Terms of Service

Last updated: 18 June 2026

1. Introduction

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Bodhi Research ("Bodhi", "we", "us", "our"), a product of Little Shepherd Network, a registered MSME in India, owned and operated by Sunder Pal.

By accessing or using Bodhi at bodhiresearch.in or any associated services, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the platform.

2. Description of Service

Bodhi is an academic research intelligence platform that provides:

  • Search across 250M+ academic papers and 6L+ Indian theses from multiple databases
  • AI-powered research gap analysis
  • Topic overlap/originality checking
  • AI-assisted academic writing workspace with citation suggestions
  • Reference management and topic alerts

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to use Bodhi. By using the platform, you represent that you meet this requirement. If you are using Bodhi on behalf of an institution, you represent that you have authority to bind that institution to these Terms.

4. Account Registration

You sign in using Google OAuth. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your Google account. We are not liable for any loss arising from unauthorized access to your account due to your failure to secure your credentials.

5. Free and Paid Plans

Bodhi offers a Free plan and a paid Pro plan:

  • Free: Unlimited search, limited gap analyses (5/month), limited overlap checks (3/month), save up to 5 references.
  • Pro (₹199/month or ₹149/month billed yearly): All Free features plus AI writing workspace, unlimited gap & overlap analyses, unlimited saved references, citation suggestions, and topic alerts.

Prices are in Indian Rupees (INR) and inclusive of applicable taxes. We reserve the right to modify pricing with 30 days' prior notice to existing subscribers.

6. Payments & No Refund Policy

Payments are processed through Razorpay, a PCI-DSS compliant payment gateway. We do not store your card or bank details. By making a payment, you also agree to Razorpay's terms of service.

Subscriptions are billed at the start of each billing cycle (monthly or yearly). If payment fails, your account will revert to the Free plan at the end of the current billing period.

All payments are final and non-refundable. Once a subscription payment is successfully processed, no refund will be issued. You are encouraged to use the Free plan to evaluate the platform before upgrading. For full details, see our Refund & Cancellation Policy.

7. Acceptable Use

You agree NOT to:

  • Use Bodhi for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law
  • Scrape, crawl, or use automated tools to extract data from the platform
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to other users' accounts or our systems
  • Submit academic work produced by Bodhi AI as entirely your own without proper attribution or in violation of your institution's academic integrity policies
  • Use the platform to generate content that infringes upon third-party intellectual property rights
  • Resell, redistribute, or commercially exploit the service without written permission

8. Intellectual Property

Our IP: The Bodhi platform, its design, code, brand, logo, and proprietary algorithms are owned by Little Shepherd Network. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the service.

Your Content: You retain full ownership of any documents, notes, or content you create on the platform. We do not claim any intellectual property rights over your content.

Third-Party Data: Academic papers and thesis metadata displayed on Bodhi are sourced from publicly available databases (OpenAlex, CORE, ArXiv, Shodhganga, etc.) and remain the intellectual property of their respective authors and publishers.

9. AI-Generated Content Disclaimer

Bodhi uses AI (powered by Google Gemini) to assist with research gap analysis, writing improvement, and citation suggestions. AI outputs are provided "as-is" and may contain inaccuracies. You are solely responsible for verifying AI-generated content before using it in any academic submission. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of AI outputs.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Little Shepherd Network shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of data, academic opportunities, or revenue.

Our total liability for any claim arising from or related to the service shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or ₹1,000, whichever is greater.

11. Disclaimer of Warranties

Bodhi is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. We make no warranties, express or implied, regarding the platform's availability, accuracy, reliability, or fitness for a particular purpose. We do not warrant that search results are exhaustive or that AI outputs are error-free.

12. Termination

You may stop using Bodhi at any time. We may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms, with or without notice. Upon termination, your right to use the service ceases immediately. Your documents and saved references will be retained for 30 days after termination, after which they may be permanently deleted.

13. Modifications to Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Significant changes will be communicated via email or an in-app notification at least 15 days before they take effect. Continued use of Bodhi after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, specifically the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Any dispute arising from these Terms shall first be attempted to be resolved through amicable negotiation. If unresolved within 30 days, the dispute shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in India.

15. Grievance Officer

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made thereunder, the Grievance Officer for the purpose of these Terms is:

Name: Sunder Pal

Designation: Proprietor, Little Shepherd Network

Email: support@bodhiresearch.in

Grievances will be acknowledged within 24 hours and resolved within 15 days.

16. Contact

For questions about these Terms, contact us at support@bodhiresearch.in.