Privacy Policy

Last updated: 7 October, 2026

HimKatha is a publication of the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information you share with us.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we may collect when you visit or interact with the HimKatha website at www.himkatha.org, how we use that information, when we may share it, and the choices available to you.

By using the website, you acknowledge the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

HimKatha is a platform of the Nature Conservation Foundation that shares stories, knowledge and experiences relating to people, nature and conservation in the Himalayan region.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

• “HimKatha”, “we”, “us” or “our” refers to the Nature Conservation Foundation in relation to the HimKatha website.
• “Website” refers to www.himkatha.org and its pages, forms, resources and other features.
• “You” or “your” refers to any person who visits or interacts with the Website.

Nature Conservation Foundation’s registered office is:

Nature Conservation Foundation
1311, “Amritha”, 12th Main,
Vijayanagar 1st Stage,
Mysore – 570 017, Karnataka, India.

For privacy-related questions, you may contact us at:

himkathaindia@gmail.com

Depending on how you interact with the Website, we may collect the following types of information.

Information you provide directly

We may collect information that you voluntarily provide to us, including:

• Your name
• Email address
• Telephone or mobile number, where you choose to provide it
• Information submitted through contact, feedback or enquiry forms
• Information provided when subscribing to our newsletter or other communications
• Information provided when making or enquiring about a donation
• Any other information that you voluntarily submit to us

We only ask for information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

Information collected automatically

When you visit the Website, certain technical information may be collected automatically by the Website, our hosting provider, or third-party services used on the Website.

This may include:

• IP address
• Browser type and version
• Device type and operating system
• Approximate location derived from technical information
• Date and time of visits
• Pages viewed and interactions with the Website
• Referring and exit pages
• Information about how you navigate and use the Website
• Other technical information contained in standard web-server logs

The specific information collected may depend on the settings and services active on the Website.

Cookies and similar technologies

The Website may use cookies and similar technologies to enable essential functions, remember preferences, understand how visitors use the Website, and improve our services.

Some cookies may be placed by third-party services that we use, such as analytics, embedded content, forms, or other website functionality.

You can manage or restrict cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect some Website functionality.

We may use personal information for purposes including:

• Responding to enquiries, questions and requests
• Providing information or services that you have requested
• Processing and acknowledging donations, where applicable
• Sending newsletters or other communications that you have requested
• Managing newsletter subscriptions and preferences
• Improving the content, accessibility and functionality of the Website
• Understanding how visitors use the Website and improving our digital services
• Maintaining the security and reliability of the Website
• Detecting and preventing spam, fraud, abuse or other security issues
• Complying with applicable legal and regulatory requirements
• Protecting our rights and interests
• Carrying out other purposes that are disclosed to you when information is collected or otherwise permitted by applicable law

We will not use your personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the purpose for which it was collected, except where permitted or required by law.

If you subscribe to a HimKatha newsletter or other mailing list, we may use your email address to send you the communications you requested.

You can unsubscribe from promotional or newsletter communications at any time by using the unsubscribe option provided in the relevant email or by contacting us at himkathaindia@gmail.com.

Unsubscribing from a newsletter will not necessarily stop essential or transactional communications relating to a donation, enquiry or other interaction you have had with us.

Where a third-party email service is used to manage subscriptions and deliver newsletters, your information may be processed by that service on our behalf.

HimKatha does not process donations directly through the HimKatha Website.

If you choose to make a donation, the Website may direct you to the official Nature Conservation Foundation donation page at www.ncf-india.org/donate.

Any personal, payment or financial information you provide through the Nature Conservation Foundation donation page is subject to the privacy policy and terms applicable to that website. HimKatha does not collect or store your payment card details through its Website.

We may use analytics and website-performance tools to understand how visitors use HimKatha and to improve the Website.

Depending on the services enabled on the Website, these tools may collect information such as pages visited, approximate location, device and browser information, referring pages, and interactions with the Website.

We will identify the analytics providers actually used by the Website in the relevant implementation of this Privacy Policy where appropriate.

Some Website functions may be provided with the assistance of third-party service providers. These may include services used for:

• Website hosting and infrastructure
• Email and newsletter delivery
• Contact and enquiry forms
• Donation and payment processing
• Website analytics
• Spam and security protection
• Embedded media or other third-party content

These providers may process personal information on our behalf or as independent service providers, depending on the nature of their services.

Where appropriate, we take reasonable steps to ensure that third-party service providers process personal information only for relevant purposes and provide appropriate safeguards.

Third-party providers may process information on servers located outside India. Where personal information is transferred or processed outside India, such processing will be subject to applicable law and the relevant provider’s privacy practices.

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share personal information where reasonably necessary:

• With service providers who help us operate the Website and provide related services
• With payment processors when you make a donation or other payment
• With newsletter or email service providers when you subscribe to our communications
• With analytics, security or technical service providers
• Where disclosure is required by applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental authority
• Where necessary to protect the rights, property, safety or security of HimKatha, Nature Conservation Foundation, our users or others
• Where you have otherwise provided your consent or the disclosure is otherwise permitted by law

We may also share information in connection with a restructuring, merger, transfer or other change involving the relevant part of our organisation or operations, subject to applicable law.

If the Website provides features that allow you to submit comments, feedback, stories or other material intended for public display, information that you choose to make public may be visible to other visitors.

Please do not submit personal information that you do not want to be made publicly available.

The Website may contain links to websites, social-media platforms or other online services operated by third parties.

We do not control these third-party websites or their privacy practices. If you follow a link to another website, that website’s own privacy policy and terms will apply.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of third-party websites before providing them with personal information.

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss or misuse.

However, no method of transmitting or storing information electronically is completely secure. We therefore cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted to or stored by the Website.

If you believe that your interaction with HimKatha or your personal information has been compromised, please contact us promptly at himkathaindia@gmail.com.

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to provide services, maintain appropriate records, resolve disputes, comply with legal or accounting obligations, and enforce our agreements.

The appropriate retention period may vary depending on the nature of the information and the purpose for which it was collected.

When personal information is no longer required, we may securely delete, anonymise or otherwise dispose of it, subject to applicable legal and operational requirements.

Depending on applicable law, you may have rights in relation to your personal information, including rights to:

• Ask what personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Request deletion of personal information where applicable
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Opt out of certain communications
• Raise a question or complaint about how your information is handled

To exercise a privacy-related right or make a request, contact us at:

himkathaindia@gmail.com

We may need to verify your identity before acting on certain requests in order to protect your information and prevent unauthorised access.

We will handle such requests in accordance with applicable law.

The Website is not intended to knowingly collect personal information from children without appropriate consent or authorisation where required by applicable law.

If you believe that a child has provided personal information to us in circumstances where it should not have been collected, please contact us at himkathaindia@gmail.com.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the Website, the services we use, our data practices, or applicable legal requirements.

When we make changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of India.

Any disputes relating to this Privacy Policy or the handling of personal information through the Website will be subject to the applicable laws and jurisdiction of India.

If you have questions, concerns or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or the way we handle personal information, please contact:

Nature Conservation Foundation – HimKatha
1311, “Amritha”, 12th Main,
Vijayanagar 1st Stage,
Mysore – 570 017, Karnataka, India.

Email: himkathaindia@gmail.com
Website: www.himkatha.org