Celebrating Women

in the Optical Industry

“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish” – Michelle Obama. This quote seems apt for our special feature that highlights the work and successes of some of the accomplished women in retail in the optical industry. Today, more women are becoming a vital part of many industries and playing key roles in building brands and creating some exceptional milestones. The optical scenario too is seeing women flourishing at various levels – retailing, wholesaling, product design, manufacturing, distribution, vision care and managed care. These talented women are shaping the path of the companies that they head or work for and succeeding admirably.


In this feature, we talk to some inspirational ladies in Optical Retail and find out their views. The ladies include Anahita Dastur from Baliwalla and Homi, Mumbai; Sangeeta Bhasin from Starlite Optiks, Mumbai; Rashmi Madan from BonTon Opticians, Delhi; Sangeetha K from Spectackle Optical Boutique, Coimbatore; Meghana Manay from S. R. Gopal Rao Opticians & Optometrists, Bangalore; Gauri Patel from Nagar Chasmaghar, Ahmedabad; and Priyanka Dedhia from Classic Vision, Mumbai. Read on to know a little bit more about some of these exceptional women and the companies where they are making a difference.

Anahita Dastur carries on the legacy of the iconic Baliwalla and Homi that began way back in 1899. Baliwalla & Homi is a heritage brand in the truest sense with a rich tradition and an illustrious clientele, including the Governors of Mumbai (Sir Roger Lumley being the first), the Maharajas, politicians and legal luminaries.


Sangeeta Bhasin runs Starlite Optiks that was established in 1972 by her late father. Ms. Bhasin took over the family business in 1982 and faced many challenges that were thrown at her. She overcame all of the hurdles by sheer hard work and persistence and turned each task into an opportunity over the years.


Rashmi Madan is from BonTon Opticians that was founded in Delhi in 1951 by Mr D L Madan, a highly respected doyen of the industry. Started from its flagship store at Janpath, the company is now run under the able leadership of Mr Sanjeev Madan and they now operate a total of 12 stores with highly qualified optometrists in each of them to look after their clientele. The company has catered to numerous personalities, dignitaries and people of high influences including six Indian Prime Ministers and two Indian Presidents.


Sangeetha K is from SPECTAKLE, the first optical boutique in Coimbatore, located at Race Course. It is the newest addition to the Clarity Optics family that has been in the field since the last 22 years. The well-known brand is known for many years of business excellence that is a testament to its unflinching commitment to provide the best optics to its clientele. Precision craftsmanship as well as the association with their customers are at the centre of their services.

Meghana Manay is currently the Chief Operations Officer and the fourth-generation leader of S. R. Gopal Rao Opticians & Optometrists (SRGR), one of the pioneer opticians in Bangalore. Today, SRGR is not only at three exclusive store locations but also has a wide digital presence, a home brand called Getspexy (www.getspexy.com) and several new-select luxury brands added to its portfolio. The company is the authorised retailer of 80+ luxury and premium brands in spectacle frames, sunglasses and lenses.


Gauri Patel is from the illustrious Nagar Chasmaghar family that opened more than six decades ago, with the first store in Ahmedabad, under the able leadership of founder Jayantibhai A Patel. Nagar Chasmaghar has been a pioneer in more ways than one – the first opticians to introduce contact lenses in Gujarat in 1970, the first to bring in state-of-the-art instruments, and the first to provide post-surgical vision restoration using speciality contact lenses for an irregular cornea.


Priyanka Dedhia from Classic Vision Mumbai is an optometrist who completed her degree from Lotus College of Optometry in 2007. She practices at her family’s Classic Vision store that is based in Vile Parle and Malad in Mumbai. For four years now, the store has won multiple awards for being India’s Best Eyewear Retail Store. Various super-specialities are practised here, including low vision aids, sports vision, speciality contact lens practice, paediatric eyecare, custom-made eyewear etc.

Anahita Dastur, Baliwalla and Homi, Mumbai

TIO: Running an optical store is a full-time job, how do you balance work and life responsibilities?

 

Anahita Dastur (AD): A woman in any profession or full-time job faces the same challenge of balancing responsibilities at home and work. Both are equally important and both demand your best.

 

Some years ago, when I was younger, it was indeed a challenge and I wished I had the luxury of a few more hours in the day. But today I feel that as long as we have given our best that is all that matters, not the so-called successes or failures.

 

TIO: What are the challenges faced by women in the optical industry and how can one overcome them?

AD: I joined our family business over 30 years ago. Both my parents encouraged me to do so and had the foresight to educate me at one of the best optometry colleges in the world. I have had a fulfilling and rewarding career. As an optometrist I have been able to contribute to the business, as well as serve the eyecare needs of society.

 

Our optical industry in India has been male-dominated the reason being we are a patriarchal society. But today, as young women excel academically in all fields, this thinking must change. A woman with training in optometry or any management stream, or any basic degree would be just as competent as her male sibling. We also have the flexibility of part time work or taking time off to fit in responsibilities at home.

 

If we can have women doctors, lawyers or other professions why not women at the helm of a family run optical establishment.

 

TIO: How will you help in accelerating concern for eye-care in the society?

 

AD: It is important for the eyecare industry to actively spread awareness about eyecare. To start with we should emphasise the importance of an annual eye test to our patients/customers. We could also communicate to the public at large through leaflets or social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, blogs, etc. Retail, lens companies, optical associations could all jointly work upon it.

TIO: What advice would you like to share with young women entering a male dominated industry?

 

AD: My advice to young women entering the industry is to be passionate about your work, compassionate to your patients, staff and stakeholders, without letting your career take precedence over responsibilities at home.

 

TIO: Who inspires you and why?

 

AD: Dr SS Bhadrinath. With limited resources but one hundred percent dedication, he pursued his vision to start Sankara Netralaya in Chennai, which soon became a world class institute in healthcare and research, serving millions of people and the poorest of our society.

 

In his words “Work will be our worship which we shall do with sincerity, dedication and utmost love.” Something for each one of us to strive towards.

Sangeeta Bhasin Starlite Optiks, Mumbai

TIO: Running an Optical Store is a full-time job.  How do you balance work and life responsibilities?

 

Sangeeta Bhasin (SB): My biggest advantage has been that I am single by choice, and happy!!  Retail does demand full time commitment.  The main responsibility of the Owner (I prefer to use the term TEAM LEADER) is Planning and Control.  Planning involves having a Vision for the Store, identifying the right type of staff who believe in the ethos of the organisation and are willing to take it forward.  I am convinced that staff can be trained to improve their skills by training and motivation.

 

TIO: What are the challenges faced by women in the Optical Industry and how can one overcome them?

SB: The Optical Industry is not different from any other when it comes to challenges faced by Women.  This has been a man’s world for too long but now things are slowly and surely changing the world over.

 

Women score over men in empathy, commitment, being focused, ability in multi-tasking and are hard working. The biggest motivating factor for women to make a place for themselves in the industry (irrespective of which industry it is), is that they have to prove themselves to be 20% better than their male colleagues/counterparts to be even considered as equal.  Believe me, this is not impossible. This benchmark just proves to us women that the male species harbour some insecurities and silently accept that women can easily match their skills!!!

 

TIO: How will you help in accelerating concern for eye care in the society?

 

SB:  Our professional approach at our workplace goes a long way in increasing awareness.  The first step at a Micro Level is, clients have to stop looking at us as Service Providers.  Our image has to be that of a Consultant in eye care and every patient should get the message that ‘EYECARE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EYEWEAR’. Clients will take home this thought and spread it amongst their near and dear ones.

TIO: What advice would you like to share with young women entering a male dominated industry?

 

SB: My advice will be the same to women in each and every industry… Make the road that you would like to walk on. Believe in yourself, set your own standards and don’t settle for anything less than the best.  There is a very old saying that comes to my mind here – “The Road to Success is Always Under Construction” – this is very true.

 

TIO: Who inspires you and why?

 

SB: My mother has always been my greatest inspiration. Till today, even at the age of 95, with more than one year into the lockdown she is actively involved in helping out people through an NGO of which she is a Trustee. While other women of her age are technologically challenged, she even attends their AGM on Zoom! I really do respect and admire her strong will and determination and hope that I can follow in her footsteps.

“Women score over men in empathy, commitment, being focused, ability in multi-tasking and are hard-working…” 
– sangeeta Bhasin

Rashmi Madan, Bonton Opticians, Delhi

TIO: Running an optical store is a full-time job, how do you balance work and life responsibilities?

 

Rashmi Madan (RM): Running an optical store was a full-time job but not anymore. It is important to create a good team around you.

 

For this all the lens, frame and contact lens companies willingly train your staff – use this facility and train all new and old staff. Another important point is to bring in more young talent as youngsters can adapt to the new technology very quickly and everything can be done faster and in simpler ways. This will all be successful if you show them their growth career wise.

 

TIO: What are the challenges faced by women in the optical industry and how can one overcome them?

RM: The only challenge that women have is that their priorities are different than men. They prefer to put family first. If the women are talented, more focused and know their job well, then the optical or any other industry is the same for men and women. To overcome all the challenges, it is important to start early in life and not waste time on unnecessary things. The girls should be strong willed, positive, persistent, hardworking, balanced and honest. Every woman should remember one simple rule – if you cannot run like a rabbit move like a tortoise but keep on going because every day is not the same. There will be ample times in life when one can carry on with what one is doing.

 

TIO: How will you help in accelerating concern for eyecare in the society?

 

RM: India needs more universities like Amity University to give a good atmosphere to the girls to do the optometry or an optician’s course. This young talent can be nurtured at our retail stores. There should be equal exchange of knowledge between us to make our stores and companies more professional. This will give a boost to the eyecare industry and women will get more opportunities to grow in this industry. Not only this, companies should start hiring women for delivery of lenses, fitting of lenses etc. so that women can start from the bottom and climb upwards.

TIO: What advice would you like to share with young women entering a male dominated industry?

 

RM: I have been in this industry for thirty years now, but never once, was I made to feel uncomfortable. Even though it is a male dominated industry, everyone in this industry is friendly and respectful. This is a very respected, sophisticated and intellectual industry and indirectly our small efforts are doing good for the nation. If women enter this industry the men who take everything for granted will also put in more efforts to do a better job and so we will be able to give the future generations more professional eyecare facilities.

 

TIO: Who inspires you and why?

 

RM: Inspiration to work comes from childhood. My father taught me my first business word ‘entrepreneur’ and my mother never stopped me. My husband saw this gleam in my eyes and we got connected. The first time we met he asked me about my dreams for future and my instant reply was to build a business empire. My father-in-law made it easy for me by making me his business partner. Now my children inspire me to go on because they want to share my knowledge which I have gained in so many years. They give and take advice now. God blessed me with a good cocktail and I always sailed with nature and did not go against it.

Sangeetha K, Spectakle Optical Boutique, Coimbatore

TIO: Running an optical store is a fulltime job, how do you balance work and life responsibilities?

 

Sangeetha K (SK): Yes, running an optical store is a fulltime job. I had a sketch of my routine even before getting into the industry. I usually do things in an organised way and that has helped me to deal with priorities, time management, splitting tasks to others and making choices. I make sure I give my best and time not only to the store, but home, family and friends also. Most importantly, I take time for myself too. It charges me to keep going. 

 

TIO: What are the challenges faced by women in the optical industry and how can one overcome them?

SK: The prejudiced opinion that optical business is alien to women makes us lack confidence at times. It’s tricky to convince customers with their trust in our store. The field demands being constantly updated with the fast development in technology.

 

Most of our energy is dissipated in balancing work and home, so we lose the opportunity to learn new things and plan expansion. A high expertise and practical knowledge for huge inventory is mandatory. Competing with chain of stores is another challenge. We need role models and mentors to guide and inspire us.

 

TIO: How will you help in accelerating concern for eyecare in the society?

 

SK: Business to make profit is not our only motive. We feel responsible to educate our customers with Eye care. We train our optometrists too to do the same. We ensure customers know what they wear, accurate use of eyeglasses and contact lens, normal eye function, eye related conditions, eye exercise, healthy diet and importance of sleep. With communities like Lions and Rotary Clubs, BNI etc and through social media, we spread awareness about routine eye care, regular eye examination and eye care tips.

TIO: What advice would you like to share with young women entering a male dominated industry?


SK: In this male dominant optical industry, never give up hope. Don’t hesitate and be confident. Identify your strengths and boost your weaknesses. Learn from your mistakes and follow the path of successful women.


Competitive field can be definitely won by hard work and dedication. My ambition is an all-woman store from door man to Chairman.


TIO: Who inspires you and why?


SK: My dad is a retired Scientist Engineer at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and had the luck to work under Late Mr Abdul Kalam for about 2 years. My father-in-law is a highly successful businessman for the past 50 years. Both of them came from a financially challenging background, hence, what they both have achieved is highly commendable.


Both are living examples of hard work, disciplinary life, positive attitude and turning obstacles to opportunities. They don’t just inspire me, they have taught me to aim at the impossible and achieve it.

Meghana Manay, S.R.Gopal Rao Opticians & Optometrists, Bangalore

TIO: What are the challenges faced by women in the optical industry and how can one overcome them?

 

Meghana Manay (MM): The optical industry is largely dominated by men – especially in the ownership and distribution segments. In recent years, the percentage of women at the retail and clinical front has grown, but the growth rate is slow.

 

I believe the challenges vary for women holding different positions in the industry, in both strength and quality. At present, it is more for women in ownership positions and for those in the distribution sector, and it is bound to change or neutralise only when more women enter the industry at all levels. One reason for this disparity is the tendency of women to drop off when they decide to start a family and they find it difficult to resume working after. This trend will change as mindsets change and companies become more accommodating. We have seen it in our company and have found ways to ensure that there is always space retained for a member of the team to re-join.

 

Other factors that may inhibit the few working women from joining this industry include low levels of industry attractiveness due to the product category being at its lowest form.

Reason being is that the market is still largely unstructured, unorganised and the product is heavily discounted. However, with the right encouragement and incentives from the government to recognise it as an important-unified industry, with regulations in necessary areas and a focus on manufacturing outcomes will help improve the overall attractiveness of the optical industry. In turn, helping accelerate the number of women involved in the same.

 

TIO: How will you help in accelerating concern for eye-care in society?

 

MM: I believe in working as a team. It’s not the efforts of one person alone but the combined efforts of S.R. Gopal Rao Opticians and our partners that we are able to spread awareness and we already do. We use social media, conventional media, digital platforms, blogs and interactive forums to educate people on the importance of eyecare and eyewear; both within and outside the industry.

 

We also actively avoid large discounts. We don’t encourage discounting as we believe that it impacts the importance of the product and the value that one attaches to sight. While eyewear should be made affordable and this can be done when it is manufactured and procured at different price points, I believe it should not be cheapened. While we educate society about the importance of sight, how can we substantiate it when we back it up by giving them sub-standard products to correct the same?

 

There are many organisations working towards correcting needless blindness. We have joined them on several counts and donate eyewear as often as we can. We also undertake eye screening activities with our lens partners at various schools and offices. The “pay it forward” concept will work well in the industry.

TIO: What advice would you like to share with young women entering a male dominated industry?


MM: Look at each person for who they are and their talent or contribution and not for their gender, race or background. The only way to avoid getting intimidated is to be yourself and have the strength to do what you think is right. As the great Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realised how seldom they do”. 


Don’t get deterred by stereotypes. The fact that there are few women in the industry, also gives us the opportunity to stand out at times. When we shine it will be noticed a lot more for this reason. Can there be a better time than now, to join the industry? Doubtful. Join the ranks, work hard as you will have to, stay strong and sometimes oblivious and it will definitely not go unnoticed!


TIO: Who inspires you and why?


MM: Inspiration is not something that I take away from one person. There are several people who inspire me for different reasons. My father inspires me for his managerial skills, my mother for her ability to get the task done, my sister for her ability to adapt to any environment, my husband and sister-in-law for their temperaments and my grandfather for his diligence and hard work. 


There have been several other people, both fictitious and real, who have been able to create impact in their work and personal life and they will always inspire me to do the same. The list goes on, while some observable and closely related individuals remain as constant sources of inspiration, others change as time moves on but their impact will never be forgotten.

Gauri Patel, Nagar Chasmaghar, Ahmedabad

TIO: Running an optical store is a full-time job, how do you balance work and life responsibilities?

 

Gauri Patel (GP): Completely agree, it is a full-time job and balancing work and life, most importantly as a mother is an art I am still trying to master. But I think the key to this is ‘delegation’. Because how much ever you try, you cannot do everything by yourself. There are many aspects to our field, the business aspect, the clinical side of it, the media and the marketing wing, the backend office stuff etc. We are fortunate to have all our family members actively involved and thus we share responsibilities. Family support is the most important thing that helps me focus on my work.  I mainly handle the clinical department, HR and the media marketing which often I can do remotely or as a part time activity. I also consult as a Specialty Contact Lens consultant and that takes up quite a bit of my work time. We have full time optometrists employed at all our stores, allowing us to oversee the other aspects of the business.

 

TIO: What are the challenges faced by women in the optical industry and how can one overcome them?

GP: I don’t think its specifically the optical industry, but in general our society doesn’t view women as entrepreneurs or decision makers. Times are definitely changing for the better and I see so many women entrepreneurs coming up in every field.

 

The only way to overcome this notion is to keep doing what you do the best, be sincere and stay committed to your conviction and let your work speak for you. It may take some time, but it surely will show results in the long run. Honestly, I feel struggle is similar for anyone trying to prove themselves, irrespective of gender.

 

TIO: How will you help in accelerating concern for eye-care in the society/?

 

GP: As a woman optometrist, we can influence and educate more women around us about eyecare in general and specifically in kids. Like Savitribai Phule said, “Educate a woman and the whole house will be educated”. I believe it fits perfectly here too.

 

TIO: What advice would you like to share with young women entering a male dominated industry?

 

GP: Acquire sound knowledge in the field before entering any domain.

 

Optical industry may be male dominated, but the field of Optometry is not. There are definitely more young women entering the field and it is an encouraging scenario.

 

These Optometrist women can also acquire knowledge in the business domain, may be secure an MBA alongside and develop themselves as entrepreneurs. There is definitely no looking back then. 

TIO: Who inspires you and why?

 

GP: Quite a few people have played a pivotal role in shaping me up as an Optometrist and more importantly into the person that I am today.

 

But if I have to pick one that best suits the context, it will be my Grand father-in-law, Jayanti bhai Patel, a well-known and highly respected gentleman in optical circles. At 83 he works full time and is my biggest inspiration. Just to be able to observe him each day is a learning in itself and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have him as my mentor. Even at this age, his commitment to work is unparalleled. He is a firm believer in education and more importantly continuing education. Because of his conviction he founded the Nagar School of Optometry and continues to attend as many CE programs as possible. He is a go getter and believes in taking risks. Back in those days when he founded our optical brand Nagar Chasmaghar in 1957, he felt he lacked proper knowledge and went on to secure a formal degree in Contact lens fitting in 1972 from London. I feel he has always been ahead of his times.

 

He has been the one to encourage me to do my Masters, work as much as I can and for as many hours as I want to owing to my multiple responsibilities. I never once felt I was working in a male dominant zone. I was allowed to take charge and make decisions in my areas of expertise.

“ The optical industry may be male dominated, but the field of Optometry is not.  There are definitely more young women entering the field and it is an encouraging scenario… ”
– gauri patel

Priyanka Dedhia, Classic Vision Mumbai

TIO: Running an optical store is a full-time job, how do you balance work and life responsibilities?

 

Priyanka Dedhia (PD): For a woman, it is a bit challenging but with a well-trained staff and good management skills nothing is impossible. We prefer to treat our staff like family and they in turn treat our store as their own. Also support from other family members helps…my husband is equally a part of my professional life as my personal one too…so the places unreachable by me are covered up by him seamlessly.

 

TIO: What are the challenges faced by women in the optical industry and how can one overcome them?

 

PD: The challenges in our industry are similar to other fields. In a male dominant industry, a strong woman is highly respected. We have multiple stores including Jewellery, Women’s wear and Toys, to name a few, plus we are into Event management.

All these stores come under the same parent company, ‘The Classic Group.’ Naturally, women make for the highest footfalls in our store and rightly so as most of our products are designed for them. I personally feel being a woman is actually a strength as I can tempt the same customer to buy multiple items from all my stores. A woman promoting these items is likely to be better received by the ladies and will excel in sales as compared to a man who would never use any of those products.

 

TIO: How will you help in accelerating concern for eye-care in the society?

 

PD: Our Optometry Societies are doing a fabulous job of updating all interested candidates on technologies from across the globe. For example, during the lockdown period, there were ample number of webinars organised by experts – this enabled many people from the field to acquire new skills and/or enhance their existing skills. On a personal level, we have brought into India, various new technologies all of which have helped change the perception of regular people towards the way they look at Optometrists today. We also are involved in lots of Eye Care Awareness Initiatives and Eye Camps.

 

TIO: What advice would you like to share with young women entering a male dominated industry?

PD: Be confident in yourself and your skills. Nobody can take away your knowledge from you. If you wish to succeed in life, it is very important to stay rooted and be humble and ask for help whenever you need. Persistence and hard work are the key to success.


TIO: Who inspires you and why?


PD: Well truly, it is my husband who inspires me. From sheer theoretical knowledge learned in college to handling so many portfolios today, he is the one who has trained me to be a better version of myself. He simply says ‘Nothing is Impossible’…so if something needs to be done you just need to find a new way to do it and never say ‘No’ to a customer. 


I have also learnt the art of Public Relations and the ability to make complete strangers feel totally comfortable to speak with me in a matter of minutes from him. This is how I am able to handle most of our high profile and demanding customers and surgeons across India.

“ If you wish to succeed in life, it is very important to stay rooted and be humble and ask for help whenever you need. Persistence and hard work are the key to success…”
– priyanka dedhia

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We use your information to provide the products and services you request, to manage your orders and respond to any other requests you may have. To the extent, we use your information to market to you, we will provide you the ability to opt-out of such uses or alternatively, you may inform us in writing (in the manner set out in Section 8 below) that you are not interested in receiving details of any offers.


We use your personal information to resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, help promote a safe service, collect money, measure consumer interest in products and services, inform you about online and offline offers, products, services, events, research, news and updates, customise your experience, detect and protect us against error, fraud and other criminal activity, enforce our terms and conditions, and as otherwise described to you at the time of collection.


In our efforts to continually improve our product and service offerings, we collect and analyse demographic and profile data about our users’ activity on our Website. Wherever possible or required by Applicable Law, such information processing activities are carried out on an anonymised or pseudonymised basis.


We identify and use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our Website. Your IP address is also used to help identify you and to gather broad demographic information.


We will occasionally ask you to complete optional online surveys. These surveys may ask you for contact information and demographic information (like zip code, age, or income level). We use this data to tailor your experience at our Website, providing you with content that we think you might be interested in and to display content according to your preferences.

 

5. SHARING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We may share your personal information with our other corporate entities and affiliates. Should this happen, we ensure that these corporate entities and affiliates who handle your information comply with the Applicable Laws and this Privacy Policy. These entities and affiliates may market to you as a result of such sharing, unless you explicitly opt-out, in the manner set out herein.


We may disclose information to third parties who provide us with services, for instance those handling marketing communications on our behalf. When data is disclosed to any third party every precaution will be taken to ensure that any data provided is handled safely and securely by such third-party organisation in compliance with the Applicable Law. You may inform us in writing (in the manner set out in Section 8 below) that your information is not to be disclosed to third parties for their marketing and advertising purposes.


We may disclose information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process. We may disclose information to law enforcement offices, third party rights owners, or to prevent, detect, mitigate, and investigate fraudulent or illegal activities related to our products and services or others in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our Terms or Privacy Policy, respond to claims that an advertisement, posting or other content violates the rights of a third party, or protect the rights, property or personal safety of our users or the general public.


We and our affiliates will share some or all of your information with another business entity should we (or our assets) plan to merge with, or be acquired by that business entity, or re-organization, amalgamation, restructuring of business. Should such a transaction occur that other business entity (or the new combined entity) will be required to follow this Privacy Policy with respect to your information.

 

6. DATA PROTECTION

Our Website has stringent security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. Any information that you choose to provide us about yourself may be held on secure computer servers at locations within or outside India. Once your information is in our possession we adhere to strict security guidelines, protecting it against unauthorised access. We and any company or organisation who provide us with services will have in place appropriate technical and security measures to prevent unauthorized or unlawful access to or accidental loss of or destruction or damage to your information. We aim to ensure that the information stored will be accurate, relevant and not excessive, though you should ensure that you notify us of any changes in circumstances (such as a change of address) so we can update our records accordingly. We will keep the data up to date and not retain your information longer than is necessary. We will keep data securely to prevent unauthorised access by other people.


We will not sell any identifiable information about you to any third party without your consent. We may share generalised information about behaviour patterns with partners or other parties in such a way that an individual customer can never be identified. Wherever possible or required by Applicable Law, information processing activities are carried out on an anonymised or pseudonymised basis.

 

7. LINKS TO OTHER SITES

Our Website may include links to other websites that may collect information about you. These websites are not covered by this Privacy Policy and you should ensure that you review the privacy policy of each of these sites before continuing to use them. TIO is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those linked websites.

 

8. OPT-OUT

You always have the option to not provide your information by choosing to not use the Website. You also have the right to ask us to not use your information for marketing purposes or send you offers based on your previous orders and your interests or share your information with third parties for their marketing and advertising purposes by sending an email to us at any time at the e-mail : infotiodel@gmail.com

 

9. DISCLAIMER

The downloads from this Website have been thoroughly scanned and tested at all stages of production, but, as with all downloads, we recommend that you run a virus check before use. We also recommend that you have an up-to-date backup of your hard disk before using the downloaded content. We cannot accept responsibility for any disruption, damage and/or loss of data on your data or computer system that may occur while using the downloaded content.


This Website should not be regarded as an infallible guide to our products and services, nor does it constitute an offer for the sale of any particular products and services. We are not responsible for any losses you suffer on account of relying on the information contained on this website.


We do not warrant or represent the accuracy or completeness of information provided on this Website. You are advised to verify it before you agree to buy a product from advertisers or service. We do not guarantee that use of this Website will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that the Website and its servers are free of computer viruses or bugs.

 

10. EXCLUSIONS OF OUR LEGAL LIABILITY

The Website only complies with Indian laws. Information during visits to our Website are processed by us according to the provisions of Applicable Law.


We are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of our customers and we have taken all necessary and reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of customer information and its transmission through the Website. We shall not be held liable for disclosure of information, in the course of your use of our Website caused by abnormal and unforeseeable circumstances outside our reasonable control, which would have been unavoidable despite all efforts to the contrary, for example delays or failures caused by industrial action, problems with another system or network, third party viruses or malware, mechanical breakdown or data-processing failures.


This Website is intended for residents of India only. All information on this Website is therefore intended only for the Indian market. The information contained on this Website may be altered or amended at any time without prior notification or obligation.

 

11. NOTICE OF CHANGE

Our privacy policy is subject to change at any time without notice. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it. To make sure you are aware of any changes, please review this policy periodically. The effective date of this Privacy Policy, as stated below, indicates the last time this Privacy Policy was revised or materially changed.

 

12. JURISDICTION

This Privacy Policy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Disputes arising here from shall be exclusively subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of New Delhi to the exclusion of any other.

Terms & Conditions

EFFECTIVE AS OF FEBRUARY 01, 2021

The tionet.in website (“Website”) is hosted and operated by The Indian Optician (TIO); Registered in A-99 Defence Colony, New Delhi 110024, India.

 

The information contained on this Website may be altered or amended at any time without prior notification or obligation.

 

This Website should not be regarded as an infallible guide to The Indian Optician products and services, nor does it constitute an offer for the sale of any particular brand.

 

Access to, browsing and use of the tionet website, Internet services and mobile device apps (‘App’) are subject to the following Terms and Conditions (‘Terms’). Please read these Terms carefully. Creating an account with tionet (‘we’, ‘us’) or otherwise using any tionet or tionet related service or App will signify that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. These Terms constitute a binding agreement between you and The Indian Optician and affiliates. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use this website. THESE TERMS CONTAIN WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS AND OTHER PROVISIONS THAT LIMIT THE LIABILITY OF TIONET, SO PLEASE READ THESE TERMS IN THEIR ENTIRETY. tionet reserves the right to immediately terminate your access to the website, service or tionet related app, if you do not comply with this agreement. The tionet website, Internet services and mobile device apps collectively constitute the ‘Service’. This Service is owned and operated by The Indian Optician. The Service includes the website tionet.in and the App that provides you the capability to order, subscribe the magazines, publication related content (collectively known as ‘Publications’) and to have these digital versions of the Publications delivered to you.

a. Certain portions of the Service are available only to individuals who have registered with and obtained a password from tionet. By registering with tionet, you certify that you are at least 18 years of age. While registering with tionet, you should provide true and accurate data which includes that of your geographical location, personal details, billing information, etc. The accountability for maintaining and updating this data lies solely with you. tionet reserves the right for terminating the account for untrue or inaccurate data at any time if found or proved. The responsibility for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and the account information rests entirely with you. You agree to immediately notify tionet of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security.

b. You will maintain and promptly update that information to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password and for restricting access to your computer, and you agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account, including the selection and use of all content and services.

c. Without prior written or authorised permission from tionet, you should not modify, copy, distribute or sell any content obtained from tionet as everything published here is the proprietary property of tionet or its licensors. As such unauthorised use may also violate applicable laws including copyright and trademark laws, tionet strictly prohibits these and will terminate your access and account if any such illegal activity is proved or detected. You should also stand liable for the damages caused by these unauthorised activities. Except as permitted by the Publication’s lawful owner, you acknowledge that you do not acquire any ownership rights by downloading Publications accessed through the Service. Except as explicitly required under copyright law or permitted by the features of the Service you may not modify, reverse engineer, publish, transmit, display, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works of, or in any way commercially exploit or provide to a third party the content of the App, the Publications, or any portion of them without the express permission of tionet and the owner of such content. We do not grant you any licenses, express or implied, to the intellectual property of tionet or tionet’s licensors tionet reserves the right to refuse service, terminate accounts, or cancel orders at any time in its sole discretion, including, without limitation, based upon any activity by a subscriber in violation of these Terms or applicable law.

d. You agree not to misrepresent geographical locations, use proxies, use IP spoofing or by any other means to hide the origin of any message you send or purchase you make through the service. You agree not to pretend as any other individual or identity.

e. The Service is controlled, operated and administered by tionet from its offices within the India. If you access the Service from a location outside India, you are responsible for compliance with all local laws that apply to you.


f. tionet reserves the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice at any time. You agree that tionet shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Service.


g. You agree to indemnify tionet, its employees and its affiliates from all claims, demands, actions, damages, costs and liabilities arising out of your use or misuse of the Service.


h. All sales related taxes will be paid by the user as per the taxation norms that may change from time to time based on location of the user. All pricing and tax on the Apple iTunes App will be governed by Apple’s iTunes Terms and Conditions.


i. Your satisfaction is very important to us. However all sales are final and no refunds in full or in part will be issued to you.


j. All subscriptions bought through TIONET are auto renewable. The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period.

 

INFORMATION WE COLLECT

A. We collect Personal Information you enter on or through the Service, such as when you create a tionet account, purchase a magazine/subscription, or contact us.

1. When you create The Indian Optician (TIO) account at tionet.in, we collect your Name, Email address, Password and Gender (optional). We collect these basic details so that you can access your subscriptions on multiple devices. Also, when you change your device, these details will help you sync you’re tionet account and get access to your subscriptions.

2. When you purchase a magazine/subscription on our website, we additionally collect your Address (with Pin Code) and Card details in certain scenarios. This is done to validate the transactions and we shall clear such data when validations are no longer required. Please note that we don’t store your card details and they are stored only by the payment gateway.

3. When you contact us, we collect your email address to provide services and answer your queries.

B. When you send gift cards or subscriptions, we may collect the information you provide about the gift recipients, including name and email address. We will use such information to fulfil your requests, provide the relevant service, or for anti-fraud purposes.

C. The Personal Information we collect allows us to respond to your requests, improve our products and services, customize the advertising and content you see, and communicate with you about new products.

 

D. If you do not want to receive emails from us, you may opt out of Company’s marketing and promotional messaging by changing the ‘Email Preferences’ under ‘My Account’ after logging in to your tionet account. However, while you maintain an account with Company, you will not be able to opt out of emails that send important notices, such as communications about purchases and changes to our terms, conditions, and policies.

 

E. We also collect data in a form that does not, on its own, permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-personally identifying information for any purpose.

 

F. We receive and store certain types of information whenever you interact with the Service. Company automatically collects information on our server logs from your browser including your Internet Protocol (IP) address, the name and identity of your computer, mobile device and other devices, your operating system, browser type and version, CPU speed, connection speed, and locale information based on IP address. To the extent that IP addresses or similar identifiers are considered personal information by local law, we also treat these identifiers as personal information. The Site collects usage information, such as the numbers and frequency of user visits to our website and its components, We use this information to give a personalized experience to our users and also improve our services.

 

G. We also collect information about your purchases and activities on the Service, which we may use to present you with offers that we believe may be of interest to you. As part of this use of information, we may provide non-personally identifying, aggregate information to our Participating Publishers and other third parties about how our users, collectively, use the Service.

1. Articles you’ve read– To understand your interests and showcase more relevant articles

2. Time spent on reading each magazine and article– To analyze the quality of content and provide appropriate feedback to publishers

3. Web and app pages you’ve visited– To track features used by you and recommend features that you’ve not used

H. We send push notifications to our apps after getting consent from our users. These push notifications inform users about the latest offers, new issues going live, personalized magazines and articles. The users can disable push notifications anytime.

 

COOKIE POLICY 

Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that we transfer to your computer or device to enable our systems to recognize your browser and tell us how and when pages in our website are visited and by how many people.

 

Most browsers have an option for turning off the cookie feature, which will prevent or limit your browser from accepting new cookies, as well as (depending on the sophistication of your browser software) allowing you to decide on acceptance of each new cookie in a variety of ways. You may wish to leave the cookies activated because cookies enable you to take advantage of some of the Site’s most essential features.

 

SHARING OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal Information will only be shared by Company to provide or improve our products, services, to contact you about our services; and with our advertisers to contact you about their new products etc; it will not be shared with third parties for their marketing purposes.

 

Others: We may access, read, preserve, disclose, or release Personal Information when we believe in good faith that release is necessary to comply with law and enforce or apply our Terms of Use; or protect the rights, property, or safety of Company, our employees, our users, or others.

 

SECURITY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We allow you to limit access to your account via a password for your privacy and security. If you access your account via a third party site or service, you may have additional or different sign-on protections via that third party site or service. You are responsible for ensuring against unauthorized access to your account and Personal Information by selecting and protecting your password and/or other sign-on mechanism appropriately and limiting access to your computer and browser by signing off after you have finished accessing your account.

 

We use industry-standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) software to encrypt your Personal Information during transmission. However, because no data transmission over the Internet is completely secure, and no system of physical or electronic security is impenetrable, Company cannot guarantee the security of Personal Information in its possession or the security of its servers or databases. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of user information at any time.

 

In the unlikely event that Company believes that the security of your Personal Information in its possession or control may have been compromised, Company may seek to notify you. If notification is appropriate, Company may notify you by email, messaging to your device, or other means within 72 hours of data compromise.

 

PERSONAL INFORMATION YOU CAN ACCESS

Company allows you to access the following information about you for the purpose of viewing, and in certain situations, updating that information: email address, name, location and marketing preferences. This list may change as the Service changes. The information you can view, update, and delete may change as the Website changes. If you have any questions about viewing or updating information, we have on file about you, please contact us at privacy@tionet.in or at The Indian Optician., A-99 Defence colony, New Delhi – 110024

 

You can add or update certain personal information on your account, such as name and email address. When you update information, however, we often maintain a copy of the unrevised information in our records.

 

Upon your written request to privacy@ tionet.in we will remove your Personal Information from our active user database provided that (a) you are current with all payment obligations, (b) we do not believe it reasonably necessary to keep such information for any pending legal action, and (c) we are under no obligation to retain such information. Please be aware that any unfulfilled subscriptions may be cancelled without refund and you will have to re-register in order to use the Service. It is your responsibility to request a refund from us.

 

TRADEMARKS

All names, images, logos identifying The Indian Optician are proprietary marks of The Indian Optician. All third-party brand, product, service and company names contained on this Website are the trademarks, service marks and trade names of their respective holders. TIO do not give permission for their use by any person other than the holders. Any such use may constitute an infringement of the holders’ rights.

 

EXTERNAL LINKS

The Indian Optician do not represent, warrant, endorse or hold responsibility over any external sites that may be linked to and from this Website. Any external site that you visit by clicking through a link on this Website is outside the control of TIO and you visit entirely at your own risk.

 

These Terms and Conditions and the other rules, guidelines, licenses and disclaimers posted on the Service (on the tionet website or tionet Apps constitute the entire agreement between tionet and you with respect to your use of the Service and supersede all previous written or oral agreements between us with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

From time to time, tionet may revise these Terms and Conditions to keep them up to date with tionet products and services. Please refer to the tionet website and tionet Apps periodically for any changes. The update date first written above is used to alert you to recent modifications. Your access or use of the Service subsequent to such an update will signify your assent to be bound by such changes.

 

If you have any questions regarding our terms and conditions, please email us at infotiodel@gmail.com

 

JURISDICTION

These Terms & Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Disputes arising here from shall be exclusively subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of New Delhi to the exclusion of any other. If any of these Terms should be determined to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable by reason of the laws; it shall be severed and deleted from this clause. All other Terms of Use and Terms & Conditions shall remain in full force and continue to be binding and enforceable. The Indian Optician reserves the right to change any of its terms and conditions at any time by posting changes online.

 

LEGAL DISCLAIMERS

By registering on tionet.com and agreeing to its Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, you also agree and acknowledge the following Legal Disclaimer notice:

 

a. You agree that the use of tionet.in, the application and its services, are at solely at your own risk. Neither tionet.in nor its associates nor employees nor third party content providers guarantee that the service will be completely uninterrupted or error-free or fool proof against miscreant activities. Nor do they warranty that you will get the exact results as expected or promised by the website or product.

 

b. The website and the application are provided on an “AS IS” basis with no warranties expressly stated or promised regarding the results that would be obtained from the use of it.

 

c. In no event will TIONET.IN or any person or entity or third party involved in the creation, production and distribution of the content on the website and the application be liable in contract or legally for any damages, including and not limited to, direct, indirect, incidental, special, and consequential incurred to you while or on using tionet.com. By registering on the website or downloading the application, you agree that the provisions mentioned in this section shall apply to all use of and content on the website and the application.

d. The above disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, inaccuracy, interruption, deletion, delay, defect in operation or transmission, computer virus attack, communication line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to, alteration of or use of this website, on account of breach of contract or negligence or under any other cause of action.

e. You specifically acknowledge that tionet.com is not liable for any kind of defamatory or offensive or illegal conduct of other users or third parties or their content and that the risk of injury from the foregoing rests entirely with you.

Refund Policy

RETURN AND REFUNDS

 

If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with The Indian Optician magazine subscription, you may claim a full refund of your subscription, by contacting us within 30 days of your transaction processing date for online subscription and print subscription.

 

CANCELLING SUBSCRIPTION

 

You may cancel your Subscription at any time during your subscription term. If you choose to cancel your Subscription, please note that we do not issue refunds on magazines already delivered. You may request a refund for all magazines not yet delivered, by contacting us at infotiodel@gmail.com. The amount to be refunded will be a pro rata value based on the number of magazines already issued. Money will be refunded as below:

 

1) If paid by credit card, refunds will be issued to the original credit card provided at the time of purchase.

 

2) In case of payment gateway, payments refund will be made to the same account or in the bank account provided by the customer.

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