The aims and objectives for which the Society is set up are:

2.2) To maintain the highest standard in the ethics and practice in all the fields of neurological sciences.

2.3) To maintain this high standard, every endeavor shall be made to give adequate training to those who are properly qualified.

2.4) To promote and encourage research in all the fields of neurological sciences.

2.5) To receive and accept donations, gifts, grants or contributions in kind and cash from any person or persons, associations, societies, companies, authority or Government for the furtherance of the aims and objectives of the Society.

4.2) Application for "Full Membership" shall be proposed and seconded by full members of good standing and the Executive Committee shall be the authority to admit them.

4.3) The privileges of full member would be to receive journal of the society, voting and contacting for posts as per rules.

5.2) Associate Members shall be proposed and seconded by full members of good standing. The Secretary, Neurological Society of India shall be the authority to admit Associate Members.

5.3) Associate members can take part in all the activities of the Society by presentation of papers at scientific meetings, participation in discussions, or publication of papers in the journal of the Society etc. and shall have all the privileges of membership, except that they shall not have the right to vote or be office bearers of the Society.

6.2) An Honorary Member shall be proposed and seconded by full members of good standing only.
The Executive Committee will be the admitting authority to this category of membership.
The total number of Honorary Members at any given time will be limited to not more than 2% of the total full membership of the Society.

6.3) Honorary Members shall have all the privileges of membership, except those of voting and serving as office bearers. They shall be exempted from payment of any subscription.

7.2) Members who have not paid their subscription by 31st December shall be sent a registered acknowledgement due notice by the Treasurer of the Society giving them till 31st March to clear all outstanding dues. Non-payment of subscription by 31st March would result in removal of the member's name from the rolls.

7.3) Only Members, who have paid their dues by 31st March, would be eligible to vote in that calendar year. Those who have cleared dues by 31st March will cease to be a member of the society.

7.4) Members whose names have been erased from the rolls of the Society may be re-admitted only after receiving the prescribed application form and admission fee.

8.2) The executive committee shall consist of:

1. President 1
2. President Elect 1
3. Secretary 1
4. Treasurer 1
5. Members (Neurology)
6. Members (Neurosurgery)
7. Members (Allied Branches of Neurosciences)
{One EC Member would be elected for every block of 500 members of part thereof, out of the specialities of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Allied disciplines of Neurosciences.}
8. Immediate Past Presidents 2
9. Editor Neurology India 1

8.3) The President, President elect, Secretary, Treasurer & Editor shall be "Officers" of the Society.

8.4) The term of office for various executive committee members shall be as under (A year for the purpose of this proviso shall be counted from one annual general body meeting to the other)

i. President and President elect One Year
ii. Secretary, Treasurer and Executive Committee Members Three Years
iii. Immediate Past presidents Two Years
iv. Editor Six Years.

8.5) Limitation:

1. The President & President elect shall not contest for any position in the Executive Committee subsequently.
2. Members of the executive committee including office bearers of the Society would hold office for only one term in their respective offices.

9.1) Eligibility

1. Only life members can contest for any post.
2. For the post of Secretary, Treasurer & Editor a contestant should have been a full member of the society for a continuous period of 5 years.
3. For the post of President elect a contestant should have been a full member for a continuous period of 20 years.

9.2) 1. No members of E.C. can take charge of office of any post of the Society without contemplating the term of existing post.

9.2) 2. No member is eligible to contest for more than one post in the same election.

9.3) The President elect shall automatically become President in the following year. There shall be no election for the post of President.

9.4) In the event of resignation, demise or insanity of a officer of the Society, the E.C. is empowered to nominate one of its existing members to the post vacated till the following election.

9.5) Elections shall be held by postal ballot, prior to the annual conference.

9.6) The executive committee shall have the right to change the logistics of the election process in the face of exigencies or introduce byelaws for other modes of voting like electronic voting as & when required.

10.2. This committee shall go into complaints of misconduct against any member or associate member and take remedial actions including reconsidering, removal of an errant member from membership of the society, to the General Body.

i. The E.C. would have overall charge of all functions of the Society including financial, administration etc.
They can employ persons for efficient running of the Society.
It can authorize any member to open bank accounts to be operated jointly by at least one more full member with permission of EC / President NSI.
All accounts must be admitted to the Treasurer NSI for auditing.

ii. There shall be two executive committee meetings chaired by the President NSI at the venue of the conference one before and one after the Annual General Body Meeting.
There shall also be at least one executive committee meeting in the middle of the year to transact business of the Society.

iii. One third (1/3) members shall form the quorum for the executive committee meeting.

iv. There can be consultations and decision by circulation within the executive committee members for urgent matters if the President and Secretary consider it necessary and proper.

v. It is obligatory for the executive committee members to attend meetings.
Any executive committee member who does not attend two consecutive meetings without sufficient valid reasons or does not attend a single meeting during the entire year without valid reason & prior permission of EC shall be removed from the executive committee.

vi. At the request of at least 1/3rd members of EC, the President would call an emergency meeting of EC to discuss a definite agenda.

vii. In the absence of President, the President elect would preside over the EC.

11.2) GENERAL BODY MEETING (GBM)

i. There shall be at least one General Meeting of the Society chaired by the President.

ii. It shall consist of a, a) Scientific Meeting b) Business and Administrative Meeting.

iii. The Scientific Sessions would be open to all categories of members of the Society, and others, including practitioners and students of medical and allied sciences on payment of appropriate delegate fees.
Besides the presentation of papers, the Society shall try to organize special lectures/seminars/workshops and receive and implement suggestions in this regard from the General Body.

iv. The business and administrative meetings of the Society shall consist of Annual General Body Meeting at which all the members are expected to be present.
Forty percent (40%) members shall form the quorum for the Annual General Body Meeting.
If desired number of the members do not assemble the meeting would be adjourned & reconvened after 30 minutes for which no quorum is necessary.

v. If 1/4th of members present eligible to vote want a voting on any issue during GBM it would be done.

vi. No new issue except those already in circulated agenda can be discussed in GBM without giving prior notice of at least 3 weeks. The person proposing the discussion should be personally present in the GBM for the discussion.

vii. All amendments to the Constitution and Bye-laws shall be submitted to the Secretary at least 4 months before the General Body meeting, and the Secretary shall forward a copy of the same to every member at least 2 months before the meeting.
Such proposals shall be accepted if 2/3rd of the members present vote in favour of the proposals.
The Secretary shall then present the opinion on proposals communicated to him in writing by members in absentia.
A final count shall be made of the votes and proposals shall be accepted only if 2/3rd of those who have voted (either in person or in absentia) are in favour of such amendment.
Those who have not been present in person and who have also not communicated their opinion on the proposals to Secretary before the meeting shall be taken to abide by the majority decision as arrived at above.
In the event of a substantial modification being proposed to amendments discussed at the General Body Meeting, this will be considered an amendment per from the member and treated accordingly.

viii. Prizes for award winners shall be presented in AGM.

13.2) The Secretary, Neurological Society of India shall be responsible for acting legally, for and on behalf of the Society.

i. Investments & disbursements as per decisions of EC
ii. Send reminder of dues
iii. Send list of defaulting members to Secretary NSI
iv. Maintain account books\
v. all accounts audited except those related to Neurology India
vi. Ensure that all bank accounts of NSI are operated jointly with at least 2 members of NSI for withdrawals from bank.

15.2) The Editor is authorized to collect funds through advertisements to the journal & would be responsible for general administration, employment of personnel, purchase of equipment and financial administration for purposes of the journal.

15.3) The funds of Neurology India shall be, operated by the Editor and one more member of NSI co-opted by the Editor with permission of EC / President for withdrawals from bank. The audited accounts of the journal will be presented to the EC in December every year.

BYE LAWS OF NEUROLOGICAL SOCIETY OF INDIA

1. The Secretary shall open a separate bank account to be operated jointly by the Secretary & another member of the Neurological Society of India to be nominated by the EC / President NSI.

2. Financial advances may be given for conduct of business of the Society to any officer / member of NSI with the approval of the Executive Committee. The accounts will be submitted to the Treasurer NSI for final auditing.

3. A Central Office will be established as & when possible. For this purpose a building fund would be established.

4. SELECTING PAPERS FOR ANNUAL CONFERENCE

4.1. The President elect will be the Chairman, Scientific Committee. Powers may however be delegated by the Chairman, Scientific Committee to the Secretary, NSI.

4.2. The papers submitted will be sent by Chairman, Scientific Committee or his/her nominee to the concerned members of the executive committee of that speciality for their assessment.
If there is a difference in assessment the Chairman, Scientific Committee NSI or his/her nominee may use the casting vote.

4.3. The conference programme will be finalised by the Chairman, Scientific Committee, NSI or his/her nominee in consultation with the organising secretary of the annual conference.
The Chairman, Scientific Committee or his/her nominee would appoint the chairpersons for the various sessions.

5. The Secretary would send the list of delegates to the Chairman, Scientific Committee or his/her nominee for selection of judges.

6. MEMBERSHIP

6.1. All proposals for honorary membership must be sent to the Secretary before 15th April to enable the Executive Committee to consider them at the midterm meeting.
The Secretary shall inform the person concerned and get his consent for election as an honorary member.
Ordinarily not more than two honorary members should be elected in a given year.

6.2. Membership Fees:

Associate Members:
Admission Fees Rs. 600/-
3 years subscription Rs.1800/- (Renewable in 3 year blocks)

Full Members:
Admission Fees Rs. 800/-
Annual Subscription Rs.1000/-

Conversion of existing full members to life members: Rebate of 2.5% for the life membership subscription would be given for every completed year of continuous full membership.

Conversion of Associate member to full member:
Admission Fees Rs.200/-
Annual subscription as per rules.
In future full members would be admitted only as life members.

Life Members:
Admission Fees Rs.9000/- in one installment
OR
Rs.3250/- yearly in 3 installments

Postal surcharge for sending newsletter and journal for members / associate members residing abroad Rs.1000/- per year.

DD / cheque to be drawn in favour of "Neurological Society of India", payable at the city of residence of Treasurer NSI. Out station bank charges Rs.25/- to be included in the cheque.

7. C M E

7.1. CME Convenor will be appointed by EC from among EC members who are elected from the Subspecialties.
A co-convener preferably from another discipline among life members would be appointed by the EC for conducting the CME.

7.2. A separate bank account may be operated as per rules of the NSI.
The convener can raise funds for this purpose to carry out CME activities.

7.3. A mid term CME programme followed by a mini conference for 2-3 days at a venue away from the annual conference site will be held is feasible.

8. Web site

The NSI website shall be managed by a specifically designated Webmaster appointed by the EC.
The webmaster shall be a full member of at least 6 years standing who shall be in charge of collecting information, uploading and deleting items as and when necessary.
The Webmaster would be authorized to raise funds, open bank accounts, employ persons & purchase equipment.
The EC would provide guidelines for functioning.
The appointment will be for a period of 6 years.

9. JOURNAL

9.1 As and when a paper is received by the Editor he shall scrutinize it and submit it to at least one other member of the Editorial Board, for critical and confidential comments.
If the paper pertains to the subject outside the Editor's field of interest he shall call upon other referees either from the Editorial Board or from the members of the Society.
Notice of vacancy of post would be printed by Secretary NSI in the newsletter.
If one of the reviewers recommends publication and the other does not, the Editor shall refer the paper to a 3rd referee for an independent opinion.

9.2 In the event of modifications of alteration being suggested by one or both reviewers, the Editor shall communicate the appropriate unsigned comments on the paper to the author for action. If both the referees find the paper unsuitable for publication even with modification, the Editor shall inform the author accordingly.

9.3 If any member residing overseas wants the journal to be sent by air, a surcharge of air postage prevalent at the time would be additionally charged. Any member resident in India going abroad for one year or more shall pay overseas postage surcharge as per rules.

9.4 The Executive Committee would obtain the concurrence of the general body if the amount paid by the Society, to the Editor, for bringing out the journal is to be altered.

10. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

All past presidents shall be invited for the EC Meeting as observes they are not eligible for TA & DA. They shall have no voting rights.

11. ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS / EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

11.1. Election by postal ballot: Canvassing or soliciting votes or casting on other candidates would debar from election. President NSI will be the returning officer for the election.

11.2. Schedule of events for election:

30 April Treasurer notifies Secretary NSI of list of eligible members who can vote.
1 July Secretary NSI notifies vacancies in Newsletter & invites nominations duly proposed & seconded by full members of good standing along with consent of candidate with brief biodata in prescribed format.
1 October Candidates to be informed & withdrawals if any invited
22 October Last date for withdrawal of candidature.
10 November Dispatch of ballot papers by UPC by returning officer.
5 December Last date for receipt of ballot papers by returning officer.
December In the first EC meeting during the annual conference the returning officer & one other member of EC to be nominated by President NSI to count votes.

The returning officer will declare results of election to the EC.

12. CONFERENCES

12.1. The annual conference of NSI conference would normally; be from 16th to 19th December with a flexibility of 2 or 3 days with permission of the EC.

12.2. The EC would decide location of the conference by inviting bids on prescribed form 2 years in advance.

12.3. In case an Annual Conference has to be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances the Executive committee is empowered to select a suitable date for the same conference before the 31st of March of the following year.

12.4. The EC would normally hold the mid term meeting at the conference venue and inspect the conference site. However the EC may authorize the President, or any other officer / office bearer to inspect the conference venue and inform the EC at the mid term meeting which may be held elsewhere.

12.5. An initial interest free loan of Rs. 100,000/- as seed capital for starting the conference work, shall be given to the Organizing Secretary, by the treasurer NSI if requested. This loan is to be repaid within one month of the end of the conference. The Organizing Secretary of the Conference shall give 15% of the savings or Rs. 100,000/- (whichever is more) to the Treasurer NSI before Feb 28th of the succeeding year.

12.6. The Organising Secretary shall ensure that the final announcement with all forms is positively mailed not later than June 20th. Abstracts of all papers to be presented at the annual conference should reach the Secretary, Neurological Society of India before 31st July.

12.7. The organizing secretary will insure the annual conference appropriately. The audited accounts of the annual conference should be submitted to Secretary NSI at least 6 weeks before the next annual conference by the Organising Secretary for discussion at EC meeting of NSI.

12.8. The Organizing Secretary of the Conference shall ensure that every trade exhibitor takes an advertisement in Neurology India.

12.8.a. 50 % of the registration fees collected, will be given to the NSI. The EC is authorised to change this amount if necessary

12.9. The EC members would be provided complementary accommodation by the organising committee.

12.10. Complimentary registration would be given by the Organizing Committee to any delegate who is a member of NSI aged 70 years or above if requested.

12.11. There shall not be a separate session for Allied Neurosciences papers. Platform papers shall have a maximum of three parallel sessions. Posters would as far as possible be on display during the entire scientific session. There would be a group of papers, which would be considered as "TAKEN AS READ BY TITLE".

12.12. Depending on local facilities there may be a " Touch Screen" presentation. The organisation committee in consultation with the Secretary NSI shall work out the details.

12.13. Each delegate to the annual conference shall be allowed to present only one platform paper and one poster. This shall not apply to papers presented at the History of Neurosciences session.

12.14. The History of Neurosciences session shall be held as a common session on the forenoon of the last day.

12.15. Abstracts of the Conference will be published as a supplement of Neurology India and the expenses will be borne by the Organizing Secretary of the Conference.

12.16. DIAS SEATING ARRANGMENT during the INAUGRAL FUNCTION of the annual conference will be as follows:

a. Guest of Honour, NSI President, NSI Secretary, Chairman - Organizing Committee, Secretary of the Organizing Committee, Joint Secretary of the Organizing Committee, and Treasurer of the Organizing Committee.
b. The N S I President shall represent all the other associate Organizations.

12.17. DIAS SEATING ARRANGMENT during the closing ceremony of the annual conference shall be as follows:

a. The President, President elect, the Secretary of the NSI and the Organizing Secretary. The prizes for award winners shall be presented at this time.

13. ACCOUNTS

13.1. The financial year of the Society and the Journal (Neurology India) accounts shall be from 1st April to 31st March of the following year. The membership will be counted from 1st January to 31st December for the purpose of annual subscription.

13.2. The audited account of the Society shall be submitted by the Treasurer of the Society to the Executive Committee and to the general body during the annual conference. The Editor, Neurology India, shall submit to the Executive Committee and to the general body the audited accounts of the journal.

13.3. The audited statement of accounts is to be circulated to the members before the annual General Body meeting through the newsletter/website.

14. LIST OF MEMBERS / ADDRESS

Rs. 2,500/- shall be charged to provide the address list of members of the society where it is used for commercial purposes and Rs. 500/- where it is used for conferences or personal use. Members of EC & Organising Secretary of NSI Conferences would be provided complementary address lists. The sum is to be sent to the Treasurer NSI. The executive committee is authorized to revise the amount when required.

All members of the society shall be eligible to attend all general body meetings of the society & shall maintain decorum. However, only the Life Members and Full Members are eligible to vote on any matter pertaining to the society.
Life and Full members shall be seated separately.
Photo ID cards issued by the secretary shall be mandatory for entry to the General body meetings.
All voting in general body meeting should be conducted by show of hand or by secret ballot as desired by the Chair.

16. NEWSLETTER

The Secretary shall be responsible for publishing a "News Letter" at least thrice a year.
All-important events of the society and official matters regarding the members of the society shall be published & would be considered as official communication of NSI.
The News Letter shall be posted to all the members.
Information submitted by the Secretary WFNS (I) Trust is to be published in the NSI newsletter.
The WFNS (I) Trust would meet the expenses for this.

17. DIRECTORY

A directory containing the history of the society, the constitution and byelaws and addresses of the members shall be brought out at least once in 3 years by the secretary, NSI. This shall also be made available on the society website

18. NEURO-NURSES FELLOWSHIPS

50 fellowships of Rs. 750/- each will be awarded to the Neuro-nurses on first-cum-first served basis for attending the Annual Conference.
The applications should reach the treasurer through proper channel before 31st October.

19. SYMPOSIA

19.1. The symposium topic should be broad based. Offers should reach Secretary NSI. The EC would decide on the symposium subjects.

19.2. Convener should consult the Secretary regarding the organisation of the symposium at all stages.

19.3. No alteration in the subject/topic would be permissible.

19.4. The topics and speakers should be conveyed to the Secretary prior to the mid-term E C meeting for approval.

19.5. Local national talent should be tapped for the symposium, and not more than 50% of speakers should be from outside the country. Only persons of international repute known to be actively engaged in work in that field should be invited.

19.6. Two or more parallel symposia, of appeal to different groups, might be permitted to be held.

19.7. Convener shall not enter into any agreement with a pharmaceutical / commercial concern regarding "sponsorship" of a symposium without the prior permission of the E C.

19.8. Sponsorship may be permitted on payment of a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- only to the NSI for appropriate use as per decision of E C. The "Sponsor" would be permitted to distribute promotional material and cards hosting a lunch or dinner and display a banner during the latter event(s).

20. AWARDS

20.1. Awards will be decided during Annual Conference:

a. NSI Award for best paper in Neurology,
b. NSI Award for best paper in Neurosurgery,
c. NSI Award for best paper in Allied Neurosciences
d. Hindustan Ciba Geigy Epilepsy Award
e. Herbert Krause Neuro oncology award
f. NSI MCQ award g. Col. M L Suri's best paper award on Cost Effective Management in Neurology
h. NSI best Poster Award

20.2. The following will be the rules governing these awards

1. Contestant should be below the age of 45 years. Total experience excluding training in the specialty not to exceed 7 years.
2. Should have completed at least one year Associate membership of the Society
3. Work presented should have been done in India
4. The contestant should present the paper in the conference personally.
5. The paper should not have been published or presented earlier in any other conference.
6. The Head of the Dept./Institution to which a candidate is attached should certify that the work presented is the candidate's personal contribution or that the candidate did the major part of the work.
7. Full paper should be submitted in format of "Neurology India", for publication before the annual conference 4 weeks.
8. Judges will be nominated by EC and the judges' decision shall be final.

20.3. NSI Best Paper Award:

i. The Awardee should be a member / associate member of the Society for at least 1 year.
j. Head of the Dept. / Institution to which the candidate is attached should certify that the work presented is the candidates personal contribution or that the candidate did the major part of the work.
k. The work presented should have been done in India.
l. The work presented should not have been published or presented earlier in any other conference.
m. The poster should be, presented for the conference by the member personally.

20.4. NSI MCQ Award Multiple Choice Question examination will be held during the annual conference of the Society. The top scorer in the examination shall be given the NSI MCQ Award.

The conditions for the award are:

The awardee should be a member associate member or for at least 1 year.
The awardee should be below 45 years of age.
Total experience excluding training in the speciality should not exceed 7 years.
The head of the Dept / Institution to which the candidate is attached should certify that the candidate is a trainee in one of the branches of Neurosciences.

21. CONDITIONS FOR GRANT OF FELLOWSHIPS

21.1. Visiting Fellowships The Society shall grant visiting fellowships to members for visiting various Neurosciences centers in India to broaden their out-look. The visiting fellowship shall be actual 2nd class return train fare to the proposed institution plus Rs. 500/- per day for a maximum of 21 days.

21.2. Travelling Fellowship The Society has made provisions for granting traveling fellowship to its members/associate members for attending the annual conference, seminars, symposia and the C.M.E. Programme of the Neurological Society of India in any aspect of Neuroscience. The traveling fellowship shall be actual III A/C train fare to the venue of the conference / seminar / symposia / workshop or C.M.E. programme and back plus Rs. 1000/ for incidental expenses.

21.3. The following shall be the eligibility for the above awards:

The awardee

1. Must be a member/associate member of the Society below 40 years of age.
2. Must be a whole time Junior specialist, Postgraduate student or Resident in any branch of Neurological Sciences.
3. Must have no dues payable to the society.
4. Must not have received any financial grant/assistance from any other Institutions/Universities/ Governments etc. to visit the same Centre(s).
5. A certificate is to be produced from the Head of the Department of the Centre(s) visited.

22. ORATIONS

22.1. Only TWO orations will be organized during the annual conference each year.

22.2. The committee to select the orators would compromise of the President and the immediate two past presidents. The committee would make their choice known at the Executive committee meeting during the annual conference.

23. An award would be presented to members who have played a significant role in the development of Neurosciences in India and there shall be not more than one award in each year. Any proposal would be, considered and approved by Executive Committee through a secret ballot.

Certified to be true copies of the present constitution & by-laws.

1. Dr. Mathew J Chandy, President, NSI

2. Dr. K Ganapathy, Secretary, NSI

3. Dr. Bhattacharya, Member, Executive Committee