From SEDSWiki
Bye-Laws of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
I. Name and Address of the Society
Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
(Abbreviated to SEDS. In international communications, used as SEDS-India)
Address: HQ: VIT, Vellore, 632014
SEDS –Mother body
Chapters: Member chapters of SEDS in various institutions/colleges/schools etc.
ACT: Public Societies Registration Act
II. Aims and Objectives
1. To become an independent student-based organisation that encourages the exploration and development of space.
2. To help students discuss, learn about and implement space and space-enabled technologies.
3. To create future leaders who can aid the exploration and development of space.
4. To encourage members to understand the importance of space exploration and development.
5. To encourage members to build models/prototypes to better understand the working of space systems(rockets, satellites, space crafts, probes, rovers, orbiters etc).
6. To encourage members to explore space through ground and space based tools and instruments (telescopes, softwares, binoculars etc).
7. To encourage innovations in space sciences through paper presentations and research and development..
8. To encourage members to popularize space sciences in the country among students in particular and the public in general.
9. To encourage the development of lateral space related fields like space art, space music, space literature, space law etc. to augment the capabilities that space science enables.
10.To enable students to work in teams and share their knowledge as a means of personal growth and development.
III. Membership
A. Eligibility
The criteria for being a member of the Society are as follows:
1. One must have a keen interest in Space Sciences and allied fields (such as Aerospace Engineering, Astronomy, Satellite Communication, Aerospace Medicine etc.)
2. One must be over 15 years of age and below 32 years of age on the date of application.
3. One should be a student within the territory of India; the field of study is irrelevant.
4. One should be studying in registered universities/ schools of India, and should provide a proof of the same.
B. Categories
The Society shall have the following categories of members:
1. Member Chapters :
i. Universities /Colleges/ Institutions /Schools can apply for starting chapters in India, keeping in norms with the Membership constraints.
ii. If a college/institution has at least 15 individual members, the institution will be intimated to start a Chapter, keeping in view the interests of the members.
iii.Each Chapter should consist of not less than fifteen (15) members (including the committee members).
iv. The individual members of the chapter are affiliated to the Society through the member chapters and need not apply seperately for individual membership.
2. Individual Members : An individual who is affiliated directly to the Society and who meets the membership eligibility criterias can become an individual member of the Society.
3. Alumni : All former members of the Society shall be eligible for membership to the Alumni.
C. Membership & Affiliation Fees
1. The minimum membership fee that will be charged from students by SEDS is Rs. 100/-. This will also be the minimum membership fee that a member chapter may charge from its members.
2. The membership fees shall be revised from time to time (not beyond 20% each year), if needed. This is valid for both SEDS member chapters and individual members.
3. Membership will be valid for one year; on expiry of which the members have an option of renewing their membership
4. The Membership Renewal fees for each member is around 40% of the membership fees decided for that annual year.
5. No member shall refuse to pay the membership fees which will be fixed (upon due consultation with the Council of Chapters) by the Executive committee from time to time, on the ground that his personal interests are not satisfied, as the aim of SEDS-India is to promote common interests.
6. The initial prescribed fees for a chapter for affiliation to SEDS is Rs.400/-, along with the list of executive committee and the founder members.
7. Annually 20% of the annual membership fees (revised) collected by the each chapter shall be deposited into the SEDS-India account as Affiliation fees.
8. The membership and the affiliation fees collected shall be spent only to the attainment of the objectives of SEDS-India.
9. The total membership fees for a particular chapter shall be accounted by the treasurer of the chapter and has to be submitted to the headquarters by the end of the financial year.
10. The Treasurer shall forward the list of members (both new and renewal) to the Secretary.
11. The amount collected as affiliation charges shall be transferred to the SEDS-India Account in the form of a DD (a scanned and Xerox copy of which is to be submitted to Treasurer, SEDS-India)
12. Individual memberships (for members not under any of the Chapters) will be handled directly by the Head Quarters, SEDS-India.
13. Membership for individual members is open any time of the year; the membership into a chapter will be decided by the corresponding Chapter . Individual membership is encouraged if there is no existing SEDS Chapter in the respective College/ Institution ; if exists then the mode of membership will as decided by the Chapter in the college / Institution.
D. Obligations of Members
1.All members should abide by the objectives of SEDS-India and the rules and regulations laid down in the constitution.
2.The authorized acknowledgement of membership shall be done on the SEDS-India website.
3.All members are obliged to pay the yearly assessments approved by the Council to meet the expenses in organizing and conducting the events, workshops, seminars etc.
4.The members are encouraged and welcome to put forth their ideas for the betterment of the SEDS-India.
5.It is mandatory for each member to carry his/her SEDS identity card (if provided by the respective Chapters) to all the organized events.
6.Each member can take part in all the events organized and are entitled to attend all General Body meetings held.
7.A member shall reimburse promptly any expenditure incurred for the proper cause for conducting any event etc. by providing the related bills to the Treasurer of the concerned chapter or to Treasurer, SEDS in case of individual members.
8.The reimbursement of expenditure of a member is a ‘Chapter’ Affair. The Treasurer of that particular Chapter is responsible for all transactions regarding this.
9.If a members is not happy with the functioning of his/her Chapter he is obliged to contact the related member in the Board of Directors which will act accordingly.
E. Cessation of Membership:
1. Members who are of 32 years of age will continue membership till the completion of the term after which their membership will be annulled.They will be provided an option for becoming an alumni member.
2. Each member will be given a notice of his cessation of membership 15 days in advance; after which any applications shall not be entertained (no penalty fees etc is to be collected)
3. A member is found guilty of misconduct by a chapter or by the President of SEDS in case, he/she is an individual member of SEDS.
4. A member files an application for the termination of membership. This is again acknowledged within a period of one week.
5. A member is found to have not paid his annual fees. The member is reminded one month in advance. A period of one month is given for renewing the membership following which a letter cancelling the membership is issued.
6. A chapter files an application for the termination of membership. This is again acknowledged within a period of one week.
F. Disputes
The disputes against Chapters are resolved by the Council of Chapters. If the chapter is not happy with the decision taken, it may appeal against the decision within a period of one week against the decision. The decision shall then be reviewed by a joint committee of the Executive Committee and the Board of Advisors. The final decision is binding on the chapter. The judgement is reched through a vote of one vote per member. The vote should either be unanimous or may be carried with a majority of two-thirds.
IV. Members Chapters
This section discusses the working of chapters. Membership of a chapter has been defined in section III B 1.
A. Structure
1. The Chapter must preferably (not necessarily) have a Staff coordinator from the host institution to provide guidance to the students and help maintain the functioning of the chapter.
2. Each Chapter of the Society must have the following post occupied individually by chapter members for a periodic term:
a. President
b. Vice President
c. Secretary
d. Treasurer
3. The functions of the above post are in line with those prescribed for the council of the Society, but with lesser authoritative power.
4. The Chapter Executive council can have members apart from the above mentioned compulsory set depending upon the nature of responsibilities being shared by the Council by appointing Committees and Sub-Committees
5. The activities of the Chapter and its working towards student projects must be approved by the Host institution or the concerned department.
B. Powers and Functions of the Chapter's Executive Committee
1. Registering the chapter with SEDS.
2. Submitting Half yearly Chapter activity reports.
3. Presenting the Chapter’s Achievements /Activities at the Annual General Body meeting
4. Receiving and distributing Recognition Certificates, Awards etc. issued by the Executive Committee on behalf of the Society.
C. Communication
The SEDS Executive Committee shall maintain regular contact with all chapters and would synchronize their working towards the common objectives of SEDS.
V. Executive Committee
A national level Executive Committee elected by all the members of SEDS is elected annually to perform executive and administrative functions of SEDS and to ensure that all legal and financial obligations of SEDS are fulfilled.
A. Structure
The Executive Committee consists of:
1. President
2. Vice-President
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer
5. There shall be a Board of Directors who are primarily executive committee members who shall be empowered with office code with respective functions.
B.Powers and Functions
The powers and functions of the Executive Committee as a whole includes:
1. It will be responsible to approve `the expenditure and the activity if the society from time to time.
2. To interpret, whenever, any interpretation is necessary to the bye – laws and rules.
3. To review the work done in implementing the work done in implementing the earlier resolutions.
1. President
i. He/She is the final decision-maker for the organisation.
ii. He/She has the deadlock vote in case of a tie.
iii. He/She is the official signatory in official documents/certificates of the organization
iv President can delegate all or some of his powers/functions in case of need.
2. Vice-President
i. He/She is responsible for all functions of the President in the latter's absence.
ii. He/She overlooks the interactions of SEDS with other organisations.
3. Secretary
i. Maintains all documents of the organisation.
ii. Conducts meetings and maintains minutes of the meeting.
iii. Heads the Council of Chapters
iv. He is official signatory and shall sign along with President for such docuements to take effect in the name of the society.
4. Treasurer
i. Looks over the financial transactions of the organization
ii. Presents the annual accounts of the organization.
5. Board of Directors
The working and responsibilities of the Board of Directors will be attached separately in an Office Code. This Code can be taken up for decision at the Executive Committee Meetings every two years.
C. Accountability
All members of the Executive Committee are accountable to the organisation. All members of the Executive Committee are to submit a report of works done every month for the organisation. If no work has been done in a month, appropriate reasons are to be provided to the President who shall excuse the member of the Executive Committee and provide a note to the other members of the Executive Committee about the same. All activities of the Executive Committee will be open to the scrutiny of members and the general public during the working hours of the organisation.
D. Meetings
The Secretary is empowered to call meetings of the Executive Committee. He is empowered to set the agenda for the meeting after referring with other members of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is expected to meet atleast two times every three months and more frequently if desired by the Executive Committee or to discuss matters of immediate importance.
E. Reimbursements
This is a purely honorary body and no reimbursements shall be made to members of the Executive Committee unless personal expense was taken in printing, posting and communication for SEDS, upon production of the bills for the same to the Treasurer.
F. Election
1. The Secretary calls for the Annual General Body Meeting of SEDS.
2. The incumbent President calls for nominations for the post of President. Every President and his Executive Committee can hold only 1 year in office.
3. The maximum number of nominations may be equal to the number of chapters present at the time.
4. The nominees are granted three weeks for seeking election to the office of President.
5. At the Annual General Body Meeting of SEDS, each and every member of SEDS (individual members + individual members of the chapter) cast 1 vote.
6.
i. In case of a tie, individual members of SEDS vote for a second round and the person who garners the larger percentage of votes among the tied individuals is declared the winner.
ii.In case, no individual member of SEDS are present at the meeting, the Presidents of the chapters vote to elect the President among the tied individuals.
7. The President-elect resigns from all other offices and elects his Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer within one week.
8. All other members of the Board of Directors are to be elected within a period of one month.
9. The tenure of the Executive Committee will be one year.
10. Within 15 days of election of the Executive Committee the information will be intimated to the Registrar of Society.
G.Vaccancies and Resignations
1. The ‘Vacancies’ arising in the Executive Committee due to resignation, death, or any other reason may be filled up by co-opting another member by the Executive Council for the unexpired period of such vacancy. Till then the President shall delegate those duties to the Vice President or any other member of Executive Committee.
2. In case of Resignation of any the Executive Committee member , the concerned person should intimate the committee well in advance ; and can resign from post only after transfer of all documents , contacts and clearance of debts if any.
H. Eligibility
1.Minimum Qualifications of the President
i. The President should have been a member of a chapter/individual member for atleast 2 years before seeking nomination for election.
ii. The President should have successfully completed 1 project and attended 1 event of SEDS at the minimum.
iii. Upon being elected President, he/she should not hold any other office in SEDS outside of the Executive Committee.
iv. He should be between the ages of 15 and 29.
v. He should not have held the office of President more than one previous term.
2. Minimum Qualifications for other posts of the Executive Committee
i. All other members of the Executive Committee should have been a member of a chapter/individual member for atleast 2 years.
ii. He/She should have successfully completed 1 project and attended 1 event of SEDS at the minimum.
iii. Upon being elected as a member of the Executive Committee, he/she should not hold any other office in SEDS outside of the Executive Committee.
I. Expulsion
Any member of the Executive Committee may be removed on the following grounds:
1. If proved that he/she has not competently fulfilled his duties.
2. If proved that he/she has been indulging illegal/unlawful activities or activities detrimental to the organisation.
3. If proved that he/she has been using the name of the organisation for personal profit or favour.
4. If proved that he/she has not been accountable (refer to section 4D) for his/her activities.
J. Miscellaneous
1.A report of annual list of Executive body from the date of formation of the SEDS or from the date of last amendment is to be maintained.
[Name , Age, Designation ,Occupation ,Address and Signature ]
2. All record and documnets are to be transferred to the newly elected Executive Committee.
3. The Executive Committee ordinarily meets once every calendar month or as frequently as necessary at the discretion of the Secretary.
K. Disputes
Any complaint received against the member of an Executive Committe shall be dealt with in the following manner:
1. A Committee is to be setup with atleast 2 other members from the Executive Committee, two members from Council of Chapters, two members from the Advisory Board and one individual member.
2. The Committee shall hear the complaint and the defence provided by the accused.
3. The Committee shall decide by unanimous vote. Failing to obtain a unanimous vote, the Committee may vote with a majority of two-thirds the number of members in the Committee.
4. The accused may appeal against the hearing within a period of one week. On appeal, the decision will be heard by the Council of Chapters and the Advisory Board. The decision of this body shall be final and binding.
VI. Council of Chapters
A ‘Council of Chapters’ will assist the Executive Committee in implementation of the decisions taken by the Executive Committee.
1. The council of chapters will comprise of all the Vice Presidents of the various chapters.
2. The Council shall report to the Secretary, SEDS.
3. The suggestions of the council shall be enlisted and decide upon by the Executive council.
4. The decisions/action plans by the Executive council will be put forth before the Council of chapters for a review and their feasibility in their respective chapters
5. The feasibility of a new project or an event suggested by the Executive Committee in each of the chapter and their requirements to carry out the action plans shall be put forth by the Council at the earliest.
VII. Annual General Body Meeting
1. Intimation of the General/ Special General body meeting with the Specific Agenda, Date and Venue along with acknowledgement from the committee members shall be done by Secretary, SEDS-India.
2. The Secretary shall notify the date of holding the meeting at least 15 days in advance of the date of the meeting
3. Representation of at least one executive committee member from each chapter is a must for the Annual General Body meeting (held during the SEDS-India National Conference )
4. Each Chapter Head shall submit a report of all events, projects and initiatives undertaken by the respective chapter in the meeting.
5. In case of Voting , each chapter can exercise only one vote i.e one vote per chapter.
6. Any SEDS-India chapter wanting to host the Annual Conference shall put forth a letter of intent for the same and a feasibility report for conducting the Conference, during the meeting. The final decision will be taken by the Executive Committee.
7.Minutes of the meeting should consist of total members on the date of Meeting , the number and their signatures
8.The audited annual accounts of the preceding year , report on the previous activities and appointment of an auditor to audit the accounts will be approved in the meeting.
9.The election of the President and the Executive Committee is held as elaborated in section 5. F.
VIII. Board of Advisors
A. Structure
The Board of Advisors will comprise of:
1. Atleast two members from the teaching faculty of a SEDS chapter.
2. Atleast three members of repute from the space sciences community in India.
3. Atleast two members from the alumni.
B.Functions
The function of the Board of Advisors is to advise the Executive Committee on matters of interest, concern ,matters of practical implementation and encouragement. Such advice is advisory in nature and left to discretion of Executive Committee with majority decision.
C. Terms
The terms of the Board of Advisors is not fixed and depends on the unanimous decision of the Executive Committee.
D. Reimbursements
This is a purely honorary body and no reimbursements other than travel and accommodation expenses for SEDS events shall be borne by SEDS, if applicable.
IX. Finances
A. Accounts
1. The Accounting Year is the period commencing from September to September of every year unless otherwise decided by the unanimous vote of the Executive
Committee
2. The Treasurer, SEDS in correspondence with the treasurer shall keep all accounts of the membership fees and the affiliation fees from each chapter.
3. All transactions are to be made in the form of Demand Drafts (DD) only.
4. Half-early accounts (Balance sheet) should be submitted by each chapter to Treasurer, SEDS-India.
5. A copy of all accounts should be duplicated to the Secretary, SEDS-India.
6. An Auditor appointed annually with remuneration as fixed by the Executive Council shall be responsible for checking the account books and for certifying the accuracy of receipts and expenditure.
7. The audit report of each year has to be maintained by the Treasurer, SEDS-India.
8. A copy of the audit report of the preceding year (along with the list of the new executive committee members) shall be presented before the Registrar.
B. Bank
1. The Society shall maintain a bank account with a bank which has been in service for atleast 15 years and has the recognition of the Reserve Bank of India. It should also be a bank with sound accounting practises.
2. The Treasurer and the President/Secretary shall be signatories for the bank account.
3. The Treasurer will ensure that all requirements as required by the Bank are fulfilled.
C. Sources of Income
The Society shall be run with money raised from the following sources:
1. Chapter Affiliation Fees
2. Membership Fees
3. Donations from Alumni
D. Funds
Funds shall be raised for various specific activities of the Society as per its need.
E. Investment of Funds
The Funds shall be invested only for the purpose for which the Fund was formed. The Treasurer shall ensure that this is enforced. In case, lack of money requires that money from other Funds be diverted, this shall be done with a majority vote in an Executive Committee meeting.
F. Audit
The Society shall audit its accounts at the end of every financial year before its presentation at the Annual General Body Meeting.
X. Working Hours of SEDS-India
Official work and business shall be transacted on all working days between 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The records will be open to the Registrar of Society or his/her nominee for inspection on any working day at an appointed time.
XI. Alteration of Memorandom
1. The policies, objectives and directives of the memorandum shall be amended only in the Annual General Body meeting.
2. The memorandum can only be amended by 2/3rd majority votes of the members.
3. The approved and amended memorandum must be attested by all members of the Executive Council.
4. Any change in the memorandum of SEDS, the Registrar shall be intimated and the alteration shall not be made effective unless confirmed by the Registrar.
XII. Alteration of the Rules
1. Alteration of the Bye laws shall be put forth in the Annual General Body meeting in the presence of both the incoming and the outgoing Executive committee. The addition, amendment or repeal of any of the bye laws can be done only if 2/3rd majority of the members present approves.
2. All alterations shall keep in view the objectives of SEDS.
3.Only clauses proposed for amendments should be shown, in the proposals. When there are no changes in clauses, it need not be shown in the proposals
4. The approved and altered bye laws must be attested by all members of the Executive Council.
5. When there is any change in the bye laws of SEDS, the Registrar shall be intimated and the alteration shall not be made effective unless confirmed by the Registrar.
6. The confirmed change in the bye–laws will come into effect from the new term and shall be intimated to all the chapters, which shall act accordingly.
XIII. Accountability
1. The reports, accounts and other documents of the Society shall be made available to public viewing on the website of the Society.
2. The contact details and address of the Society's Executive Committee shall also be made available to public during official working hours.
XIV. Legal Proceedings/Suits and execution
1. In case of legal proceedings by or against the Society, the Society shall be represented by the President or any member of the Executive Committee.
2. In case of legal proceedings by or against the Society, the Secretary shall call the meeting of the Executive Committee within 48 hours of being informed. The Executive Committee shall meet and select a suitable legal counsel who shall be present along with a member of the Executive Committee for the proceedings of the Court.
3. A Legal Proceedings Committee may be setup in case the proceedings are expected to last longer than 3 months. The Committee is to include the President, Treasurer and the Secretary.
XV. Property
All property acquired from money raised by the Society is classified as property of the Society. This Property is vested in the chapter where the Headquarters of the Society is located. The money in the Society's bank account is not defined as a property.
XVI. Dissolution
1. The Society may be dissolved only after calling an Extraordinary General Body Meeting. The vote for dissolution may be passed only with unanimous vote or by two-thirds majority.
2. All property (mentioned under section XV) is to be transferred to the Chapter which serves as the Headquarters of the Society.
3. The money remaining under account, after clearing all requirements is to be transferred either to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund or in its absence to any organisation/fund accountable to the people of India.
