1. Council Mission & Membership Framework

The Entrepreneurship Development Council of India is established to foster an inclusive, accredited, and resilient national entrepreneurship ecosystem. Membership signifies accreditation, commitment to commercial integrity, and alignment with national enterprise development objectives across India’s 6 Geographical Zones and 36 State Chapters.

2. Validity Formula & Early Renewal Rights

Membership validity is strictly calculated and recorded in the portal database in accordance with Council bylaws:

• Standard Initial Term: Valid from payment completion date through exactly 1 year minus 1 day (start_date + 1 year - 1 day at 23:59:59).
• Constitutional Early Renewal Extension: Members renewing prior to expiration do NOT forfeit any remaining days. The new expiry date extends exactly 1 full year from the current expiry date, preserving 100% of unexpired tenure.
• Lapsed Renewal: Renewals initiated after expiration reset the start date to the new transaction date and extend for 1 year minus 1 day.

3. Member Rights & Institutional Privileges

Active verified members in good standing enjoy:

• Unrestricted access to the Logged-in Entrepreneur Dashboard, profile completion tracking, and venture analytics.
• National Entrepreneur Directory listing with JSON-LD Organization schema for pan-India SEO/GEO visibility.
• Direct receipt of buyer inquiries and trade connection leads routed securely through the portal lead repository.
• Official Council membership certificate generation and eligibility for regional chapter conclaves.

4. Directory Publication Gating Criteria

To maintain institutional prestige, a member venture is rendered in the public directory if and only if ALL four conditions evaluate to TRUE:

1. WordPress post status equals publish.
2. Administrative moderation status equals approved.
3. Member user status equals active (unexpired annual membership).
4. Member visibility consent equals yes.

If a membership expires, the profile is automatically hidden from public directory searches while preserving all underlying data safely in MariaDB.

5. Professional Code of Conduct & Ethics

Every member agrees to conduct business in accordance with ethical standards:

• Uphold transparency, honesty, and statutory compliance in all commercial engagements.
• Never misrepresent business stage, turnover, certifications, or regulatory clearances.
• Handle buyer inquiries, consumer disputes, and vendor commitments with diligence and professional courtesy.
• Never utilize EDCI membership credentials or council badges to endorse fraudulent or illegal financial schemes.

6. Disciplinary Review & Revocation

The Council Executive Committee reserves the right to issue formal warnings, suspend directory visibility, or permanently revoke membership in cases of verified fraud, illegal trade practices, or deliberate violation of these bylaws. Members subject to disciplinary review are entitled to a formal 7-day written notice and right of explanation.