors use the site and improve performance. You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings, though some features may not work properly.

By giving us your number or email, you agree to be contacted by call, SMS, WhatsApp and email regarding your enquiry, admission and services, including where your number is registered on a Do Not Disturb (DND/NCPR) list, to the extent permitted by law. You can opt out of promotional messages at any time by replying STOP or telling us. Service-related and legally required messages may continue.

Our services are intended for students who are 18 or older. If an applicant is under 18, we process their data only with verifiable consent of a parent or lawful guardian, who must be the one to contact us about it. We do not track or target children with advertising.

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access a summary of the personal data we hold about you and how it is used
• Request correction or updating of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Request erasure of data that is no longer needed (subject to legal retention requirements and pending service obligations)
• Withdraw consent previously given
• Nominate another person to exercise your rights in the event of death or incapacity
• Raise a grievance and receive a response within a reasonable time

If you are an NRI or international student, your data may be transferred to and processed in India and shared with the University. By using our services you consent to this transfer. We take reasonable steps to ensure it is handled in accordance with this policy.

If a personal data breach occurs that is likely to affect you, we will notify you and the relevant authority as required by law, and take prompt steps to contain it.

In accordance with Indian law, you may direct complaints about the handling of your data to our Grievance Officer:

We aim to acknowledge complaints within 48 hours and resolve them within 30 days.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version, with its "Last Updated" date, will always be available on our website. Continued use of our services after changes means you accept the updated policy.