Privacy
notice.

This notice explains how The Reasoning Commons handles personal data. It is written to meet the requirements of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the rules made under it. We have tried to write it plainly rather than defensively, because a privacy notice nobody can read protects nobody.

Who we are

The Reasoning Commons is an educational initiative based in India. For the purposes of the Act we are the Data Fiduciary for the personal data described below. You can reach us at founder@thereasoningcommons.org.

What we collect

We collect personal data only when you give it to us. That happens in two ways.

When you enter the essay competition, through our submission form:

• The entrant's name, class, and the name of the school
• The entrant's contact number and email address
• The name and contact details of a parent or lawful guardian
• The essay itself as a PDF, and a declaration of original work
• The consent of the parent or lawful guardian, recorded at the time of submission

When you write to us, we hold your email address and whatever you choose to put in your message, for as long as it takes to deal with it.

When you visit this website, we use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used: which pages are read, how visitors arrive, and the country or region a visit comes from. Google Analytics sets cookies in your browser and assigns a randomly generated identifier to your device. It records your approximate location, the pages you view and the site or search that brought you here. It does not tell us your name, and we do not attempt to connect this information to any entry or any message you send us.

We also use Netlify's server-side analytics, which counts page requests from our server logs. It sets nothing in your browser and creates no identifier.

We use no advertising trackers, and this website carries no advertising of any kind.

If you would rather not be counted by Google Analytics, you can block it in your browser settings, use a browser or extension that blocks analytics scripts, or install Google's own opt-out add-on. Nothing on this site depends on analytics working, and blocking it makes no difference to how the pages behave or to any entry you submit.

Why we collect it

• To run the essay competition: receiving entries, checking eligibility, and judging
• To keep judging blind, by holding identifying details apart from the essay itself
• To contact entrants about their entry and about the outcome
• To announce results and to send certificates, prizes and books, including by courier to the school
• To publish the strongest essays as an anthology, and only where the author has given permission in the submission form

We do not use personal data for any other purpose, and we do not sell it, rent it or share it for anyone else's marketing.

Consent, and entrants under eighteen

We process personal data on the basis of consent, which is asked for clearly at the point of collection and can be withdrawn at any time.

The competition is open to students of Classes 11 and 12, most of whom are under eighteen. Under the Act, anyone under eighteen is a child, and a child's personal data may be processed only with the verifiable consent of a parent or lawful guardian. Our submission form therefore asks for the parent or guardian's details and their consent before an entry can be completed, and we do not process an entry without it. If we cannot satisfy ourselves that consent is genuine, we will not process the entry.

We do not track, monitor or profile children, we do not direct advertising at them, and there is no advertising anywhere on this site.

Who else sees it

• Our jury. Judges see the essay only, with names, schools and all identifying details removed. They do not see contact information.
• Our service providers. The submission form and the files it collects are held with Google, and this website is hosted by Netlify. Both process data on our instructions, and both may store data outside India. Website usage statistics are processed by Google Analytics and by Netlify, separately from entry data.
• Nobody else, unless we are required to disclose something by law.

How long we keep it

We keep entry data for the duration of the competition cycle and for one year after the results are announced, so that we can answer questions about the outcome and administer prizes and certificates. After that we delete it. Essays are kept beyond that period only where the author has agreed to publication. Correspondence is deleted once it has served its purpose. If you withdraw consent before then, we delete sooner.

Your rights

Under the Act you may ask us to:

• Tell you what personal data of yours we hold and what we have done with it
• Correct anything inaccurate, complete anything incomplete, or update anything out of date
• Erase your personal data, where we are no longer required to keep it
• Act on the withdrawal of your consent, which you may give at any time
• Note a nomination, so that another person may exercise these rights on your behalf in the event of death or incapacity

A parent or lawful guardian may exercise these rights on behalf of an entrant under eighteen. Withdrawing consent during an open competition will usually mean the entry cannot be judged, and we will say so plainly if that is the case rather than let an entry sit unprocessed.

How to ask, and how to complain

Write to founder@thereasoningcommons.org, which reaches the person responsible for grievance redressal. We aim to acknowledge within seven days and to resolve the matter within thirty. If you are not satisfied with how we have handled it, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

Keeping it safe

Access to entry data is limited to the people who need it to run the competition, and accounts holding it are protected by two-factor authentication. No system is perfect, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. If a breach occurs that affects you, we will inform you and the Data Protection Board as the Act requires.

Changes to this notice

If this notice changes in a way that affects how we use data already collected, we will tell affected entrants directly rather than quietly amend the page.

Last updated: August 2026.