1. to encourage and advance the knowledge and practice of the speciality of Gastroenterology in all possible ways
2. to promote the exchange and diffusion of information and ideas relating to the alimentary tract and associated organs.
3. to provide a forum of discussion of gastroenterological problems on a national scale.
4. to encourage scientific investigation in the field of Gastroenterology.

Article I Financial Year

The financial year of the Society shall be from July first to June thirtieth of the next year.

Article II Membership

1. Admission to Membership
Application for admission to membership of the Society as an Ordinary member of Life member, or as an Associate or Corporate Member shall ordinarily be made in writing on the prescribed form, and shall be accompanied by payment of the entrance fee as fixed by the Governing Council, and the amount of subscription due for the type of membership. Every application must be recommended by, and bear the signature of two members of the Society. Such application shall be considered by the Governing Council who may accept or reject or deal otherwise with the same. The decision of the Governing Council shall be final. The Governing Council shall not be bound to give reasons for its decisions. Membership in the Society shall commence from the date of acceptance by the Governing Council.

2. Election to Honorary Membership
Proposals for nomination to Honorary membership of the Society may be made by any two members of the Governing Council. Such proposals should be submitted in writing with the signatures of the proposers, to the Secretary, atleast six weeks before the annual meeting of the Governing Council. The same will be included in the agenda of the Governing Council meeting. A two-thirds vote of those present and voting at the Governing Council meeting shall be required to elect such a member.

2. Membership fee
All Ordinary , Associate and Corporate members shall pay an annual membership fee of such an amount as is determined from time to time by the Governing Council and approved by the General Body. Until otherwise changed by the Governing Council and approved by the General Body Meeting the annual fees payable shall be as follows :

Life Member (Indian) Rs 5,000.00
SAARC Rs 7,500.00
NRI (Life Membership) US$ 300.00
Associate member
Corporate Member

Every member shall pay the annual subscription for the whole year irrespective of the actual date of his admission to or cessation of membership of the Society. The annual fee shall be payable at the beginning of the financial year. Members who fail to pay the subscription by October 1st will be deemed to be in arrears.

a. Cessation and Termination of Membership

The Secretary/ Treasurer of the Society, shall send not more than two reminders by Registered Post, at an interval of not more than 2 months, to any members whose subscription is in arrears. Two such reminders will be considered as adequate notices, and if the subscription is not received within two months from the date of dispatch of the last notice, the member shall cease to be a member of the Society after the Governing Council resolves to that effect. Any member who withdraws from the Society by giving notice in writing to the Secretary of his intention to do so and thereupon he shall cease to be a member provided all his dues to the Society are paid. The Governing Council by a decision of two-third majority of the members present and voting, may take any disciplinary action against any member on its own, or in pursuance of a notice signed by atleast two members received by the Governing Council or Secretary. Any person who ceases to be a member for any reason, shall nevertheless remain liable for and shall pay to the Society all debts owing, including the subscription dues.

b. Re-admission to the Society

Any person who ceases to be a member of the Society, may be re-admitted to the membership as the Governing Council may determine as per rules of the Society. Every such applicant will have to pay the specified entrance fee unless otherwise decided by the Governing Council.

c. Privileges of Membership

a) All Ordinary and Life Members shall be entitled to participate in all activities of the Society including the right to vote subject to the bye laws. Associate, Corporate, and Honorary Members will have all the privileges of an Ordinary Member but will not have the right to vote or nominate or to serve on the Governing Council or stand for any election.

b) No member will be allowed to propose or second a nomination or stand as a candidate for any election unless his dues are cleared before the last date of receipt of nomination papers. No member who is in arrears of his dues will have the right to vote until his dues are paid before the time of voting.

c) Members whose dues are not complete will not be allowed to vote, nor to present a paper in the annual conference and will be required to register as non-members for the annual conference. The receipt of payment of the annual subscription or a Xerox copy of the same will have to be produced at the time of registration.

d. Register of Members

A register of the members shall be kept by the Secretary in which membership in the various categories will be recorded setting down the names and addresses of the members. For the purpose of the Society, the address as mentioned in the register will be considered as the valid one. Any change in address must be intimated to the Secretary and confirmation must be received from the Secretary that the necessary change in the register has been effected.

Article III Officers of the Society and Members of the Governing Council

1. President
The President shall be elected annually from among the members of the Society who have previously served for atleast one year on the Governing Council. He shall hold office for a term of one year, but is eligible for re-election or a second year. No persion shall be President for more than two consecutive terms. The President shall be responsible for the affairs of the Society and shall preside at all meetings of the Governing Council and of the Society.

2. The Vice President
The Vice President shall be elected annually from among the members of the Society who has previously served for atleast one year on the Governing Council. He shall hold office for a term of one year but is eligible for re-election. In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall perform the duties of the President.

3. The Honorary Secretary
The Secretary shall be elected from among the members of the Society who has previously seved atleast one year on the Governing Council. He shall hold office for a term of three years, after which he is eligible for re-election for a second term. No person shall be Secretary for more than two consecutive terms.

Subject to the control and regulation of the Governing Council, the Secretary shall be responsible for carrying out the directions and decisions of the Governing Council and the affairs of the Society as laid down in the constitution and bye laws.

In the particular the Secretary shall-
(i) Convene meetings of the Governing Council as laid down under Article IV of these bye laws.
(ii) Have administrative control over the affairs of the Society.
(iii) Have charge of the correspondence in relation to the Society.
(iv) Keep accurate minutes of all meetings of the Society, Governing Council and committees thereof.
(v) Prepare the Annual Report of the Society.
(v) Be in-charge of all the documents and property and other assets of the Society.
(vi) Collect all dues of the Society, and pay in all the amounts into the banking account of the Society and inform the Treasurer of the money so paid.
(vii) Make disbursements within the limits of the annual budget, and maintain vouchers and records of all such disbursements.

In exceptional circumstances the budget may be exceeded (a) by an amount of upto Rs 250/- with the concurrence of the President and Treasurer and (b) by an amount not exceeding Rs 1000/- with the prior sanction of a majority of the Governing Council.
(ix) Perform all such duties as are incidental to his office.

4. Treasurer
The Treasurer shall be elected from among the members of the Society and shall hold office for a term of three years, after which he is eligible for re-election for a second term. No person shall be Treasurer for more than two consecutive terms.

(i) The Treasurer shall have charge and custody of, and be responsible for, all funds and securities of the Society; receive and give receipts for money due and payable in the name of the Society from any source whatsoever and deposit such moneys in the bank or banks as decided by the Governing Council, and will perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him by the Governing Council.

(ii) The Treasurer shall maintain true accounts of the funds and other assets of the Society and of funds and other assets connected with or anyway controlled by the Society.

(iii) All cheques shall be signed by (a) the Treasurer and (b) Secretary or the President.

(iv) Changes of office bearers shall be notified to the bank as per the banking laws.

5. The Elected Members of the Governing Council
Elected Members of the Governing Council shall hold office for a term of not more than three years consecutively. The term of office of the elected members shall be arranged by the Governing Council so that atleast two elected members shall retire each year. The new officers and the members of the Governing Council shall normally assume office at the end of the annual conference. However, if annual conference is held before the election or if the annual conference is not held, they shall assume office within a week of declaration of the results of the election.

6. The Co-opted Members of the Governing Council
The Co-opted Members of the Governing Council shall hold office for a term of one year but are eligible for re-cooption for a further one year term. No member shall be co-opted to the Council for more than two consecutive years.

Article IV Elections

1. In the first week of June, the Secretary shall send to each member a list of the vacancies in the Governing Council, requesting him or her to send nominations for the vacancies on the prescribed from. The form must bear the signatures of nominee signifying his approval and of proposer and seconder. The form must be received by the 15th of July. Any nominations received after that date will be invalid.

2. The Secretary shall prepare ballot papers and send under certificate of posting one ballot paper to each member eligible to vote, before 10th of August.

3. Members shall send completed ballot papers to reach the Secretary by the 31st of August. Papers received after that date will not be valid.

4. A President of the Society who has also finished his term as Past President in the Governing Council is no more eligible for election to the Governing Council for 5 years from the date of expiry of his Governing Council membership.

5. If for any reason the elections are not held on the dates herein laid down, the President shall determine the respective dates to ensure that the elections are completed before the end of December of that year.

6. If the nominations received by the Secretary are less than the seats on the Governing Council the vacancies shall be filled by election at the time of annual general body meeting. The Secretary will circulate the list of such vacancies, invite fresh nomination duly proposed and seconded, and shall hold the election by ballot. The President is empowered to modify the mode of inviting the nomination if necessary, but all the vacancies in the Governing Council will be filled by election by ballot at the annual general body meeting.

7. The co-opted members for the coming year will normally be chosen at the meeting of the Governing Council at the time of the Annual Conference. At this meeting the current members and the members elected for the coming year may be present and have the right to vote.

8. If the annual General Body meeting is held before the elections and if no valid nominations for a vacancy are received, the person holding that office shall continue to do so for a further year irrespective of any other provisions in these bye laws.

9. In any election in the event of a tie, the President shall have a casting vote in addition to the vote he has already exercised.

10. If any vacancy occurs in the Governing Council, otherwise than by efflux of time the Governing Council, notwithstanding anything contained in above clauses, shall or can elect a member to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the year. In case of a vacancy among the office beares, the Governing Council shall elect a person from among themselves to fill the post till the end of the year.

11. The counting of ballot papers will be done at the pre-conference governing body meeting as the last item on the agenda. Candidates, who so desire, may be invited to be present for the counting.

12. In the event of Secretary contesting for any post in the Governing Council in the last year of his tenure, the election proceedings will be conducted by the President or any of his nominee preferably in the same town where the secretariat is located.

Article V Meeting of the Governing Council

(a) The Governing Council shall meet at such time as may be necessary for the transaction of business of the Society. Atleast one meeting will be called at the time of the annual conference before the Annual General Body Meeting.

(b) A meeting of the Governing Council may be convened by the Honorary Secretary with the consent of the President. The Secretary shall convene a special meeting of the Governing Council upon receiving a requisition in writing signed by not less than six members thereof. At least three weeks previous notice shall be given to the members of the Governing Council for any meeting of the Governing Council unless all the members otherwise agree.

(c ) Non attendance of a member at 3 consecutive meetings of the Governing Council, without permission , shall constitute a vacancy, but the Council shall have powers to reinstate the individual after obtaining proper explanation for his or her absence.

(d) A resolution may be passed by circulation among the members of the Governing Council who are in India and if a majority express their opinion in favour of it, a resolution so passed shall be as valid as if it were passed at a duly held Governing Council meeting.

(e) Quorum for the Governing Council meeting: Five members of the Governing Council shall constitute a quorum. If there is no quorum within 15 minutes of the time when a meeting is called, the meeting convened upon the requisition of members shall stand dissolved, and in any other case shall stand adjourned to half an hour later in the same place. At such adjourned meeting any four members present shall be a quorum and may
transact the business for which the meeting shall stand adjourned to any other time and place as fixed by the President; the quorum for such a meeting shall be four.

(f) Chairman : In the absence of the President and the Vice President the members of the Governing Council may elect among themselves a Chairman pro-term.

Article VI Annual General Body Meeting of the Society

(a) A General Body Meeting of the Society shall be held once each calendar year. The meeting be held at a time and place fixed by the Governing Council. Notice of the time and place of such a meeting shall be given in writing by the Honorary Secretary to every member of the Society at least two months in advance. Every motion submitted to the meeting shall be decided by voting.

(b) Chairman : In the absence of President and Vice President, the members of the General Body shall elect from among the members of the Governing Council a Chairman pro-term.

(c) The Agenda shall be circulated to all the members at least three weeks before the meeting. The Agenda of the Annual General Body meeting will be:

1. To receive and adopt the Annual Report of the Governing Council as given by the Secretary on the working of the Society for the preceding year.
2. To receive and adopt the Balance Sheet and Auditor’s for the preceding year.
3. To approve the appointment of Auditor as recommended by the Governing Council.
4. To receive and adopt the budget for the coming year.
5. Declaration of the results of the election held. In case elections are incomplete the same may be completed as per rules and regulations.
6. To transact such other business as may be brought forward by the Governing Council or any other business that may be permitted by the Chairman of which seven days notice has been given in writing.
7. To consider any other business brought forward by or with the consent of the Chairman.
8. Installation of the New Office Bearers.

(d) Quorum : 50 persons shall form the quorum for a General Body meeting.

(e) Adjournment : If within half an hour from the time appointed for the Annual General Meeting there is no quorum the meeting shall stand adjourned to half an hour later at the same place and such adjourned meeting shall transact the business for which the meeting was called. No quorum is necessary for such an adjourned meeting.

Article VII Chapters of the Society

(1) For better functioning of the Society at a regional level various subdivisions shall be formed as deemed convenient by the Governing Council. Such divisions may be called Chapters(“Specify Region”). Scientific activities of the Society may be run in such Chapters by locally elected conveners from among the members of the Society belonging to that region.

(2) Any state of the country which has more than 20 members of the Society can form a Chapter by applying to the Honorary Secretary through an elected convenor/ secretary of the group of members of that state. The Society will have no financial obligation to these Chapters. The Chapters will be, however, obliged to provide the Society an annual report of their activities before the end of July every year.

(3) Members transferring their residence shall automatically become members of the regional chapters of their new place of residence.

Article VIII Annual Conference

(a) A conference of the Society shall usually be organized at least once each year. The venue of the conference shall be decided and the Organizing Secretary-cum-Treasurer of the conference appointed by the annual Governing Council meeting.

(b) The Secretary of the Society shall notify members the date and venue of the conference and call for papers for presentation at the conference. Such papers will be scrutinized by the Secretary, who with the concurrence of another member of the Governing Council , will have the power to reject any paper.

(c ) On the first day of the conference a joint session will be held. This will be called “Plenary Session”. Six papers will be presented during this session. Screening of the papers for the plenary session will be done by a committee appointed by the Governing Council which will necessarily include two past presidents. Even if the number of papers is less than six, the papers will be scrutinized and only those found suitable will be posted for Plenary Session.

(d) Each member will be allowed to present only one paper. He may be a joint author on the papers presented by others.

(e) The papers that are not accepted for oral presentation will be adjusted in the “Poster Sessions” for which papers will also be accepted directly. Members whose papers are accepted and who default in presentation without at least 48 hours notice prior to the conference will be debarred from presenting any paper for one year.

(f) The Organizing Secretary shall be responsible for making all other arrangements for the conference, including financial arrangements , according to the procedure laid down from time to time by the Governing Council initiated to him by the Secretary of the Society. The Organizing Secretary shall submit an audited statement of accounts within 6 months of the end of the conference. The expenses of the conference shall not be met normally from the finances of the Society.

(g) A percentage of the registration fee collected for the conference or any other amount as fixed from time to time by the Governing Council shall be paid to the Society. Any funds raised for the conference in excess of expenditure shall be made available to the local Chapter of the Society for their use in furthering the aims of the Society.

(h) The annual meetings of the Governing Council and of the General Body shall normally be conducted at the time and place of the Annual Conference. The local Organizing Secretary shall be invited as a non-voting member to all meetings of the Governing Council held in association with the Conference. A copy of the final programme of the Conference will be sent by the Secretary to the members about a month before the conference.

(i) The Society will pay a partial subsidy to the postgraduate students who attend the conference. The following criteria will be applied in distributing the limited funds made available for the purpose.

The person must have his paper accepted and read at the conference.

The person must be registered for any postgraduate degree or diploma
course.

The postgraduate students from the place where the conference is held will not be eligible for travel grant.

Article IX Auditor

The Governing Council shall appoint and fix the fee of the Auditor who shall be a Chartered Accountant.

Article X Nomination of Delegates for International Conferences

Official delegates to the World Congress and the Asian Pacific Congress of Gastroenterology or for other international conferences will be recommended by the Society on the basis of the following criteria :-

i) A member should have three years standing in the Society.
ii) He should have attended three conferences and published at least three papers during the preceding 5 years.
iii) The paper for presentation should be accepted by the organizing committee of the conference.
iv) The final selection amongst the candidates fulfilling the conditions is left to the Governing Council.

Article XI Amendments

(a) These bye laws may be amended by three-fourths of those members who cast a valid vote in a postal ballot conducted as defined below.

(b) Voting on proposals for amendments of the Constitution of the bye laws shall be as follows :-

Notification for proposal of any amendment must reach the Secretary of the Society not later than two months before the Annual Governing Council Meeting. If approved by the Governing Council it will be presented to the Annual General Body Meeting. With the approval of a three- fourth majority of the Annual General Body Meeting, the Secretary shall within one month circulate the approved amendment, with voting papers to all members of the Society. These voting papers should reach the Secretary within one calender month from the date of their dispatch by the Secretary. The Secretary shall open and count the votes in the presence of one or more scrutineers appointed by the President. The results will be declared by the President and such changes which are thus approved shall come into effect forthwith.

Article XIII Amendments

Amendment in the article 3 of the officer of the Society and members of the Governing Council is as follows :-

1. The post of the Vice President shall be abolished from the year 1998.
2. The President Elect shall be elected annually from the members of the Society who has previously served for atleast one year on the Governing Council.
3. He shall hold the post of the President Elect for one year.
4. He shall become the President of the Society for the period of one year, i.e. after completing his term as President Elect for one year.
5. He shall remain the member of the Governing Council as the Past President for one year, i.e. after one year of Presidentship.
6. During his tenure as President Elect he shall be Returning Officer for the annual elections of the Society.

Rest of the posts of the officers and Governing Council members will remain the same as in the Constitution.

Amendment for the ISG Membership for SAARC Countries’ Doctors

Considering the SAARC countries agreement for scientific collaboration and the economic status of these countries, conditions for membership of ISG for Doctors/ Scientists from these countries should be as follows :

Membership should be offered to any person :

a) who is working in the field of gastroenterology and has obtained postgraduate degree of diploma in the field of medical sciences and recognized by Medical Council or Ministry of Health of that particular country.

b) who is engaged in teaching or research in any biological science

with sustain interest in Gastroenterology and who also has a postgraduate degree and a teaching appointment in a recognized medical college or university department of that particular country.

These members can have privileges of an associate member of the Society, i.e. they have all the privileges of all ordinary or life members except, they will not have the right to vote or to serve on the Governing Council or stand for any election.

The membership fee for SAARC countries members should be same as ordinary or life member from India , i.e. Rs 150/- per year or Rs 1500/- for the life membership or as decided by the Society from time to time.