Statutes

Approved in revised form by the Fellowship in 1976.

I. MEMBERSHIP

1. The Academy shall consist of Fellows and Honorary Fellows. Arecord shall be maintained in the Office of the Academy of their names, the dates of their election, and their signatures in token of formal admission to the Academy.

Fellows

2. The Council shall from time to time regulate the size of the Fellowship keeping the General Body informed of any changes; and not more than 35 Fellows shall normally be elected each year.

Honorary Fellows

3. Honorary Fellows are persons who have been elected as such by the Academy by reason of their distinguished contributions to science.

4. There shall be not more than sixty Honorary Fellows at any time and not more than three shall be elected in any one year. Scientists of all nations are eligible for election as Honorary Fellows.

II. FINANCES AND RESOURCES

Fees

(Amendment approved in 2014)

5. Every Fellow shall, on admission, pay an admission fee of Rs100 and a life composition fee of Rs 2,500 as a single sum totaling Rs 2,600. This should be paid within three months of the date of their admission. Only Fellows who have paid their dues within the prescribed period will be considered as in good standing.

6. Fellows who have paid life composition before the revised Statutes came into force in May 1977 will continue to enjoy all privileges without any further payment.

Subventions

7. The Academy may accept annual grants from the Central and State Governments, Corporate Bodies, Industrial and Commercial Organisations, Universities and other Bodies.

Donations

8. The Academy may accept donations from Central and State Governments, Corporate Bodies, Industrial Organisations, Universities and individuals interested in promoting scientific advancement.

Subscriptions

9. Subscriptions or proceeds realised from the sale of the Academy's publications shall form a source of revenue.

III. LOCATION

10. The Office of the Academy shall be located at its premises in Bengaluru.

IV. MANAGEMENT OF AFFAIRS

11. The affairs and property of the Academy shall be administered by a Council of 20, consisting of the President, four Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer, two Secretaries, and twelve other members. The Council shall be elected by the Fellows triennially.

V. ELECTIONS

12. Election to the Fellowship, to the Honorary Fellowship and to the Council of the Academy shall be by postal ballot, the procedure for such ballot being as stated below. The Council may, however, in its discretion make such changes in it and in the calendar of dates, as it deems fit from time to time. No procedural irregularity not affecting the merits shall vitiate any election or proceedings.

Fellows

13. Nomination papers for the Fellowship shall be received at the Office of the Academy by the 31st day of May of each year.

14. Every candidate for Fellowship shall be proposed and recommended by two Fellows in good standing, one of whom shall undertake the responsibility of acting as proposer and the other one as seconder respectively, in so far that all communications on the subject of the candidature shall take place with one of these. The proposal, which will be in the prescribed form, shall specify the name, position, qualifications and usual place of residence of the candidate. It shall also include a statement by the proposer setting out the discovery, invention or other outstanding contributions to knowledge made by the candidate. A list of the scientific publications by the candidate may also be sent as a separate statement attached to this form. The form shall bear the signatures of the proposer and seconder. It will, however, be open to any Fellow to indicate his support of the candidate by writing directly to the Office of the Academy by the 31st of May. The proposer shall be responsible for informing the candidate of the obligation to be subscribed to and of the payments to be made to the Academy on being admitted as a Fellow.

15. A consolidated list of candidates whose nomination papers are in order, as also of the candidates nominated but not elected in the two preceding years, shall be prepared by the Office of the Academy, the names being arranged in alphabetical order, and sent to the Fellows before the second week of November, together with a brief account of the qualifications of the candidates.

16. The list of nominations shall be considered by the Council at a meeting held for the purpose and the Council shall recommend for election names of not more than 35 candidates from the list. The names recommended by the Council for election shall be sent in a balloting paper to all the Fellows, by the second week of December. Any Fellow is at liberty to delete from the balloting list any of the names recommended by the Council. He may also substitute for the names thus deleted any other names from the list of valid nominations circulated to the Fellows previously. The balloting paper shall be returned duly signed by the Fellow indicating his choice, in the addressed envelope accompanying the balloting paper, so as to reach the Office of the Academy by the 31st day of December.

17. Two Fellows of the Academy shall be appointed by the President as scrutators; they shall open the envelopes containing the balloting papers and report the results of the ballot to the President. Every person, whose name has been validly voted for in the majority of the balloting papers received by the Academy before the appointed date, will be declared by the President to have been elected.

18. Every Fellow thus elected shall be informed in a written communication of his election and the Fellow shall within three months of receiving the communication, return the undermentioned obligation form duly signed by him, together with the admission fee and the annual fee. Failure to do so will entail the invalidation of his election. The Council shall, however, have power to condone the default and admit him to the Fellowship if he pays his admission fee and the first annual fee before the end of the calendar year in which his election was communicated to him.

Form of Obligation

`I who have hereunto subscribed do hereby promise for myself that I will endeavour to promote the cause, the aims and objects of the Indian Academy of Sciences for which it is founded; that I will be present at the meetings of the Academy as often as I can, especially at the Annual General Meetings and at Emergency Meetings; and that I will observe the statutes, rules and standing orders of the said Academy.'

19. No candidate who is elected shall be regarded as a Fellow or be entitled to exercise the rights and privileges of Fellowship until he has paid his admission fee and his first annual fee, and until he has signed and returned the obligation form.

Honorary Fellows

20. Any Fellow in good standing may propose any person distinguished for his contributions to science for election as an Honorary Fellow. The proposal shall be in writing accompanied by a statement of facts supporting the proposal and it shall be received in the Office of the Academy not later than the 15th day of October.

21. These names shall be added to the list of previous proposals maintained in the Office of the Academy, provided that a nomination shall lapse at the expiry of three years from the date of nomination and the name thereof shall be deleted from the list. The list will be open for inspection by the Fellows. From this list the Council shall select and recommend not more than three persons subject to the total of 60 specified in Statute 4 for election as Honorary Fellows of the Academy in that year. A balloting paper containing the names thus selected and recommended shall be sent to all the Fellows by the second week of December. It shall be returned duly signed by the Fellow, indicating his choice, in the addressed envelope accompanying the balloting paper to the Office of the Academy by the 31st day of December. Any Fellow may, if he so desires, delete any of the reommended names from the balloting list. The rest of the voting procedures shall, as far as may, be the same as in the case of the election of Fellows.

The Council

22. During the year in which elections to the Council become due, that fact shall be notified to the Fellows by the Secretary concerned, by the 31st day of August of that year and nominations invited from them in the prescribed form. Nominations for the President and other members of the Council shall be filed not later than the 15th day of October.

23. The list of nominations shall be considered by the Council at a meeting held for the purpose. The President and the Council shall then select not more than 15 from among the existing Council members and not less than 5 Fellows who have not been members of the existing Council, and recommend them to the Fellows for election to the Council for the ensuing triennium. The President and the Council shall also in like manner select, out of the proposed Council, the persons whom they recommend to the Fellows, for election to the offices of the President and the Vice-Presidents for the ensuing triennium. The list of candidates thus recommended by the Council shall be printed in a balloting paper and sent to all the Fellows by the second week of December.

24. The balloting paper shall be returned by the Fellows indicating their choice duly signed to the Office of the Academy, by the 31st day of December. Any Fellow may, if he so desires, delete any of the recommended names from the balloting list. The rest of the procedure laid down for the election of Fellows shall, as far as may, apply to the election of the Council.

25. Any casual vacancies that may occur in the Council during a triennium, either due to death, resignation or other causes, may be filled by the President from amongst the Fellows for the rest of the term of office.

26. If a vacancy arises in the office of the President, one of the Vice-Presidents in consultation with the other Vice-Presidents shall, as soon as possible, and in any case not later than three months of the vacancy occurring, cause the Council to be summoned for the election of a new President. The Council thereupon shall proceed to elect a new President.

27. Any vacancy occurring in the office of Vice-Presidents, Secretaries or the Treasurer shall be filled by the President from amongst the Fellows for the rest of the term of office.

VI. THE PRESIDENT

28. The President shall be the Chairman of the Council; he shall also be the Chairman of all General Meetings of the Academy. The President shall be in administrative charge of the Academy, its properties and affairs subject to the provisions of Statute 37. The President elected for a triennium shall continue to hold office till a President elected for the suceeding triennium assumes charge of his office.

29. In the absence of the President, one of the Vice-Presidents nominated by him shall act as his deputy and may do all such acts as the President himself could do if present. If the President has not so nominated his deputy, the Council shall do so and the Vice-President so nominated by the Council shall act as the deputy of the President and may do all such acts as the President himself could do if present.

30. In case of doubt as to the interpretation of any of the Statutes, the President's interpretation shall hold good until the Council decides otherwise.

VII. THE VICE-PRESIDENTS

31. They shall exercise such powers as may from time to time be delegated to them either by the President or by the Council.

VIII. THE TREASURER

32. The Council shall nominate from amongst its members a Treasurer who shall be responsible to the Council for the general conduct of the Academy's finances and resources. He shall receive for the use of the Academy all sums of money due or payable to the Academy; and shall pay and disburse all sums due from or payable by the Academy; and shall keep a correct account of all receipts and payments. He may, with the approval of the President, appoint a person to carry out his duties in his absence.

33. The Treasurer shall prepare every year a list of the names of those Fellows who may be in arrears of their subscriptions for more than eight months and shall submit it for the orders of the Council at its meeting in December.

IX. THE SECRETARIES

34. The Council shall nominate from amongst its members, two Secretaries, who shall be responsible to the Council for the general conduct of the Academy's correspondence, and all other business excepting those which relate to finances. They shall also be responsible for calling meetings of the Council and General Meetings of the Academy and for the recording and reading of the Minutes of the respective bodies and for carrying out the decisions of the Council except those relating to finance. The allocation of duties and responsibilities between the two Secretaries shall be made by the President.

X. THE COUNCIL

35. All property, movable, immovable and others, belonging to the Academy shall vest in the Council and it shall have full power and authority to deal with, encumber and dispose of the same for the purpose of the Academy as it deems fit. The Council shall be entitled to exercise all such powers and do all such acts and things as the Academy is authorised to exercise and do.

XI. MEETINGS

36. Meetings of the Council shall be held at the premises of the Academy or at any other suitable place as often as may be necessary and at least two of these shall be held in the premises of the Academy in Bengaluru; one during the months of June-July; the other during the months of November-December. The latter meeting shall consider the election of new Fellows each year and members of the Council every three years. Notice of meetings of the Council shall be sent by post to the members at least two weeks in advance.

37. Seven members of the Council shall form a quorum for its meetings. If at the time announced for the commencement of a meeting the quorum is not present, then the meeting shall stand adjourned by half an hour and the meeting shall then take place, the number of members present forming the quorum for the meeting, provided that at least the President and two other members are present. All decisions shall be by a simple majority of votes. The President shall have a casting vote in the event of equality of votes. Decisions may also be taken by the Council through circulation of papers.

38. Twenty Fellows shall constitute a quorum for any General Meeting of the Academy. If at the time announced for the commencement of a meeting the quorum is not present, then the meeting shall stand adjourned by half an hour and the meeting shall then take place, the number of members present forming the quorum for the meeting, provided that at least the President and ten other Fellows are present.

39. There shall be an Annual General Meeting of the Academy at the Headquarters or at a centre to be decided by the Council, notice of which shall ordinarily be given to the Fellows one month in advance.

40. The President shall have the power to call an emergency meeting of the Fellows at the premises of the Academy in Bengaluru or at a place decided by the President. Such an emergency meeting shall be summoned by the President on a written request signed by 25 Fellows. Notice of such emergency meetings shall be sent by post to all the Fellows at least one week in advance.

41. Ordinary meetings of the Academy for the formal presentation of papers as well as special meetings for symposia and public lectures will be held from time to time at the premises of the Academy or at other centres as decided by the Council.

42. Accidental omission to issue the notice for a meeting or its non-receipt by a member shall not invalidate the meeting or its proceedings.

XII. PUBLICATIONS

43. The Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences shall be published by the Academy.

44. The Council may issue such other publications as may be deemed necessary.

45. The Council shall nominate from amongst the Fellows an Editor (or Editors) of Publications, who will be responsible to the Council for the conduct of all the publications issued by the Academy. He (they) may be invited to the Council meetings when matters relating to publications are discussed, if he (they) is (are) not a member(s) of the Council.

XIII. PRIVILEGES OF FELLOWS

46. Only Fellows in good standing shall have the following rights and privileges:
(a) to propose, recommend and vote for candidates for the Fellowship and Honorary Fellowship
(b) to vote, nominate and be nominated for election to the Council
(c) to attend and vote at all General Meetings
(d) to receive copies of the Proceedings of the Academy and other publications of the Academy free or on such terms regarding payment as the Council may from time to time decide

XIV. CESSATION OF THE FELLOWSHIP

47. Fellowship and Honorary Fellowship shall cease by death, resignation or removal.

48. When any Fellow shall have omitted to pay the subscription for two successive years, the Council shall cause a registered letter to be sent to him, directed to his last known address informing him of the amount of the sums due by him and if the dues remain unpaid for a period of six months from the date of despatch of such a letter, he is liable to be removed from membership by the Council. The Council, however, has the power to reinstate him, if all the dues are paid by him within six months of the removal.

49. If any Fellow of the Academy acts in such a manner which is in fact and in spirit derogatory and contrary to the objects of the Academy, he shall be removed from the Fellowship.

50. Whensoever there shall appear to be cause for the removal of any Fellow, the subject shall be laid before the Council; and if a majority of the Council shall, after due deliberation, recommend that the Fellow be removed, the President shall in that case, at the General Meeting of the Academy next following, announce from the chair, the recommendation by the Council; and at the General Meeting of the Academy next after that at which the said announcement has been made, the Fellows shall proceed to deliberate on the question and vote on it. If two thirds of the Fellows present have voted for the removal of the said Fellow from the Fellowship, the President shall proceed to cancel his name in the register of Fellows and such cancellation shall be effective from that date.

XV. LOCAL CENTRES

53. Local centres may be formed with the previous approval of the Council in any place where ten or more Fellows of the Academy are ordinarily resident and desire to form a local centre.

XVI. AUDITOR

54. The Council shall appoint annually an Auditor for checking the account books and for certifying the accuracy of receipts and expenditure.

XVII. STANDING ORDERS OF THE ACADEMY

53. The Council may from time to time issue Standing Orders for the regulation of the affairs of the Academy, provided that such Standing Orders be not contrary to anything contained in the Memorandum of Association and the Statutes of the Academy. Such Standing Orders may be made, amended or replaced at any meeting of the Council.

XVIII. MAKING, AMENDING AND REPEALING OF STATUTES

54. The Statutes may be added to, amended or repealed if a resolution to that effect is passed by the Fellows at a meeting specifically called for the purpose and the votes cast in favour of the resolution are not less than two times the number of votes cast against it.

54-A(i) The Academy may sue and be sued in its own name and be represented in all legal matters by the Executive Secretary. However, the President, with the approval of the Council, may authorize one or more office bearers/officials of the Academy to represent the Academy in such legal matters.

(ii) The ordinary legal original jurisdiction in respect of disputes in which the Academy is a party, shall be Bengaluru City.

(iii) It shall be lawful for the Academy to obtain consent of the concerned as regards submission to the condition of legal jurisdiction at Bengaluru City alone by way of subscription of signature of such concerned to a prescribed format in token of acceptance of the said condition before the Academy undertakes any act or function with such concerned..

(iv) It shall be lawful for the Academy to obtain consent of the concerned as regards submission to the condition of legal jurisdiction at Bengaluru City alone by way of subscription of signature of such concerned to a prescribed format in token of acceptance of the said condition before the Academy undertakes any act or function with such concerned..

XIX. DISSOLUTION

55. In the event of dissolution or winding up of the Academy, the assets remaining as on the date of dissolution shall under no circumstances be distributed among the members of the Council but shall be transferred to another society, association or institution whose objects are similar to those of this Academy.

XX. MISCELLANEOUS

56. These Statutes take effect in supersession of the pre-existing ones.