Terms and Conditions

2Eligibility & Student Verification

• Academic Enrollment: Unless specified otherwise in a custom hackathon track, our platform is designed for students currently enrolled in recognized schools, polytechnics, undergraduate colleges (B.Tech, B.E., BCA, B.Sc, etc.), and postgraduate universities (M.Tech, MCA, M.Sc, MBA, etc.) in India and abroad.
• Age Requirement: Participants must be at least 13 years of age. Participants under 18 years of age must participate with parental/guardian consent where required by law.
• Identification: We reserve the right to verify student identity via college ID cards, institutional email addresses, or Bonafide certificates during shortlisting, evaluation, or prize disbursement.

3Account Security & User Responsibilities

When registering an account, you must provide accurate, current, and complete information. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activities that occur under your account. You agree to immediately notify Students Hackathon of any unauthorized use or security breach.

4Participation Rules, Plagiarism & Code Integrity

• Original Work: All project submissions, source code, designs, and presentations must be original work created by team members during the competition timeframe, unless using clearly cited open-source libraries or foundational APIs.
• Zero Tolerance for Plagiarism: Any submission found to contain plagiarized code, copied intellectual property without attribution, fabricated demos, or fraudulent repositories will be disqualified immediately without recourse.
• Team Composition: Teams may consist of 1 to 4 members unless a specific hackathon track defines different parameters. Inter-college and cross-disciplinary teams are permitted.
• Intellectual Property (IP): Students retain 100% full ownership and intellectual property rights of the code, architectures, and prototypes they build, unless a specialized sponsored bounty track explicitly specifies alternate licensing terms prior to registration.

5Pricing, Payment Gateway & Currency

Most flagship hackathons on Students Hackathon are 100% free to participate. For select premium sponsored challenges, certified tracks, or partner workshops where a fee applies:

• All pricing is clearly stated in Indian Rupees (INR ₹) inclusive of applicable taxes.
• Online payments are securely processed through our authorized payment gateway partner, Razorpay, complying with PCI-DSS Level 1 standards. We do not store sensitive credit card numbers or UPI PINs on our servers.
• Payment methods supported include UPI (Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM), RuPay debit/credit cards, Indian Netbanking, and major credit cards.
• Upon successful transaction, digital registration confirmation is issued immediately via screen receipt, registered email, and WhatsApp notification.

6WhatsApp Business & Electronic Communications Consent

By registering on Students Hackathon and providing your mobile phone number and email address, you provide your explicit consent to receive:

• Transactional communications: OTP verifications, payment receipts, team invite links, submission confirmations, and shortlist notifications.
• Important hackathon updates: Schedule changes, live webinar links, mentor meeting notifications, and evaluation status.
• Communications delivered via WhatsApp Business API, SMS, and email.

Opt-Out Policy: You may opt out of non-essential informational notifications at any time by replying “STOP” on WhatsApp or by updating your communication preferences in your user profile. Essential account security and transactional alerts will continue to be delivered.

7Prizes, Digital Certificates & TDS Regulations

Prize awards, cloud credits, and digital certificates are disbursed following the official verification of shortlisted winners. For monetary cash prizes:

• Winners must provide valid bank account details and identity proof (PAN card/Aadhaar) for tax compliance in India.
• All cash awards are subject to Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) under applicable Indian Income Tax laws (Section 194B/194BA) where mandated.
• Digital certificates with unique QR codes are issued digitally and can be verified publicly on the platform.

8Limitation of Liability & Disclaimers

Students Hackathon provides the platform on an “as is” and “as available” basis. While we strive for 100% uptime and seamless evaluation, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from technical interruptions, server downtime, internet connectivity failures, or external third-party API issues during a competition.

9Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India. Any legal dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to the platform shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts in India.

10Grievance Redressal & Contact Information

In accordance with Information Technology Act 2000 and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, if you have any questions, concerns, or grievances regarding these Terms, please contact our designated Grievance Officer: