Terms & Conditions

1. Acceptance of Terms

By registering for, accessing or participating in TOI HYD Next or any HYD Next initiative, participants agree to these Terms & Conditions and the HYD Next Privacy Policy issued by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL / TOI). Participants who do not agree to these Terms must not participate.

2. Programme and Eligibility

HYD Next is a Times of India city platform. The first edition includes the Mobility Ideathon and the Water Resilience Challenge. Each initiative may have additional published participation requirements, dates, categories and submission instructions.

• Participation is subject to the eligibility conditions published for the relevant initiative and applicable law.
• Participants must provide accurate, complete and current information and may be required to provide proof of identity, eligibility or other verification documents.
• Participants under 18 may participate where permitted by the relevant initiative, subject to appropriate parent or legal guardian consent and any verification required by BCCL.
• For team-based participation, the registering team lead represents that they are authorised to register the team and provide the submitted information on behalf of the team members.
• Mobility Ideathon teams may have up to four members. BCCL may prescribe or approve any changes to team composition after registration.
• Participants may not submit the same solution or substantially the same submission through multiple teams or accounts in a manner intended to obtain multiple entries or rewards.

3. Registration and Submissions

• Participants must follow the published submission format, timelines and instructions for the relevant initiative.
• BCCL may reject incomplete, late, duplicate, ineligible or technically invalid submissions.
• Participants are responsible for ensuring that materials submitted are legible, accessible and complete.
• Participants must not submit confidential, proprietary, trade-secret or other information that they do not wish to disclose publicly. Participants are responsible for taking any appropriate steps to protect patentable or other intellectual-property rights before public disclosure.
• Participants must not submit any material that is unlawful, defamatory, misleading, obscene, discriminatory, threatening, fraudulent or otherwise inappropriate.

4. Originality, Rights and Third-Party Material

Each participant represents and warrants that they own, control or have obtained all permissions necessary to submit the material and that the submission does not infringe any third-party copyright, patent, trademark, design, privacy, confidentiality or other rights.

Where a submission includes photographs, videos, designs, data, research, software, content or other third-party material, the participant is responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions and licences.

5. Intellectual Property and Submissions

Participants retain ownership of intellectual-property rights they lawfully hold in their original submissions. No transfer of ownership to BCCL is intended merely by participation.

By submitting material, participants grant BCCL a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to access, reproduce, store, format, edit for length or presentation, publish, display, communicate and otherwise use the submitted material for administering, evaluating and documenting HYD Next and for editorial, publicity, promotional, social-media, website, print, event, archival and showcase purposes.

This licence does not prevent the participant from using, developing, commercialising or otherwise exploiting their own intellectual property, subject to any rights of third parties.

6. Knowledge Partners and Evaluation

BCCL may share relevant participant information and submitted materials with designated knowledge partners, jurors, evaluators and authorised service providers for the purpose of administering and evaluating HYD Next initiatives.

• Smart City Living Lab, IIIT Hyderabad may receive relevant Mobility Ideathon information and submissions for evaluation, solution development, expert review and related administration.
• The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) may receive relevant Water Resilience Challenge information and supporting submissions for assessment, verification, shortlisting and selection of recognised entries.
• Knowledge partners and evaluators may use such information only for authorised HYD Next purposes and may not independently sell, monetise, repurpose or disclose personal data or submissions except as authorised or required by law.

7. Evaluation, Selection and Discretion

Entries may be evaluated against the criteria published for the relevant initiative. BCCL and the designated knowledge partner or jury may seek clarification or supporting evidence, verify information, reject entries that do not meet the criteria, and make final determinations on shortlisting and recognition subject to applicable law.

For the Water Resilience Challenge, IGBC may recognise two winning entries per category and may, at its discretion, recognise a third entry in a category where the quality of submissions merits additional recognition.

Selection, recognition or presentation of a solution does not guarantee pilot, procurement, deployment, funding, endorsement or implementation by BCCL, a knowledge partner, government authority or any other third party.

8. Rewards and Prize Terms

The Mobility Ideathon prize pool is ₹5,00,000, comprising ₹2,50,000 for the Winner, ₹1,50,000 for the First Runner-up and ₹1,00,000 for the Second Runner-up, subject to the published rules and verification requirements.

• The stated prize is awarded to the winning team, not separately to each team member. BCCL may require the team to nominate a payment recipient and may require supporting declarations.
• Prize payment is subject to identity, eligibility, bank, tax and other verification documentation required by BCCL and applicable law.
• Any applicable tax, withholding, TDS or statutory deduction will be handled in accordance with applicable law.
• BCCL may withhold, cancel or reallocate a prize where eligibility, originality, integrity or verification requirements are not satisfied.
• Unless otherwise stated, the Water Resilience Challenge is recognition-based and does not include a cash prize.

9. Editorial, Publicity and Event Recording

HYD Next is intended to surface and showcase ideas, practices and people. BCCL may use participant names, team or community names, photographs, videos, quotes, biographies, solution descriptions and submitted materials for editorial, promotional, marketing, social-media, website, print, event and archival purposes.

Participants acknowledge that finalists, winners and selected practices may be featured in The Times of India and on HYD Next digital and event properties. Participants may also be photographed, filmed or recorded at official HYD Next events for editorial, promotional and archival purposes, subject to applicable consent requirements.

10. Suspension, Disqualification and Termination

BCCL may reject, suspend, disqualify or terminate participation where a participant supplies false or misleading information, breaches these Terms, submits plagiarised or infringing material, engages in fraud or manipulation, violates applicable law, or otherwise compromises the integrity or security of the initiative.

Where practicable and appropriate, BCCL may communicate the reason for disqualification or termination and any available review or support route. BCCL’s decision on eligibility or integrity may be final subject to applicable law.

11. Participant Indemnity

To the extent permitted by law, participants agree to indemnify and hold harmless BCCL, its affiliates, employees, agents and designated knowledge partners from claims, losses, liabilities, costs and expenses arising from the participant’s breach of these Terms, infringement of third-party rights, unauthorised disclosure of material, or false or misleading representations.

12. Service Availability, Disclaimer and Liability

BCCL will use reasonable efforts to operate HYD Next digital channels and programme processes but does not guarantee uninterrupted availability, error-free systems or compatibility with every device or network. Technical failures, connectivity issues, maintenance, third-party service interruptions and circumstances beyond reasonable control may affect participation or submission timelines.

TOI does not guarantee that any submitted idea or practice will be implemented, commercially successful, adopted by a government authority or produce any particular outcome. Nothing in these Terms excludes rights or liabilities that cannot lawfully be excluded.

13. Modification of Initiative and Terms

BCCL may modify, suspend or discontinue an initiative, including dates, stages, categories, submission requirements, evaluation processes or event arrangements, where reasonably necessary. Material changes will be communicated through appropriate programme channels where practicable. Where legally required, separate consent will be obtained.

14. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Subject to applicable law, disputes arising from HYD Next or its initiatives are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Mumbai, Maharashtra.

15. Contact

For HYD Next programme queries, privacy requests or grievances, contact hydnext@timesofindia.com.