Rules and Regulations for GAHS

THE GOLD AWARD HOLDERS’ SOCIETY


Rules and Regulations

ARTICLE – I

1.0 Definitions

1.1 In the interpretation of these Rules and Regulations, the following words and expressions shall have the following meanings, unless repugnant to the subject or context:

a) “Society” means “THE GOLD AWARD HOLDERS’ SOCIETY ” established as aforesaid.

b) A Member means a Member admitted under these rules.

c) The working committee means the Governing Body in whose hands the management of the affairs of the Society is vested.

d) “Governing Body” means “Governing Body” of the Society.

e) “President”, “Vice President”, “Secretary”, and “Treasurer” are the office bearers of the Society and shall mean “President”, “Vice President”, “Secretary”, and “Treasurer” respectively of the Society or shall include the persons for the time being acting in the same posts.

f) “Executive Member” means Member of the Governing Body.

1.2 In case of difficulty in ascertaining the meaning of any word or expression used in these Rules and Regulations and not interpreted anywhere in the Rules and Regulations, the opinion of the Governing Body shall be final and binding.

ARTICLE – II

2.0 Constitution

2.1 The Society shall consist of Members whose names are on the Membership Register of the Society maintained by the Secretary of the Society.

ARTICLE – III

3.0 Office

3.1 The office of the Society shall be located 86, Shahpurjat, Khelgaon Marg, New Delhi. The registered office may be shifted to any other location in Delhi as decided by the Governing Body.



ARTICLE – IV

4.0 Register of Members

4.1 There shall be a register in which the names of all Members of the Society shall be entered with their profession and address. Where applicable, to which Member is attached. The Secretary shall enter the name of the new Member in the Register and inform the fact of such entry to the Member concerned, if applicable.

4.2 Admission and Qualification for Membership

4.2.1 Organizations or individuals who believe in and are Award Holders of the International Award for Young People or The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Programme or other members of the International Award Association and are engaged in practicing the objective, principles and values of Society as defined in the Memorandum of the Society and who accept to work for achieving the objectives of the Society can become a Member of the Society after being admitted as such.

4.2.2 No political party can become the Member of the Society. However, people who are affiliated with a political party may become members as individuals.

4.2.3 The Governing Body of Society, or a committee formed by the Governing Body for this purpose, will admit Members according to working rules established from time to time by the Governing Body.

4.3 Types of Memberships

4.3.1 There shall be two types of annual memberships: organizational and individual.

4.4 Membership Fees

4.4.1 Members shall contribute a membership fee to the Society either (a) on an annual basis or (b) on lifetime basis, the amount to be decided by the Governing Body from time to time. Initial membership fees are as follows:

Fee :

INITIAL FEE (individual members) Rs 1000/-

ANNUAL

Individual Rs.500/-

Organisation Rs.25,000/-

LIFETIME FEE (individuals only) Rs 10,000/-

Benefits of membership are the same for all categories.



4.5 Termination of Membership

4.5.1 The membership of any Member may be terminated if the Governing Body is of the opinion that the Member has been guilty of a deliberate violation of the objectives of the Society and/or is not taking sustained interest in the Society affairs. The membership of any Member may thus be terminated by two-thirds of the Members present at any meeting of the Governing Body provided notice of such intention has been included in the agenda of meeting and sufficient notice and opportunity has been given to the concerned Member to clarify the concern over membership.

4.5.2 A person shall cease to be a Member of the Society if his / her name is removed from the register. The name of the person shall be removed from the register by the Governing Body:

a) On his / her death,

b) On his / her resignation. The resignation of any Member from the Society shall be in writing addressed to the Secretary and shall be accepted by the Governing Body provided one has paid up all his/ her dues to the Society, or

c) If her/ his subscription are in arrears for two years and she / he has not paid in spite of a final notice regarding his / her dues from the Secretary or Treasurer.

4.5.3 The membership of any Member may be terminated for other reasons, which the Governing Body may deem sufficient by votes of not less than two thirds of the Members thereof present at a special meeting called for this purpose. The Member concerned shall have a right to explain his / her conduct and the Secretary shall acquaint all the Members of the Governing Body with his / her explanation. One shall have the right to appeal to the General Assembly, if one so desires, but in this case one must inform the Secretary of one’s desire to do so within a month of the receipt of the decision of the Governing Body.

4.6 Rights and Privileges of Members

4.6.1 Each Member shall have the right:

a) To attend the General Assembly of the Society and to vote on all issues before the General Assembly.

b) To work actively to fulfill the objectives of the Society and to make its programme effective.

c) To attend the General Assembly and Governing Body meetings of the Society.

d) To receive minutes of General Assembly meetings.

e) To receive a copy of the statement of accounts, reports and journal of the Society as per Rules and Regulations of the Society.

f) To use the Society’s library room, if any, set apart for the purpose, and to avail themselves of other services provided to the members from time to time,

g) To attend and take part in scientific meetings, lectures and demonstrations of the Society.

h) To enjoy such other privileges of membership as may from time to time be conferred on Members by Rules and Regulations of the Society.



4.7 Responsibilities of the Members

4.7.1 A Member whose name has been entered in Register is obliged to accept the Rules and Regulations of the Society and follow them. No one shall be absolved on the plea that he/she has not received a copy of the Rules and Regulations of the Society.

ARTICLE – V

5.0 Subscription

5.1 All Members of the Society shall pay their annual membership subscriptions to the Treasurer of the Society.

ARTICLE – VI

6.0 Affiliation with other Societies or Bodies

6.1 The Society may affiliate or be affiliated with any other foreign or international organizations engaged in the promotion of the objects of the society.

ARTICLE – VII

7.0 General Assembly

7.1 The General Assembly of the Society consists of:

a) All the Members of the Governing Body,

b) All organizational Members,

c) All individual Members.

7.2 The General Assembly will meet once a year for transacting the following business:

a) To receive and approve the report of the work done during the year.

b) To suggest future programmes and establish programme priorities.

c) To elect the Governing Body of the Society, once every three years.

d) To consider, approve and adopt audited statement.

e) To adopt or amend the Rules and Regulations of the Society whenever necessary.



ARTICLE – VIII

8.0 Calling of the Annual General Assembly Meeting

The General Assembly shall meet ordinarily once a year and the gap between two meetings should not be more than 18 months. The Governing Body decides the place and time of the General Assembly meetings.

8.1 The Annual General Assembly Meeting shall be held every year and the date and venue shall be proposed and decided by the Governing Body.

8.1.1 Notice and agenda of the General Assembly Meeting and copies of the minutes of the proceeding of the last Annual General Assembly Meeting shall be sent by the Secretary to all Members of the Society at least 21 days before the meeting.

8.1.2 Any Member may on giving 60 days notice or less if the matter is one of urgency, submit any resolution to the General Assembly Meeting. The resolution shall be first considered by the Governing Body after which the Secretary shall put the resolution before the General Assembly Meeting for its consideration with the comments of the Governing Body, if any.

8.1.3 The General Assembly Meeting shall be presided over by the President, in his/her absence by a person elected at the meeting for the occasion.

8.1.4 The Governing Body shall have power to fix or change the date and venue of the Annual General Assembly Meeting of the Society.

8.1.5 Business to be Transacted- The business to be transacted at the Annual General Assembly Meeting shall be taken up in the following order:

a) Condolence resolution, if any.

b) Confirmation of the minutes of the proceeding of the last Annual General Assembly Meeting and Extra-Ordinary General Assembly Meeting, if any.

c) Reading and adoption of the Secretary’s Report.

d) Reading and adoption of the Treasurer’s Report, and a statement of audited accounts.

e) Election of office-bearers and Executive Members of the Governing Body in place of retiring Members.

f) Appointment of Auditor.

g) Amendment of Rules and Regulations, if any.

h) Resolution from Members.

i) Any other business with the permission of the Chair.

8.1.6 The proceedings of the General Assembly Meeting shall be regulated according to the Rules and Regulations of the Society. Unless otherwise determined by the Rules, every question submitted to the General Assembly Meeting shall be decided by show of hands and in case of equality of votes the person presiding shall have and exercise a second or casting vote.

8.1.7 The minutes of proceedings of the General Assembly Meeting shall be recorded in a book kept for the purpose and shall be signed by the President of the meeting.

8.2 Quorum – The quorum of the General Assembly Meeting shall be 25 Members of the Society in India. The Annual General Assembly Meeting shall be dissolved if a quorum is not present even after being adjourned for a period not exceeding half-an-hour and agenda items relating to election of office Bearers and Executive Members of the Governing Body and appointment of Auditor as provided under the Regulations, mentioned in the notice but not taken up and / or considered at the Annual General Assembly Meeting for absence of quorum shall be deemed to have been added to the Agenda of the Annual Meeting of the Governing Body and shall be considered at a session to be held after the Annual General Assembly Meeting.

8.3 Voting - Each Individual and Organizational Member shall have one vote. In case of equality of votes, the President shall have the right of casting a vote.

ARTICLE – IX

9.0 Extra – Ordinary General Assembly Meeting

9.1 An Extra-Ordinary General Assembly Meeting may be called at any time of the year on the requisition of the Governing Body or 25% of the Members of the Society.

a) Nothing except the business for which it is called shall be discussed at this meeting.

b) At least ten days’ notice of the meeting with the Agenda shall be given to the Members.

c) The quorum for the meeting shall be 15% of the Member of the Society.

d) If within half an hour from the appointed time a quorum is not present at the meeting called on the requisition of the Members it shall be dissolved. But in any other case, it will stand adjourned to the next day at the same time and at the same place as previously fixed, and at this meeting, the Members present whatever be their number shall form the quorum and carry on the business.





ARTICLE – X

10.0 Governing Body

The Governing Body is the Body in whose hands the affairs of the Society are vested between General Assembly meetings.

10.1 Composition

10.1.1 The Governing Body of the Society shall be composed of the minimum of four Office Bearers and five Regional representatives and maximum it shall not be more than nine

10.3 Meeting of the Governing Body

10.3.1 The meetings of the Governing Body shall be of three kinds:

a) The Ordinary Meeting shall be held at least four times a year.

b) The Special Meeting shall be held as often as necessary.

c) A requisition meeting shall be called within 4 weeks from the date of receipt of a requisition signed by at least 2 Members of the Governing Body stating the business for which the requisition meeting is required.

d) The Secretary with the permission of the President can requisition an Extra Ordinary Meeting of the Governing Body for which at least 10 days notice shall be circulated to all Members of the Governing Body. In the event of urgent work, resolutions can be circulated among Governing Body Members and it will have the same effect of Governing Body decision, but will need to be ratified in the next Governing Body Meetings.

10.3.2 Notice – At least 10 days notice specifying the place, date and time and the agenda of business to be transacted at the Ordinary or Special Meeting shall be given to each Member of the Governing Body.

10.4 Quorum

1.4.1 One third of the Members of the Governing Body shall constitute the quorum for the meetings. In the event of lack of quorum, the meeting will be adjourned and will meet again after one hour at the same venue. The decisions taken in such an adjourned meeting will be considered as valid as taken in a regular meeting with quorum present.

1.4.2 Quorum for requisition meeting shall be at least two requisitioners present at the meeting.

10.5 Procedure

10.5.1 Nothing except the business for which it is called shall be discussed at a requisition meeting.

10.5.2 For requisition meetings, if within an hour from the appointed time a quorum is not present the meeting if convened on the requisition of Members shall be dissolved. In normal circumstances, it shall stand adjourned for one hour same day and at the same place as previously fixed and at this meeting the Members present, whatever their number may be, shall form the quorum and carry on the business. The Governing Body may meet for the transaction of business, adjourn and otherwise regulate its meeting and proceedings, as it thinks fit. A meeting of the Governing Body at which a quorum is present shall be competent to exercise all or any of the functions of the Governing Body. The agenda for a Governing Body meeting shall be circulated to all of its Members at least 10 days before the meeting. In case any Member of the Governing Body is unable to be present she / he shall intimate to the Secretary his / her comments in writing on each subject in the agenda, which shall be read at the Governing Body meeting. All questions arising at any time of the meeting of the Governing Body shall be determined by majority of the votes. In addition to the votes of Members present and voting, the written comments of the absentee Members shall be considered as voting by proxy where applicable. In every case of equality of votes the President shall have and exercise a second or casting vote.

10.5.3 Every meeting of the Governing Body shall be presided over by the President or in the absence of the President by the Vice-President, and in the absence of both the President and the Vice-President, by a Member chosen at the meeting to preside on the occasion.

10.6 Voting

10.6.1 Each Governing Board Member shall have one vote. In case of equality of votes, the President shall have the right of casting a vote.

10.7 Filling up of Vacancies

10.7.1 The Governing Body shall have power to fill vacancies occurring in its Members, during its terms of office. Such Members shall hold office only for the remaining period.

10.7.2 Under normal circumstances, an office-bearer shall give one month’s notice of his / her desire to resign.

10.7.3 Office-bearers must inform the President and Secretary if they are unable to serve for any length of time, in such a case alternative arrangements will be made by the Secretary with the approval of the president. A Member of the Governing Body or sub-committee or an Office-bearer shall be considered as “unable to serve” if she/ he intends to or has resided outside the country continuously for six months or more.

10.8 Term of Office of the Governing Body

10.8.1 Each Member of the Governing Body shall be elected for a term of 3 years at a General Assembly meeting.

10.8.2 Office bearers shall not hold any political post during their tenure as office bearers and if they are elected to a political post, then they shall leave the post as office bearer of the Society. However they may remain as Member of Governing Body.

ARTICLE – XI

11.0 Power & Functions of Governing Body

The Governing Body will consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Society and other Regional Executive Members.

11.1 Power and Functions of the Governing Body

11.1.1 The Governing Body shall be entitled to act with authority of the Society in the furtherance of the aims and objects of the Society and transaction of any business or financial matters that may arise except in respect of acts specially reserved to be done by the Society at a General Assembly Meeting or any business as provided under the Rules & Regulations.

11.1.2 The Governing Body shall have the power to appoint sub-committees and fix their terms of reference as and when necessary. Any such sub-committee may co-opt as Members thereof, such persons who have experience in matters to be dealt with by it. Any Member of the Society may be co-opted as Member of a sub-committee. The Chairman of each sub-committee shall be elected by the Governing Body for a period of two years. The Members of the sub-committee shall also serve a term of two years.

11.1.3 The Governing Body may meet for the transaction of business, adjourn and otherwise regulate its meetings and proceedings as it think fit. A meeting of the Governing Body at which a quorum is present shall be competent to exercise all or any of the functions of the Governing Body. All questions arising at any time of the Governing Body meeting shall be determined by majority of votes. In every case of equality of votes the President shall have and exercise a second or casting vote.

11.1.4 The Governing Body shall have power to constitute a Tribunal.

11.1.5 The Governing Body shall do supervision of conferences and take decision about its activities.

11.1.6 The Governing Body shall plan and implement programmes and campaigns, publication of newsletters etc.

11.1.7 The Governing Body shall have power to write off the whole or a part or the arrears against any Member.

11.1.8 The Governing Body shall be competent to act in spite of any vacancy.

11.1.9 The Governing Body shall have power to appoint or remove employees of the Society.

11.1.10 Besides above-mentioned functions, the Governing Body shall have the following functions as well:

a) Preparation of the Society’s annual budget.

b) Preparation of the annual work plan of the Society.

c) Ensuring the effective management of the Society.

d) Ongoing and effective supervision of the finances of the Society in conformity with the budget.

e) Make decisions on the representation of the Society on the occasion of external meetings and events.

f) Polling the Governing Body to determine the various lobbying positions when issues arise between Governing Body meetings.

g) Approve the Society’s annual report.

h) Appoint the Society’s auditor.

i) Pass the Society’s audited accounts.

j) Establish overall policies for the working of the Society.

k) Be responsible for overall vision and thrust of the Society.

l) Determine the various lobbying positions and adopt policy statements and position papers.

m) Delegate its powers to the Executive Director, whenever necessary.

ARTICLE – XII

12.0 Office Bearers of the Society

12.1 Office Bearers Defined

12.1.1 The office bearers of the Society are a) President, b) Vice President, c) Secretary and d) Treasurer.

12.1.2 The Executive responsibility of the Governing Body rests with the office bearers.

12.2 Power and Duties of the President

a) The President shall hold office for three years.

b) She / he shall be the Chairperson of all the General Assembly, Extra-Ordinary and Governing Body meetings and, when appointed, of any other Committee.

c) She / he shall have a casting vote in case of equality of votes in addition to his / her own ordinary vote.

d) She / he shall regulate the proceedings of the meetings and conferences and interpret Rules and Regulations and decide doubtful points at issue.

e) She / he shall preserve the order and shall decide on all points of order at or in connection with the meeting. There shall be no discussion on any point of order and the decision of the President shall be final.

f) She / he shall be ex-officio Member of all sub-committees.

g) She / he shall be consulted on all important matters concerning the affairs of the Society.

h) She / he shall be the leader of any delegation of which she / he is a Member.

i) She / he shall be guiding the other office bearers in the discharge of their duties.

j) She / he shall be providing overall leadership to the programmes and activities of the Society.

k) She / he can call a meeting if she/he sees the need.

12.3 The Vice-President

a) The Vice-President shall hold office for three years.

b) She / he shall preside at all meetings in the absence of the President and shall have all the powers of the President on that occasion.

12.4 Power and Duties of Treasurer

12.4.1 The Treasurer will be responsible:

a) To hold the office for three years.

b) To receive or cause to receive and disburse or cause to disburse amounts and to incur expenditure as per budget approved by the Governing Body.

c) To submit financial records before related and required authorities to fulfill statutory obligations.

d) To monitor and observe the operation of the bank account.

e) To provide leadership for collection of subscriptions and donations from Members and well-wishers of the Society and raising of funds for work to achieve the objectives of the Society.

f) To sign the receipts and prepare statement of receipt and expenditure of the Society duly audited by an auditor each year and shall present the same and the Balance Sheet at the Annual General Assembly Meeting.

g) To have power to make payments not exceeding Rs. 10,000/- without consent of the President.

h) To open an account with an international / national bank approved by the Governing Body and shall have the authority to operate this account for the expense of the Society.

i) On retiring she / he shall hand over cash, account books and other papers and documents connected with works of the Treasurer of the Society to the newly elected Treasurer within three weeks after the election.

12.5 Power and Duties of the Secretary

a) To assist the President and the Treasurer in all the work of the Society related to the programmes and activities that fulfill the objectives of the Society.

b) To keep records of the proceedings of meetings of General Assembly and of the Governing Body.

c) To maintain a list of Members of the Society and data pertaining to their activities.

d) To do all correspondence, for and on behalf of the Society and to have custody of records, files, etc. of the Society or she / he may authorize someone to undertake the same.

e) To carry on the day-to-day work of the Society at the headquarters and to have superintendence over the office and its staff.

f) Shall be in charge of the office of the Society.

g) Shall have general supervision over accounts and pass all bills for payment or she / he may authorize someone to undertake the same.

h) To prepare the annual report and submit it to the Governing Body.

i) To publish bulletins, magazines and other literature in order to achieve the objectives of the Society as directed by the Governing Body.

j) To submit records before the Registrar or any other authority and fulfill all statutory obligations.

k) To execute various programmes and activities to promote the objectives of the Society as decided by the Governing Body.

l) Shall organize, arrange and convene meetings, conferences lectures and demonstrations etc.

m) Shall attend meetings of the Society and keep proceedings thereof.

n) Shall be ex-officio Member of all sub-committees.

o) Shall bring any matter which she / he considers necessary in the interest of the Society to the notice of the Governing Body for guidance and decision.

p) On retiring she / he shall hand over the properties, books etc. to the newly elected Secretary within three weeks after the election.

ARTICLE – XIII

13.0 Source and Utilization of Funds

13.1 Society shall raise its funds through several ways, including membership fees, grants, contributions and donations from Members; service charges and distribution of publications; grants, contributions and donations from Government and other bodies both within the country and abroad. All income shall be utilized for attaining aims and objectives of Society.

13.2 Income – The funds or income of the Society shall be derived from the following sources: -

a) Subscription, paid to the Society by its Members.

b) Donations.

c) Advertisement in the Journal or any other publication of the Society.

d) Proceeds from the sale of periodicals or books and such other property as may be acquired from time to time.

e) Interest on Savings Bank and Fixed Deposit Accounts.

f) Contribution/grants from Government or Local Bodies.

g) Projects done from time to time for UN and international agencies and transnational corporations, government of India, national organizations and corporations/companies and international donors/funders.

13.3 Expenditure – The Governing Body shall, out of the funds of the Society defray all expenses including rents; salaries, wages and such other charges as may be necessary for carrying on the Society.

ARTICLE – XIV

14.0 Financial Year

14.1 The year of the Society for financial purpose shall be 1st April to 31st March of the next calendar year and for any other purpose, the period between two consecutive Annual General Assembly Meetings shall be considered as “one year”.

ARTICLE – XV

15.0 Appointment of Auditor

15.1 A competent Auditor shall be appointed every year for auditing the accounts of the Society and whose duties shall be as follows: -

a) Shall audit the accounts at the end of each year and shall certify their correctness.

b) Shall give suggestions for the keeping of accounts as required.

ARTICLE – XVI

16.0 Audit of Accounts

16.1 The Society shall maintain proper accounts and other relevant records and prepare an annual statement of accounts in such form as may be statutorily prescribed by the Registrar of Society and maintained as per law.

16.2 A firm of Chartered Accountants to be appointed by the Governing Body shall audit the accounts of the Society annually.

16.3 The audited statement of accounts together with the audit report will be placed before the General Assembly with the recommendations of the Governing Body.

ARTICLE – XVII

17.0 Operation of Bank Account

17.1 The Society Bank Account shall be operated jointly by two Members of the Governing Body one of who has to be the Treasurer, or any other persons whom the Governing Body may nominate.

ARTICLE – XVIII

18.0 Annual List of Members

18.1 Once in every year a list of the office-bearers and Members of the Society shall be filed with the Registrar of Societies, Delhi as required under Section 4 of the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

ARTICLE – XIX

19.0 Legal Proceedings

19.1 The Society may sue or be sued in the name of the Secretary as per provisions laid down under Section 6 of the Societies Registration Act, 1860, as applicable to the National Capital Territory of Delhi.



ARTICLE – XX

20.0 Amendment to Memorandum, Rules and Regulations

20.1 Any amendment to the these Rules and Regulations will be carried out in accordance with procedure laid down under Section 12 and 12 A of the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

20.2 The Rules and Regulations of the Society can be altered at any General Assembly meeting of the Society by a two-third vote of the Members present at such meeting, provided the proposed amendments form part of the agenda and are circulated amongst Members at least 21 days before the meeting at which such amendments are to be considered.

ARTICLE – XXI

21.0 Dissolution and Adjustment of Affairs

21.1 If the Society needs to be dissolved, it shall be dissolved as per provision laid down under Section 13 and 14 of the Societies Registration Act, (21 of 1860), as applicable to the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

21.2 The Society may be dissolved by the decision of at least 2/3rd of the Members of the Society in a General Assembly Meeting convened for the same purpose.

21.3 On dissolution of the Society, if any property remains after satisfying all debts and liabilities of the Society, it shall not be divided among the Members of the General Assembly or the Governing Body, but shall be transferred to some other Society having similar objectives according to the provisions of 13 and 14 of the Societies Registration Act (21 of 1860).

ARTICLE – XXII

22.0 Interpretation of these Rules

22.1 In matters of dispute, or differences arising out of interpretation of these rules, the interpretation provided by the Governing Body shall be final.

ARTICLE – XXIII

23.0 Application of the Act

23.1 All the provisions under all the Sections of the Societies Registration Act, 21 of 1860, as applicable to the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall apply to the Society.

ARTICLE – XXIV

24.0 Essential Certificate

24.1 Certified that this is the correct copy of the Rules and Regulations of the Society.